Besides buying and selling vintage items on eBay- I often network with other experienced eBay Sellers. It helps to share experiences good and bad- both as a buyer and seller. One of my favorite places to “talk” eBay is on the message boards of a certain mommy networking platform. On there are several informative groups on eBay topics. Some of these groups are for sellers new and old. Other groups are places to showcase newly listed auctions and store offerings by eBay sellers. There are even fun groups about being addicted to buying on eBay.
As you can imagine the current buzz about eBay on the Sellers Board is the new changes forthcoming. These changes include the fee increases we have all been anticipating and dreading; along with the bombshell new feedback policy. In particular, the new policy wherein sellers can’t leave buyers negative feedback. You heard me right! Sellers will NO LONGER be allowed to leave buyers negative feedback.
I myself have participated in over 750 transactions in the past year and have only left negative feedback once. It’s really not part of my selling strategy to leave negative feedback willy nilly, so frankly this new policy does not phase me in the least. Note, I didn’t say I agree with it, because as a seller I would like to have the option of giving negative feedback to a buyer available to me. There are instances of abusive customers and erstwhile scammers that could use a heavy handed dose of negative feedback.
However, I actually understand where eBay is most likely coming from with the policy change. For the most part most sellers do not give feedback until they have received feedback first from the buyer. In all reality, this is holding someones feedback for being a good buyer hostage until then the buyer leaves positive feedback. So the current system is already broken.
Due to the new feedback policy and the increased fee structure, many sellers are feeling left out in the cold. On the internet there is a call for an across the board boycott of eBay by all sellers. Many of my fellow group members from CafeMom are planning to participate- some of them referring to eBay as “feeBay”. Groups and forums on eBay itself are debating whether or not to boycott the auction giant in the upcoming weeks.
My feeling is that boycotting eBay will not achieve any purpose but to hurt the bottom line of smaller sellers who need the extra income. I truly believe that eBay is adopting these new policies to make a better online auction experience for both buyer and seller, of which I am both.
eBay has lowered the upfront cost to list items, which is a great boost right now. With the economy slow many sellers are faced with lagging sales and have to relist things more often then they initially anticipated. The lower upfront charges will help sellers with lagging sales, to still be able to list items.
Furthermore, the feedback policy I believe was made with best intentions. I initially spoke of leaving negative feedback just once to a buyer. However, I neglected to mention the 3 or 4 times I would have like to have left negative feedback to poor sellers. In recent dealing with vintage jewelry sellers on eBay, the quality and customer service has been severely lacking from more then one seller. Some sellers I encountered went to extreme measures of lying about their products to make the sale. Worse yet, I have dealt with sellers who have omitted damage and have inflated the descriptions of their items to get bidders to bid higher. All the while secure in the knowledge that if they received negative feedback, they could retaliate in return on the buyer.
My recent buying experiences in the vintage jewelry category, tell me that eBay has my best interest at heart as both a buyer and seller. Sure it is expensive to do business on “feeBay,” but you get what you are paying for. A safe environment for buyer and seller- and the marketing power of a company with millions of users.
The proposed eBay boycott dates are February 18th -25th. I won’t be boycotting eBay.
I’ve been both a buyer and a seller, but haven’t been a seller in years. Of course, it is true that some sellers would hold a buyer “hostage” until after the buyer posted feedback. Fortunately, I’ve never had to leave negative feedback one way or the other, though there was an occasion where I was close.
Maybe a double-blind feedback system would be better. Neither the buyer nor the seller can see the feedback the other has left until both have left feedback. After x days, you could no longer leave feedback and if only one left feedback that feedback would then be publicly available.
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