Yes...but we don't have accents.

How can you win at soccer without a cool accent?

Mark  

Kingofpain89 wrote:

MShipley88 wrote:Yes...but we don't have accents.

How can you win at soccer without a cool accent?

Mark  

Speak for yourself....if a cool accent is all it takes to win a soccer match, a team made up entirely of Texans should kick the crap out of everyone.  Right?  

nah a team made of of guys from liverpool would sweep all before them

Al

Did somebody say 3-nil?

Xaxaxe wrote:I can't sleep knowing the Czechs are gonna stomp us, 3-nil.

It's good to know the crystal ball is still working; I've got payments left on the thing.

Badmike wrote:

MShipley88 wrote:Badmike has already sounded off on the seller's side, and I sympathize with his position....EBay is a nice place, but there are still idiots allowed into the mix.

As far as I can see, feedback extortion is the norm.

When one seller recently surprised me by posting immediate feedback...right after I paid...I sent him a thank you note.  Very classy.

If this guy really pisses you off, wait 90 days after your purchase and then...at the last second...post a negative.  Kind of dirty pool, however, if your only beef is with common feedback courtesy.

I have one seller at the moment who is ignoring my emails to him.  I have never left a negative, but I am considering it in his case.  90 days.

Mark  

I would add that for Acaeum members or those I've dealt with multiple times, I will often leave feedback first.  But it's just not worth it to get a neg from the clueless newbie that can't understand why he hasn't received his item in three days after paying (true story).

Mike B.

Case in point for my policy:  A newbie buyer in the Uk has gone ballistic because his item did not arrive within his "4 to 7 day window" the day after he paid through paypal.  When I told him that A. He is assuming I shipped the day after he paid, it was more like 5 days after; and B. I've often had UK/Europe items (even through priority mail) take up to two weeks, he was extremely unhappy.  Luckily I have not left him feedback because this 20 feedback wonder would defintiely be screaming "I'm leaving negs by tomorrow if I don't get my item!".  Now if I get a neg I can have he satisfaction to slap him right back, and I don't doubt this is the ONLY reason he has not left a neg yet (his emails are interesting to say the least).  

Mike B.

I missed the whole fireworks on this one, but I've come to the conclusion that eBay feedback is pretty meaningless.  I'll continue to blindly follow the guidelines and leave feedback when I receive and item/get paid, because I get the feeling the whole thing is some sort of elaborate joke.

Would you rather buy something from some eBay newbie that makes some insightful Acaeum posts, or a titanium powerseller with a big number and a star next to his name, that has nothing to do with the hobby?  All the feedback you need is on here or other forums like this one.

killjoy32 wrote:well mike you hit it right on the head there. just these past couple of weeks, i have been thinking about this myself.

i sold something for a mate of mine last week, which the buyer did a BIN and paid shortly thereafter - thursday, (why they wait for an invoice when they can SEE the postage clearly *shakes head*) anyway....my mate is running round like a pleb cos his wife is in hospital having a baby, so last thing on his mind was an ebay parcel! anyway he still mailed it tuesday, which to me, isnt long anyway....

well the umming and arring is absolutely ridiculous. sadly, i left feedback already, but the guy has pissed me off SO MUCH, that believe me, if he negs me, i am personally gonna travel to see the guy.

because of this, i have now changed my mind with regards to feedback and anyone who has a FB less than 30, i will be mentioning to them when i send the item(s) that i will treat the sale as complete when the buyer receives the parcel and leaves feedback. then i will leave feedback.

i am not feedback driven, so i dont really care but it pisses me off when you get luddites coming along who really are muppets about the whole thing.

Al

         I think the same way Al, I think most of the trouble with this transaction is just the newness of the buyer and his expectations based on about a month of buying on EBay, I would say 100% of my problems are with feedback 20 or less newbies.  That's why I haven't responded in kind to him and truthfully five days is a little long for me to wait and ship but he just got caught at the end of a cycle (I only ship 1-2 days a week) and had to wait close to the max.  Plus I've noticed through the years of mailing to Europe that for some reason it seems to take 1-2 days longer from Texas than the East OR West coast, I have no idea why, it should just fly out from D/FW airport, oh well.  
    Most of these things turn out ok, because soon as the buyer gets the package it's all love and kisses, but I have to spend valuable time with each and every "Where's my package? It's been 2 days!!!" muppets (love that word) that have unrealistic expectations, holding their hand and digging up tracking numbers, etc.  At least I've eliminated "If it doesn't arrive by tomorrow I'm negging you!" bullshit, which is why I have the policy of letting the buyer leave feedback first unless it's a return customer.

Mike B.

I regard eBay sellers who leave feedback first as the class-acts of eBay. They are confident in their product and service.

I don't sell much on eBay, prices being so depressed there. (Though the eBay Express is interesting.) I do buy ~$1,500 of RPGs a month wholesale on eBay and re-sell them elsewhere.

I frankly don't understand why sellers with feedback in the hundreds and thousands take the occasional Neg so personally. Even a few negs in a row will have no appreciable impact on your percentage. Anybody researching your FB will see the customer for who they are, and your reasoned response to their neg. I'm triply impressed by a seller who *doesn't* leave retaliatory FB.

I'm always suspicious of 100% FB because I, as a buyer, don't expect long-time sellers to have perfect feedback. It's unrealistic. A seller with that much feedback and 100% must have just descended the stairs from heaven, 'cause they're clearly not touched by mortal concerns.  

Any seller who's been selling on eBay for a given time is gonna run into the occasional impossible/ignorant customer or make an error. Big deal. It's unprofessional -- and a waste of time -- to obsess over feedback. Sell good products, take care of your customer, and the feedback will take care of itself.

I left a neg for a domestic seller who ignored me for a month-and-a-half. She later contacted me, gave me a believable excuse, and immediately made good on the transaction. She never did leave me a neg. I volunteered to withdraw my fb.

[As for selling only to PayPal Verified... That's crazy! I can't begin to calculate how many dollars I'd lose in sales if I kneecapped myself like that. Most international buyers couldn't get Verified if they wanted to. In four years of business, I've never had a PayPal transaction reversed. I'm sure it will happen someday; it comes with the territory.]

Game on, and good luck in sales...

red_dawn wrote:I'm always suspicious of 100% FB because I, as a buyer, don't expect long-time sellers to have perfect feedback. It's unrealistic. A seller with that much feedback and 100% must have just descended the stairs from heaven, 'cause they're clearly not touched by mortal concerns.  

Sometimes touched by the concerns of mere mortals . . .  

I've mentioned it several times before . . . but I've never had a complaint, never had a rude buyer, never had an unpleasant email and I've certainly never had anyone threaten me with a neg.  I continue to leave feedback first without waiting for buyers to do so and I'm at 2700 and 100%.  


I'm sure this is a combination of good service (which all the sellers on this thread and the acaeum provide - I'm not claiming to be any better), and luck.  Probably the fact that for 3 years I've busted my ass to make sure items ship out the within 0-2 days of payment received (90% being the day after) has alleviated the difficulty of impatient newbies.

Still, I'll continue to leave feedback first even if I eventually do get a few irrational buyers who neg me . . . I look at myself as a retail business as far as ebay is concerned.  In the real world, I would expect any store I shop at to treat me like gold and be concerned about what I want first.  If I didn't like the service, I should feel free to complain without fear that they would criticize me in return.  (NOTE:  I'm not foolish enough to believe this to be the case - I encounter uncaring rude employees all the time . . . still, that's not how it's supposed to work . . . )

Sometimes stores get an asshole customer who bitches when there is no good reason to.  What can you do?  Punish your good customers?  You've just got to suck it up and move on.

Of course, I understand the opposing viewpoint . . . It's just not something that concerns me as a seller.

mbassoc2003 wrote:I presume from your statement that you don't have to make your living selling stuff on eBay? You would fall into the catagory of 'wel established buyer', and therefor fall outside of the 80% of risky buyers we must all endure.

I can also read into your response that you are fairly literate and well educated, which also takes you outwith the majority of buyers on eBay.

I assume you are a US Citizen and haven't had first hand experience of the level of fraud on eBay, and the level to which eBay and PayPal protects the US citizen against the rest of the underworld.

Me?  I'm not sure - I make a sizable portion of my living through ebay.  It is my second job and a very important source of income (especially when my wife took a year off of work after our baby was born).  I couldn't have paid the mortgage and bills without it!



Nearly all my feedback is from selling - only a very small percentage from buying.  (3,718 feedback from buyers vs. only 681 feedback from sellers).



Even though I am a US citizen, I am completely at risk from fraud.  Paypal buyer protection extends to those in other countries.  Of the thousand or so international packages I've sent out, not one have I been able to prove was delivered.  This option is not really feasible for US sellers.  Global Priority, Airmail, Airmail parcel post and M-bag - none of them provide options for PROVING that the package was delivered.  Thus, it would only take one buyer to file a claim to say it didn't arrive and I couldn't gainsay them.  The only way to provide tracking is for much more expensive shipping options (if even).  It's not practical and no buyer would pay to cover the costs.  Therefore EVERY international sale I make is at risk for fraud.



I am only protected in the U.S.





<EDIT>  In light of Ian's above edit  , this post of mine now seems unnecessary.  I guess I'll leave it up though, as the part about US seller's risk for fraud is at least relevant.  <EDIT>