major changes to eBay fees and feedback

[Guest]

[Bryanjs14]

Anyway, I disagree with Ebay that sellers *can't* leave negative feedback, but I understand why they put it into effect.  I think kbmum is correct in believing this is an attempt to make the buyers feel safer.  Unfortunately, it also leaves the sellers open to abuse.

Exactly, and I have already been abused by this new rule. I had a user buy a card using Buy it Now for $49.99 and after 7 days of not paying I opened a non paying bidder strike dispute against them and told them they had 48 hours to complete the transaction or I would be forced to give them a strike and leave the proper feedback. The buyer wrote back about 24 hours later than I had 24 hours to agree to cancel the sale or they would leave ME negative feedback. Well, after feedback extortion was threatened upon me I closed the dispute, awarded them their strike and left them negative feedback. Within 5 minutes I had negative feedback from them as well. What pisses me off is that up until that point it had almost been an entire year without a transaction going bad, and I had no negatives for ALMOST an entire year. Also, after reviewing the buyers feedback profile, it wasn't the first time they bought something and then threatened negative feedback on the seller if the sale was not mutually canceled. They are suspended now, because I reported them for feedback extortion as well as the numerous messeges calling me a moron, an ass, and an idiot. Unfortunately ebays feedback system is so flawed that I will always have a recent negative feedback for selling an item, not being paid, and going through the proper channels to get my insertion fees back and warn future sellers about this person. Just sucks.

[blackcat20]

At this rate, ebay is going to lose the trust of a lot of sellers. I understand them wanting buyers to feel better protected, but it should not be at the expense of sellers...

[rns91294]

Bryan, that sucks

I agree that sellers will be less likely to sell if they start to feel threatened. I also feel that in Bryan's case, eBay should remove the negative. eBay should add a new rule that if a buyer does not pay, they should be unable to leave feedback at all.

[kbmum]

That is going to happen once the new feedback rules go into effect, in May, I believe.  I complained about the feedback changes when they were announced in January and received this response from eBay:

Please note that if your buyer has failed to pay for an item, you should file an Unpaid Item (UPI) claim. If the buyer fails to respond to the UPI report, then any negative or neutral Feedback they have left for the particular transaction will be removed. If the buyer shows a pattern of such behavior and is suspended for UPI, all negative or neutral Feedback they left will be removed.

Sellers should only file a UPI claim when a buyer did not pay. Filing false UPI claims is a violation of eBay policy and may result in seller suspension.

If a buyer threatens negative Feedback to demand more than what was promised in the item description (for example, the person wants overnight delivery but only paid for standard delivery), the seller should immediately report the buyer to eBay. If there is clear evidence of extortion, eBay will take action. Buyers who show a pattern of such behavior will be suspended. If a buyer is suspended, any negative or neutral Feedback they left for others will be automatically removed.

Sellers should only file these complaints when a buyer asks for more than what is promised in the listing.  Filing a false claim is a violation of eBay policy and may result in seller suspension.

We believe that we will reduce any imbalance in the Feedback system with these changes. Buyers will be able to more accurately assess sellers, and sellers will be protected from buyers who violate our policies (through the Unpaid Item system and other reporting) without risking a reduction in good buyer activity.

[blackcat20]

That at least looks like some improvement of the system, in terms of protecting sellers. But not being able to leave negatives for buyers is just plain strange.

[erevine]

It appears that ebay is trying to make it's site a buyers market. which is not totally bad. without satisfied buyers there would be no need for sellers. some sellers i have dealt with left me hanging for weeks trying to get an item that i paid for immediately by paypal. due to the threat of negative feedback i have felt compelled to wait rather than complain. if this stops that abuse that is wonderful. after all most of us want better communication, and timely shipping of our items. on the other hand as a seller, i hate the fact that ebay continues to nickel and dime seller to death (strictly an American analogy). for without sellers there would be no fees for ebay to collect. perhaps the greatest shame is there are very few bargains on ebay anymore. it is sometimes cheaper to check amazon's or other price leader sites especially if shipping is included. the only real bargains i have found recently is overstock items and some buy-it-now auctions, if you can find them. Collectors present a different set of rules. The worth of something that someone collects is only as great as what it can be sold for. some will argue that true collecting has nothing to do with the dollar value but the joy the collector places on that item. unless you are totally wealthy, i think we all dream of finding a bargain that will only increase in value. perhaps ebay need to have a different setup for collectible items, since often times that is what drives the market. for otherwise it would seems strange to pay $100.00 for a piece of cardboard with a swatch of material in it.

[kbmum]

eBay will be making another change this week with regard to masking user IDs for bidders.

Protecting buyer's identities as they bid on all auction-style listings
To protect the Community from this growing safety threat, we have made the decision to mask User IDs for bidders on all auction-style listings on eBay.com and Motors. This change will go into effect later this week. Even with all this history and need, we understand that masking User IDs on all auction-style listings is a significant change, and it this is not a step we are taking lightly. However, in light of today's environment - and the damage fake email offers pose to our members and to overall buyer trust in the marketplace – it's imperative we act now to make this change.

[tialessa]

eBay will be making another change this week with regard to masking user IDs for bidders.

Protecting buyer's identities as they bid on all auction-style listings
To protect the Community from this growing safety threat, we have made the decision to mask User IDs for bidders on all auction-style listings on eBay.com and Motors. This change will go into effect later this week. Even with all this history and need, we understand that masking User IDs on all auction-style listings is a significant change, and it this is not a step we are taking lightly. However, in light of today's environment - and the damage fake email offers pose to our members and to overall buyer trust in the marketplace – it's imperative we act now to make this change.

Now this is a change I can get behind.  I've gotten SO many emails from "sellers" and "second chance offers" that are nothing more than trying to scam me.  Any legitimate offers will be in "My Messages" on "My Ebay" and none of these fakes ever are.  How they've gotten my email address (which isn't listed anywhere on the web), I don't know.  Of course then I won't be able to know which of my friends are bidding on the same item so that might cause a few issues.

[kbmum]

I've never received a fake second chance offer, but I sometimes receive emails that look like the "contact seller" emails asking about items I've never offered for sale. 

I also wondered about accidentally bidding against friends.  I guess that if someone really wants an item, that person will have to contact their friends and let them know.

[Scifi Cards]

Why do you think the blocked bidders list won't work any longer.

eBay knows who is bidding, and the seller won't see the abbreviated names when they are logged in.

I'm betting that blocked bidders will work just like it always has.

Ed

[kbmum]

The blocked bidders list will continue to work.  In fact, eBay will be allowing a greater number of names to be put on the lists.  Also, sellers will be able to see the full IDs of all of the bidders on their auctions.

[rns91294]

Now this is a change I can get behind.  I've gotten SO many emails from "sellers" and "second chance offers" that are nothing more than trying to scam me.  Any legitimate offers will be in "My Messages" on "My Ebay" and none of these fakes ever are.  How they've gotten my email address (which isn't listed anywhere on the web), I don't know.  Of course then I won't be able to know which of my friends are bidding on the same item so that might cause a few issues.

I have got these emails in the past too, and it looks like someone decided to try and quickly take advantage of this before this change took place. I just found an email from March 2nd in my yahoo account that I must have missed. The subject of the email is:

Question from eBay member about Item number (160212016041)

However, this email was NOT sent through the eBay system. Instead, it came from the following email address:

ma9ard@gmail.com

The email says the following:

Hello dear eBay member!
 
   I am the seller of the item that you recently bid on it on ebay! The item is brand new in box and an international warranty of one year. My price for the item is US$150 and if you want 2 items the price will be 250$ shipping included. If you are interested just give me a fast reply on this email address. I want a safe deal only through ebay department!

 
    Thank you

Now, I looked the item up and it was for the 1st death eater auto puzzle card, which I was watching, and I think I even bid on it when it was still in its low price stage. I do not believe the seller of the auction sent this email at all, especially when this is a rare card that I highly doubt someone would have more than one, let alone three to sell. Whenever I get an email like this, it is always for a high priced item as well. I am just deleting and ignoring this email.

[tialessa]

Whenever I get an email like this, it is always for a high priced item as well. I am just deleting and ignoring this email.

I forward the email to spoof@ebay.com each and every time and let me just say it's gotten to be MAJORLY annoying...

[kbmum]

Here's the latest from eBay about feedback changes, which will go into effect the week of May 19:

Hello everyone...as we announced back in January, we're making some bold changes to how Feedback on eBay works. As we get closer to our launch, I wanted to review the changes we've discussed and provide some additional detail and updates.

As a recap, here's what we announced in January that is scheduled to launch the week of May 19th in North America (which includes eBay.com in the US, as well as eBay.ca and eBay.cafr in Canada):

    * Sellers may only leave positive feedback for buyers
    * We will remove negative and neutral Feedback if a member becomes suspended
    * Members can leave Feedback up to 60 days after a transaction (down from 90)
    * We will remove Feedback when a buyer fails to respond to the unpaid item process.
    * Members will receive credit for weekly repeat Feedback (going back to 1996)
    * We will base the Positive Feedback Percentage on the past 12 months of activity (and include neutral Feedback in the calculation)
    * The PowerSeller Program will use the same calculation method described above to determine eligibility for the PS Program for the Positive Feedback percentage requirement of 98% positive.

Next I'd like to share some additional detail beyond what we discussed in the original post:

    * In January we mentioned that we'd block buyers from leaving negative or neutral Feedback for 3 days for sellers "with a track record." Since January, we've made the decision to increase the wait period to 7 days and define "track record" as active PowerSellers who have been on eBay for at least 12 months.

      We studied the factors that increased risk to buyers the most and found there are three: a) a seller's Positive Feedback percentage and DSRs, b) the volume of a seller's Feedback – both in total and on an ongoing basis and c) length of time a seller has been on site.

      We selected PowerSellers who have been on eBay at least 12 months in order to minimize risk to buyers, because:

            a. PowerSellers have to meet quality thresholds for both conventional Feedback and, starting in July, for Detailed Seller Ratings
            b. PowerSellers have to meet volume requirements – both in total and on an ongoing basis
            c. One year on-site proved to be an important predictor of lower risk

      All three factors prove important to predicting the risk to buyers – removing any one of them would increase risk to a level we are not currently comfortable with at this time.

      We will watch all aspects of the new Feedback system very carefully, studying how the marketplace responds and we will make changes as we see appropriate.

    * We mentioned that we'd be aligning the Mutual Feedback Withdrawal process with the new system. After much consideration, we've made the decision to remove the Mutual Feedback Withdrawal process. The reason is that – under the new rules - it opens sellers up to extortion. As part of this decision, Mutual Agreement from third-party Feedback mediation services, such as SquareTrade, will also no longer be accepted.

Over the last several months, we've had many conversations with our customers – both buyers and sellers – and we've had the opportunity to consider ways we can address some of the top concerns we've heard. Based on the input we've received from you, I want to share some additional modifications we're making:

    * We are adding language in the leave Feedback flow for buyers who are in a cross-border transaction that reminds them that international transactions usually take longer to complete.

    * We've improved the interstitial page that all buyers see before leaving negative or neutral Feedback; the updated page offers a stronger message to buyers about the need to communicate with the seller, to allow enough time for the transaction to complete, and to keep Feedback factual.

    * And later this month...

          In addition to expanding the 3-day block to 7 days, we are introducing a new Buyer Requirement that will allow sellers to block buyers who have been reported by other sellers for eBay buying policy violations (such as Feedback abuse, or email threats).

          We're expanding the scope of the existing Buyer Requirement for unpaid items, so that it supports more comprehensive blocking of buyers who have a history of non-payment.

          We've improved the process that sellers use to report buyers for policy violations.

          Detailed Seller Ratings will be coming to Half in the next couple months. Watch for more information on this via email and on the Half discussion forum in the next couple of weeks.

As you can see, these changes represent a huge investment in transforming the way Feedback works, so that it better serves today's marketplace. Ultimately, the goal is to restore trust and transparency and improve the buying experience, while offering needed checks and balances that ensure our sellers who provide excellent service benefit.

Sincerely,

Brian Burke
Director, Global Feedback Policy

[grecopa]

* Members will receive credit for weekly repeat Feedback (going back to 1996)

Does that mean any multiple buys will now be added to the sellers feedback count?  If so, my numbers are going to jump!!

[blackcat20]

Looks that way; about time too, as many of us have repeat buyers.

[kbmum]

That's a good change, as is the ability to set a requirement to block buyers who have violated eBay buying policies.

[allender]

* Members will receive credit for weekly repeat Feedback (going back to 1996)

Does that mean any multiple buys will now be added to the sellers feedback count?  If so, my numbers are going to jump!!

I get credit for adding a couple of dozen to Kelly's numbers. 

Though it's really the "repeat" buys that will count. The way I read it, multiple buys that are part of one transaction or are separated by less than a week at one time only count as one. (FX: voice of John Rhys-Davies) One positive per buyer/seller per week.