ebay feedback

[cheater123]

Is ebay's feedback system really as good as some people make out?

I have just felt in my last transaction that it would be necessary to leave them negative feedback, however it's likely that they will just make something up and leave negative feedback for me too.

Therefore to avoid me getting a negative, it's best for me to just not leave them any and they will probably not leave me any either.

So the feedback is not as reliable as people make out is it because people should know that this person is a bad ebayer. Is this really how it works?

[Ethel]

I always leave negative feedback when I believe it is truly justified.

Otherwise, what is the point of feedback? As you say, if people are frightened of retaliatory negatives then the feedback does not tell the truth.

I have several ebay identities. One I use solely for buying. Buyers do not need good feedback - but it is very important to sellers. This way, I can be in honest in the feedback I leave for sellers.

The only time I would leave negative feedback for my buyers is if they didn't pay. I report them as non-paying bidders, claim my fees back and leave a negative. If they leave me negative (they usually don't) I can reply with 'Retaliatory negative from non-paying bidder. FVFs received'.

Be very careful to read the actual comments in feedback - some people leave 'negative positives', where the rating is positive but the comments are not.
Feedback can also indicate 'false feedback' - where the person has bought lots of penny ebooks or similar just to build up their feedback score.

So, be aware that there are scammers - and leave the feedback to warn others.

[naz_nomad]

most negative feedback is retaliatory (is that a word?) ...no-one wants to be the first to 'push the button', but it'll always get pushed right back at ya!

[j2buttonsw]

Have you e-mailed the buyer and threatened to leave negative feedback?

Essentially I agree with you, the whole feedback thing is open to abuse. It is becoming rarer to see 100% positive feedback for a seller and I agree with naz_nomad (how are the nightmares BTW?) that the retaliation negative feedbacks dominate. eBay should rethink this. However, since you asked, I would leave negative feedback only if it was justified and only when I have run out of other options. The fellow could be on holiday...

[Nemesis9]

I too have had the occasional experience with this type of ebay feedback 'blackmail'.
One overseas company I dealt with had a very high feedback rating, however on closer inspection, if you cross-referenced any negative (or even neutral) feedback that had been left for them, they ALWAYS left highly defamatory and damaging comments in return.
When the transaction I was involved with went bad (the item either never sent, or lost in the post) I was sent a threatening email by the company warning me not to leave any negative feedback, or else....!.
If many people succumb to these types of tactics, it will make the use of feedback as a means of determining a companies trustworthiness and credibility, worse than useless.
It's a major flaw in ebay's system.