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West Palm Beach, FLHi -
I have only purchased on Ebay, but would like to get your thoughts or opinions as many of you are buyers and sellers. Maybe there is even a written rule for this, I don't know. When ever I win an auction, I pay by Paypal as soon as I receive the notification that I am the winner. I ususally leave a message for the seller as I am paying by Paypal - thanking them and/or telling them that I am looking forward to receiving the auction item.
I always leave feedback as soon as I receive the item. There has been two occasions recently when I have had to wait for almost two weeks to receive an item, and then the seller has not left feedback for me. It is my feeling that as soon as I have paid for an item, I have shown that I am a customer of good faith, and feedback should be left. I do not feel as though the seller should wait until I receive the item, to see if I am going to leave positive feedback for them.
??????
Jill
That's exactly what some sellers do......wait until you leave feedback for them first. I so hate that! I'm like you, when I pay for my auction, I feel I deserve positive feedback right away. I've done my part. I have actually ended up having to request feedback from sellers who have evidently 'forgotten' about me. Once, the lady genuinely did forget and apologized. The rest didn't seem to care, as I never did get the feedback. Makes me wish I could retract what I left for them! 
:hug:
Tracy
Posts: 1,277No, I don't think it is right either, but lots of sellers do it. I've had lots of sellers not give me feedback until I give them positive feedback. I've had a few transactions on ebay where I wasn't pleased with the item, or it took really long to receive it. And I just have to keep my mouth shut, because they haven't left feedback for me yet so if I say something negative, I know they will leave me negative although I promptly paid and kept my end of the deal. It's frustrating!
Budd Bears BoutiqueHi Jill:
My husband, is an eBay Seller, and on "lots" of occasions he never receives feedback ??? There are some sellers that do not leave their feedback until the buyer has left theirs, I guess they are trying to cover themselved in case the buyer gives them a negative feedback ??? Who knows what is in peoples heads ??? When buying on eBay feedback should never be left until you have received the item and are satisfied.
Oh, that's right Sandi. You do have to be careful what you put in feedback. People will be spiteful. I learned that the hard way when new to ebay years ago. I had left someone a negative feedback, which was well deserved mind you, and just never thought that they would do it to me just to get me back. Never crossed my mind since I don't think that way myself I guess! So I have 1 neg. feedback on my record because of this. Not right!!
:hug:
Tracy
I probably shouldn't be touching any subject with "eBay" in it..... 
I rarely sell on eBay anymore but I do still buy a little something every now and again. I have to admit that since I'm not a "regular" anymore I'm a little lax about leaving feedback. Perhaps that's what some of you are running into......people like me that don't often drop in.
When I was selling on eBay regularly I would always send a personal e-mail as soon as a package was mailed. It said, if there were any problems please let me know and I would work to remedy them so that feedback left would be mutually respectful. This tells your buyer that you're willing to do what it takes to end the transaction on a positive note. It's worked all these years and I've never had a problem. I call it "My Mary Poppins Method".......A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down......in the most delightful way. 
Ha! Now you're going to have that song stuck in your head all day long!! 
Warmest bear hugs with a spoon full of sugar, :hug:
Aleta
Newcastle, OntarioGina, I know exactly what you mean. My niece, who is an incredible seller 0n Ebay, got burned exactly the same way you did- over the length of time it took the postal service to deliver something, which was totally out of her control. It also ruined her 100% feedback and really upset her. She now only gives feedback "after" the transaction is over and she knows the other party is satisfied, and I have to admit, I do the same thing. I do however, tell my customers up front that this is how I approach feedback, as it gives us both an opportunity to work things out, before hasty negatives are left. It has actually paid off for me, because twice parcels got lost for a while and took almost three weeks to arrive. I was in daily contact with the buyers, and it seemed to help everything work out. I agree though, that lots of times Power sellers don't even bother with feedback, which is just wrong. Just my two cents worth.
Hugs,
Brenda
Flying Fur StudiosI agree with both sides, what I don't agree with is how ebay deals with it.
Like Gina says, a double blind feedback would be perfect! Or at least something. But ebay just seems to ignore the problem.
Makes me crazy 
Newcastle, OntarioYep, a double blind feedback system would be a perfect solution!
Hugs,
Brenda
Sunnie BearsI always try to leave feedback as soon as someone pays. I myself don't like being held hostage by the feedback.I have 2 negatives on my feedback from sellers who held the feedback as hostage on me. I paid for both auctions immediately after the auction ended and never recieved thew items. I emailed several times with no response from one.. and very rude responses from the other. They admitted they had damaged the item and it no longer was available, but never gave the refund either. I warned each several times to please email me so we could work something out. I told them I really would prefer to arrange something with them rather than leave bad feedback. Even then they wouldn't respond to emails. I emailed ebay to see that the contact info was right and it was, but still no response. I really hate getting ripped off. So I fianlly left neg feedback. Very polite and factual. JUst said that I paid on such n such date and item never received, no response to emails. Boy did I get blasted! Can't beleive that someone would have the b... a... l... well you know what I mean, to actually blast me while they had my money.
Sonya
Newcastle, OntarioSonya, I think most people respond negatively with they have received a negative, whether they deserve it or not. I heard somewhere that the only way to avoid getting a negative is to never give one. I have only left a "neutral" on one occassion and that was only after I have received my feedback. I have to admit, that I have been very lucky. Whenever I want to bid on an item on ebay, I check their feedback first and then I send the seller a question about the item for sale. If I like the response and it is fast and polite, then I proceed to bid. If I don't like the response, or it is slow or don't get one, then I simply don't bid. It has worked well for me.
Hugs,
Brenda
Wild Thyme OriginalsYup.... that's called "holding someone's feedback hostage." And I agree, it would seem to be solved by a double blind feedback process. WOW! That's a great idea!
oh... thanks Aleta.... "In the most delightful way!!!!!!" 
Certainly stuck in this little head of mine! I guess i am one of those people with a brain that is highly open to suggestion! i should go get hypnotized! 
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals
West Palm Beach, FLThanks everyone, I knew I could count on you to present both sides. Great info - I really appreciate it.
Jill
Dolls N DreamsI know what you mean. I have always left feedback the minute a buyer pays me.
I can't understand the sellers that will not leave feedback until the buyer leaves it first. Drives me nuts!! The buyer should get feedback when they pay!
I think Ebay should have fixed this along time ago. A seller should not be able to receive feedback until he has given it to the buyer first!
Sunnie BearsI always crack up when I see someone's feedback that have many many negatives.. and when you read them, it is usually the same complaint time and time again, and the sellar always blames the buyer.. Amazing!
Sonya
Bears-a-Bruin!Having sold on eBay for a while now, I've developed the habit of waiting for the package to arrive and to know that the buyer is happy before I leave feedback. As far as I'm aware, the transaction isn't over until the package has arrived. I should point out that I'm not waiting specifically for the buyer to leave feedback though, that's not my intention....plenty of times I've left feedback first.
Unfortunately, just as there are dishonest sellers there are also dishonest buyers who may try to deceive the seller over the condition of the item, for instance, or the delivery time etc. And once feedback is left there's no other way to warn future sellers. One time I sold a low cost item....the buyer complained the delivery was taking a long time, so I e-mailed the proof of postage to him...he kept e-mailing me 'where is this item???'. So I asked him to send me his address again. Guess what - the address he'd originally sent me had his house number wrong. He made a mistake. But I still refunded his money for non-delivery, partly cos I'm a softie and partly cos I was fed up of getting his e-mails!!!! Alls well that ends well, and no doubt it was a genuine mistake on his part, but it highlighted to me the potential pitfalls of leaving feedback immediately after payment.
Anyway, these are just my thoughts and opinions! It good to read how buyers might perceive this....and I'll be open about my feedback policy from now on, so everyone knows where they stand :). The double-blind feedback idea is an excellent one.....
PS I think Gina's points are very valid. A regular seller who is likely to be running a business has a lot to lose if they accumulate negative feedback, and this can become a huge problem when neg feedback is not deserved and is simply the result of an over zealous buyer.
Country BearsNot a villain at all Gina, I ALWAYS wait until I know my buyer is happy with the item before I leave feedback.
I do tend to let people know I have received payment, and then let them know when the item will be or has been posted. I always tell them that if they have any problems, to contact me, as I am always genuinely happy to help!!
They all seem to be happy with that!! :hug:
I don't think you're a villian Gina! :hug: And after reading 'the other side of the story', I can better appreciate where sellers are coming from with waiting to leave feedback. Thank you for broadening my view of things!! 
I still don't like it when I NEVER receive feedback however. To my mind, that's just sheer laziness or an uncaring attitude, unless of course a seller has a disaster happen in their personal life that makes it impossible to get the feedback posted (not likely most of the time! 
).
:hug: :hug:
Tracy
LuxembearsYes, the feedback system at ebay could use some revampming . The truth is , buyers are more concerned if you have negative feedback rather than positive. They want to know that you are a good dependable seller. The whole system sucks, sorry, but it does!
I recieved ONE negative feedback a few years ago because my payment did not reach the seller quickly enough! I had to cancel my check! The slow mail was not my fault. After repeatedly contacting ebay, they still refused to remove it. I have to wait until I have 1500 positives to erase that ONE negative. It's not fair.
It's also not an accurate system. I can't count how many times I would have liked to have left negative feedback for a seller but didn't for fear of retalitory neg feedback. Why should I get a black mark for what THEY did.?! It's not worth it.
EBAY needs to have a mediator BEFORE negative feedback should be left. The whole process is childish.
LuxembearsCan you imagine who ever thought of Ebay Auctions, they must be billionaires with the thousands that trade/buy on there. :)
Lisa,
I saw a program on the History channel about ebay. They have thier own community with street signs in the same colors and font as the ebay site. They also have (at the time the show was produced) 114 MILLION registered ebay users. DANG! You're right...can you imagine how much money the owners of ebay have? !!!
Oh,and they also stated that on average , about $700 changes hands every 7 seconds on ebay.
