eBay overhauls feedback system

The online auction website eBay plans to overhaul their feedback system later this year by removing the ability for sellers to leave feedback after an auction completes. This means that only buyers will be able to leave feedback about the transaction after it completes. Some might say that this gives the buyer an unfair advantage over an seller while others would say that the move makes perfect sense.

I’m not using eBay that often anymore since all that professional sellers turned it from a private to private auction site to one where professional sellers dominate. It never made that much sense to leave feedback for buyers anyway in my opinion and it was used by sellers to put pressure on the buyers. I more than once did not leave negative feedback because I knew that the seller would do the same not caring about the justification for the feedback.

Feedbacks are a way of finding out if a seller is honest and delivers the goods after payment. If an auction goes wrong or an dispute comes up sellers (and buyers) still have the option to contact eBay directly to sort things out.

Good move, bad move ? What’s your take on the change ?

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Author: Martin Brinkmann, Wednesday February 6, 2008 -
Tags:auction, ebay

Responses so far:

1. Ace_NoOne says:

   February 6, 2008 at 5:12 pm

   I kind of agree with your assessment, Martin – but it remains to be seen whether people (especially sellers) will accept this new system.

   Reply
2. jojo says:

   February 6, 2008 at 11:53 pm

   Good change. Right now, it is “tit-for-tat” with feedback. You give me a good feedback and I will give you one. You give me a bad one, I will return the favor. When I’ve brought things on eBay, I’ll often get an email asking for a good rating and that they will return the favor to me.

   Feedback on eBay is meaningless. They should erase every sellers feedback and start over again.

   Reply
3. new aution bid says:

   July 2, 2009 at 12:16 am

   thank you for your info

   Reply