Did you know that a neutral rating is anything but neutral? No, neither did I when I first started on eBay. The first thing I bought was an Enid Blyton book for my daughter, Narissa. I paid, it arrived and it was as expected. I thought about the transaction and I ummed and arhed for a while about whether it was an exceptional transaction or just average. I ended up choosing positive as I was feeling generous that day, but I felt like I was doing the seller a favour, as really nothing had happened that "knocked my socks off" as a buyer. Little did I know that if I had left a neutral, being as the transaction as fine, my seller probably would have had a fit and wandered what they had done wrong.
Yes, sellers take any comments other than a positive very, very personally.
In an ideal world, positive feedback would be like an A+, when someone had gone above and beyond. In the auction world, a positive is expected unless there has been a problem.
So how would I break down what I think each comments means ( not what it SHOULD be, but what it actually stands for on eBay and other auction sites today) -
Positive -
- Any transaction where you got your item, it didn't take an excessive time to get to you and it was what you ordered.
- The seller, did not abuse you or charge you excess fees (a small handling fee - in addition to packaging or postage - is generally accepted, but once it gets over $5 or so it gets into the dodgy category).
- There may have been a problem with the order, but the seller fixed it to your satisfaction.
- Of course, any transaction where your expectations were exceeded. There are loads of FANTASTIC sellers on there and you can really experience outstanding customer service (even better than what you would get in a retail store). Don't be shy to let someone know if you were really pleased, not just via feedback, but also email, etc. It means the world to a seller to get such positive reinforcement and it would most likely mean they will keep treating their customers in that way :0)
Neutral -
- There may have been some problems with the transaction, that got fixed in the end though not to your 100% satisfaction.
- The seller didn't communicate with you or wasn't not polite in their communications.
- The item whilst not grossly different to what you ordered, was not what you expected, even after you read and re-read the listing again to make sure it wasn't you misunderstanding what you were getting when you ordered it.
- The item took an excessive time to reach you and it wasn't a postal delay, it was the seller not getting it into the post in a timely fashion.
- You paid for one sort of postage - say insured - and it was sent via regular post, the seller didn't offer any sort of refund when advised of their error.
Negative -
- Your item didn't arrive and the seller does not refund or replace the item even though you either paid for a secure postage method (ie express post, registered post, courier, etc) or, it was sent via regular post and your seller can not provide proof of postage. This is a little tricky, as buyers do need to take responsibility for the postage method they choose to pay for and can not expect a seller to wear the cost if you choose regular post over insured post when it is offered to you. However if you take insured post, etc, then you have a right to expect a replacement or refund should the item not turn up. If the seller does not provide either of these then you have every right to be very angry.
- If you paid for only regular post and the item doesn't turn up your seller should provide you with proof of postage and make a claim with Australia Post (AP) for compensation on your behalf. They can then ask AP, to send any compo that is granted directly to you. You may need to provide the seller with a stat dec or a written signed statement saying you never received the item, for then to make the claim for you. If your seller gives you the "too bad, so sad" line as you only paid for regular post, then it really isn't good enough, they can not be held responsible if AP do not pay up on the claim, but they do need to follow through with the paper work to try and get this on your behalf.
- The seller was abusive in any way during the transaction. Swearing or threatening behaviour is not acceptable from either party.
- The item is not what is was advertised to be (and you are sure you haven't made a mistake in your reading) and they will not fix the error, via a replacement or refund.
- You were charged a premium postage rate, but got inadequate packaging or postage with your item. Good packing costs money and most buyers are happy to pay it, but no-one should pay top rate postage and have their item exposed to damage.
- The item is counterfeit (knock off, fake, or for CD's etc, burn or copied). This is ILLEGAL and I personally do not even think that you need to give the seller a chance to explain, if you don't want to. Obviously ask them for a refund, but I would not feel wrong about taking a refund and still giving a negative to warn other people -PROVIDING YOU ARE 100% SURE IT IS FAKE! There are also other avenues you can take if you receive fake goods, etc police or even going directly to the company who owns the trademark. Some of the trademark owners will actually give you a genuine item in return for the info on your seller, so they can try and bring legal proceedings against them.
A lot of people say that this is feedback ransom and that they as a buyer can not feel free to express what they really thought, if it wasn't a good experience as the seller will leave them a negative in return out of spite. Whilst this does happen at times, remember nothing can stop you from leaving your comment if you have something to say. The worse thing that can happen is that you get a negative, but I tell you what buyers may not buyer from sellers with negatives, but sellers will sell to anyone who pays them :0) If you had a problem and you emailed the seller and gave them the opportunity to sort it out and they didn't take it.....Give them the feedback they deserve! Even if they "neg" you back, no doubt anyone who does read it, can piece together what happened (as we discussed in Feedback Part 1) and will know you did nothing wrong.
Anyway does any one ever believe anyone with a huge feedback score and 100% rating is perfect NO WAY....They are either just really good at problem solving or people were too scared to say what they really thought.
All of that said the only one rule you NEED to remember is that............FEEDBACK IS VOLUNTARY! No one has to give you any (no matter how quickly you paid) and you don't have to give anyone any if you don't want to. Each to his own ;0)
Next time we will look at feedback from a sellers point of view,
Cheers,
Amanda
www.helpmyauction.com
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