IN THIS CHAPTER

Giving feedback

Reading eBay’s DSR System

Viewing the seller’s profile

Playing it safe with protection programs

When you’re shopping on eBay, you’re faced with hundreds of items, perhaps even hundreds of listings for the same item. How do you decide where to place your order or your bid? In this chapter, I show you the tools on eBay that guide you to a safe and positive transaction.

Understanding and Giving Feedback

Unlike Amazon, one of eBay’s strong suits is a sense of community formed through its use of feedback. Many experts say the reason eBay originally succeeded where dozens of other dot-com auction sites failed is that eBay paid close attention to the needs of its users.

In the early days, the concept was clear. Pierre Omidyar and his employees figured that if users complained openly (for all other members to see), feedback would be more genuine — not so much flaming as constructive. “Do unto others as you’d have them do” prevailed as a philosophy; above all else, Pierre encouraged buyers and sellers to give each other the benefit of the doubt and to conduct themselves professionally.

It soon became clear to eBay’s three employees that they did not have time to adjudicate member disputes. Thus the feedback system was born. But the pièce de résistance of feedback policy, the part that makes eBay work, is the fact that Pierre and his staff encouraged users to give positive feedback as often as they give negative or neutral feedback.

The benefits of the feedback policy are immediately clear. Before even placing a bid with a seller, a buyer (you) can check the experience other eBay buyers have had doing business with this seller. You can see whether items in a seller’s previous auctions shipped quickly, whether items were packed carefully, whether communication was clear and frequent, and so on. You now have more information about an eBay seller than you have when you walk into a new store in your neighborhood!

Giving Detailed Seller Ratings Properly

In addition to a feedback comment and rating (positive, negative, or neutral), buyers can leave detailed seller ratings, too. After the buyer types a comment, he or she is prompted to rate the seller with one to five stars on four different factors of the transaction. Figure 5-1 shows the specific rating factors, and Table 5-1 outlines what the stars mean.

In some cases, Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) are grayed out when you attempt to leave feedback. This situation occurs under three circumstances:

• Communication: If you haven’t sent any messages to the seller via eBay’s message system, and the seller specifies one-day handling time and uploads tracking information by the end of the next business day, there will be no option to rate the seller.
• Shipping quickly: When the seller posts tracking numbers to eBay for your shipment within the time frame promised in the listing and the package arrives within four days, eBay automatically gives the seller a five-star rating.
• Shipping charges: If the seller provided free shipping, he or she automatically receives a five-star rating.

Here are some other items to keep in mind when you’re deciding on the Detailed Seller Ratings for sellers:

• Shipping takes time: In most cases, as a buyer, it is your choice whether an item is to be shipped via Ground or Priority Mail. You’ve got to realize that Ground shipping can take up to 10 days. eBay will give you a delivery estimate based on the mode of the seller’s shipping. That should be close.
• Shipping costs money: Sellers have to add a little charge to cover the costs of tape, boxes, and packing materials. As a buyer, you’ve got to keep that in mind. If you are unfamiliar with postage rates, you should also know that a package costs a lot more to ship across the country than to ship to the next state. So do a little homework and evaluate shipping costs before you buy. If the shipping is too high, go to another seller.
• Ratings affect the seller’s costs: If your seller is a Top Rated Seller, you should also know that your star ratings affect the fees he or she pays to eBay. Being a good seller (with high DSRs) can save a percentage on their Final Values Fees, so your rating is a very serious matter. Visit Book 8, Chapter 3 for the lowdown on how these ratings affect the Top Rated Seller’s pocketbook.

Becoming a Star

Yes, eBay loves the stars. When you first join eBay, it seems like everyone on eBay has a star next to the User ID except for you. It’s so unfair isn’t it? Well, not really. The stars of many colors are awarded based on the amount of feedback left for you. When you receive a feedback rating of 10, you get a bright new gold star (just like in school).

You may notice stars of other colors — even shooting stars; Table 5-2 gives you the lowdown on what each star color represents.

After you have a star and you reach a higher level, I assure you that you will get a silly tingly feeling of accomplishment. Very silly, yes, but it’s all part of being an active member of the eBay community.

Leaving Feedback with Finesse

Writing feedback well takes some practice. It isn’t a matter of saying things; it’s a matter of saying only the appropriate things. Think carefully about what you want to say — because after you submit feedback, it stays with the person for the duration of his or her eBay career. I think you should always leave feedback, especially at the end of a transaction, although doing so isn’t mandatory. Think of leaving feedback as voting in an election: If you don’t leave feedback, you can’t complain about the service.

eBay recommends that you make feedback “factual and emotionless.” You won’t go wrong if you comment on the details (either good or bad) of the transaction. If you have any questions about what eBay says about feedback, click the Feedback Forum link at the bottom of any member’s Feedback Profile page.

In the Feedback Forum, you can perform the following feedback-related tasks:

• Leave Feedback: Here you see all pending feedback for all transactions within the past 60 days — the ones for which you haven’t left feedback. Fill them in, one at a time. Then, with one click, you can leave as many as 25 feedback comments at once.
• View a Feedback Profile: Clicking here allows you to type any eBay member’s ID to see that person’s feedback profile (the same as if you clicked the number next to the member’s name).
• Reply to feedback received: If you’ve received feedback that you’d like to respond to, click this link. This comes in handy when a buyer leaves what you feel is an unwarranted negative; you can briefly state your case.
• Follow up to feedback left: Here you may also leave follow-up feedback after the initial feedback should situations change.
• Request feedback revision: This is possible, but before you do it, review this chapter — in particular, the “eBay will consider removing feedback if …” sidebar and the next section’s links to current feedback policy.
• Make feedback public or private: This is where you can decide to show your feedback profile to the public or keep it to yourself.
• Report buyer problems: If you feel you are having a problem with a transaction, click the link in the Feedback Forum and go to the Report a Buyer form in the Resolution Center. To report a buyer, follow these steps:
  1. Select the recent transaction in question by clicking the option button next to the buyer’s ID.
  2. Click Continue and select the appropriate situation from the Next, Tell Us What Happened section.
  3. Click the Submit button to send your complaint to eBay.

On this page, you also have more links that explain the ins and outs of the eBay feedback system. Here are the details on a few:

• All About Feedback: This link takes you to an exclusive help area for feedback questions.

  http://pages.ebay.com/help/feedback/allaboutfeedback.html

• Feedback Policies: Learn about Feedback policies and the various forms of Feedback Abuse — and how eBay deals with them.

  http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/feedback-ov.html

• Feedback FAQs: Here you find answers to frequently asked questions about how to handle feedback — and how buyers can rephrase their knee-jerk negative or neutral feedback entries to something more accurate after sober reflection (and a request from the seller). You have 10 days to change or remove your feedback before the request expires.

  http://pages.ebay.com/services/forum/changes.html

In the real world (at least in the modern American version of it), anybody can sue anybody else for slander or libel; this fact holds true on the Internet, too. Be careful not to make any comments that could be libelous or slanderous. eBay is not responsible for your actions, so if you’re sued because of posting slanderous feedback (or anything else you’ve written), you’re on your own. The best way to keep yourself safe is to stick to the facts and don’t get personal.

If you’re angry, take a huge breather before you type your complaints and click the Leave Comment button. If you’re convinced that negative feedback is necessary, try a cooling-off period before you send comments. Wait an hour — or a day — and then see whether you feel the same. Nasty feedback based on emotion can make you look vindictive, even if what you’re saying is true.

Ways to Leave Feedback

Several ways are available to leave feedback comments:

• In the Purchase History area of your My eBay, click the Leave Feedback link next to the transaction.
• In the Feedback Forum, http://pages.ebay.com/services/forum/feedback.html, click the Leave Feedback link to see a list of all your completed transactions from the last 30 days for which you haven’t left feedback.
• On your My eBay Summary, scroll down and on the bottom you will see the Orders heading. You will see a Leave Feedback box next to purchases with which you can leave feedback.

To leave feedback for a seller, follow these steps:

1. Enter the required information.

   Note that your item number is usually filled in, but if you’re placing feedback from the user’s feedback page, you need to have the number at hand.

2. Choose whether you want your feedback to be positive, negative, or neutral.
3. Type your feedback comment.

4. Fill in your star ratings by clicking the stars next to the questions (as I discuss in the earlier section, “Giving Detailed Seller Ratings Properly”).

   If you decide that the seller’s description was inaccurate, you will have to explain why by clicking next to the explanations that appear (shown in Figure 5-2).

5. Click the Leave Feedback button.

You Have the Last Word — Replying to Feedback

After reading feedback you’ve received from others, you may feel compelled to respond. If the feedback is negative, you may want to defend yourself. If it’s positive, you may want to say thank you.

Do not confuse replying to feedback with leaving feedback. Replying does not change the other user’s feedback rating; it merely adds your response below the feedback comment in your own feedback profile.

To reply to feedback, follow these steps:

1. On your My eBay Overview page, click Account, then Feedback.

   You’re transported to the Feedback page where you can leave feedback or request a feedback revision.

2. Click the link at the top to go to the Feedback Forum.
3. Click the Reply to Feedback Received link.
4. When you find the feedback you want to respond to, click the Reply link.
5. Type your response.

Checking Out a Seller’s Reputation

You’ve finally found an item you’d like to buy. Don’t place that bid just yet! Taking a look at the seller’s feedback will supply you with a good deal of information about the reputation of your potential trading partner.

Although the eBay Money Back Guarantee covers your transaction in almost any way, it will not cover you if the seller takes a long time to ship. By looking at the seller’s feedback, you can tell whether you’ll get the birthday gift you bought for your sister in time for the celebration.

Always look for the words Top Rated Seller or the Top Rated Plus seal (shown in Figure 5-3) when you are buying an expensive or time-sensitive item. eBay bestows this appellation on only the best sellers.

When you consider buying a more expensive item, be sure to click the seller’s feedback number when you visit the item page. Clicking the number will show you the member profile: the Feedback Summary and the DSR ratings, as shown in Figure 5-4. After you click the feedback number, you should examine some important details if you want to be a savvy, security-minded shopper.

On the left side of the page you see Recent Feedback Ratings; on the right, the Detailed Seller Ratings. You also see the counts of feedback comments divided by time periods: 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months. Note the following significant entries:

• Positive Feedback comments: You may notice that the actual number of positive comments is higher than the positive figure. This is because every eBay community member can comment only once a week on another member and have it count in the feedback rating. (The net rating was previously based on comments from unique users.) All feedback entries count as long as they’re left in different weeks.
• Neutral comments: Neutral comments are usually left when a party wasn’t thrilled with the transaction but nothing happened that was bad enough to leave a dreaded, reputation-ruining negative comment.
• Negative comments: The number of negative comments may also vary, just as the positives do, for the same reason.

This feedback page is where all those little stars you place when you leave feedback show up. You’ll be able to see how many ratings have been left for each category and where the Average Rating lies.

Reading Feedback Reviews

Scrolling down the feedback history page, you’ll be able to read the actual reviews left by other eBay members. In Figure 5-5, you’ll see a sample of my feedback. You see each member’s User ID, along with his or her feedback rating and comment.

By default, you see the All Feedback Received tab. You may use the other tabs at the top of the page to sort the comments as follows:

• Feedback as a Seller: These are comments from people who bought something from this seller.
• Feedback as a Buyer: When you buy and play by the rules, you get some positive feedback.
• All Feedback: A conglomeration of all feedback left for the particular member, regardless of whether that person was a buyer or a seller in a transaction.
• Feedback Left for Others: Checking the type of feedback someone leaves about others can give you an insight into his or her personality. When considering making a big purchase, I always check this area; it helps me know the type of person I’m dealing with. When you read feedback that makes nasty slams at the other person, or if the person uses rude words or phrases when leaving feedback, it’s a clue that you may be dealing with a loose cannon.

Many independent eBay sellers are experienced buyers as well as sellers — they have an excellent grasp of how eBay feels from a customer’s point of view, and know how to handle any of your concerns.

Here are some tips for assessing feedback, depending on the situation:

• When buying from a seller who sells the same item repeatedly, use the clickable links to past transactions to see whether other buyers of the same item were pleased with their purchases.

• When you come across neutral or negative feedback in the numbers, click to read those specific feedbacks.

  The feedback system relies on the expectation that members give each other the benefit of the doubt. When you come across negative (or neutral) feedback about a seller, look for the seller’s response and see whether the problem was resolved before you make your final judgment. You may even see a follow-up feedback comment from the buyer saying that everything has been settled.

Getting Protection on eBay

One thing’s for sure in this world: Nothing is for sure. That’s why insurance companies exist. Several forms of protection are available for eBay users:

• eBay Money Back Guarantee
• eBay Motors Vehicle Purchase Protection
• Verified Rights Owner program

For more information on how to acquire various protections for your buyers, see Book 2, Chapter 4.