Why don't buyers leave feedback?!

Since opening this new ebay account the only people that have left feedback is sellers.
This week I wanted to go overboard just so a buyer would leave good feedback and nada.

Auction ended at 2pm his time on Wednesday.  I had it packed and shipped within 45min of payment and he received it Friday at 9am.  I put in invoice and thank you note.  Packed it in foam and added moister packs.

What do I have to do to get people to give me feedback?

What do I have to do to get people to give me feedback?

If it's that important to you then wait for them to leave you feedback before you leave them feedback. Sometimes them wanting feedback is a motivator for them.

Sometimes no feedback is good feedback. 

If it's that important to you then wait for them to leave you feedback before you leave them feedback. Sometimes them wanting feedback is a motivator for them.

Good point.  I'll try it.

I wouldn't care if I had some history but I have NO seller reviews and only two as buyer.
I know a lot of people won't bid on items from people with no history.

Once I'm up to 10 or so I could care less.

Once I'm up to 10 or so I could care less.

That would do it and of course 100 would be better.  You can put an item on buy it now for a few dollars and have a friend waiting to buy it the minute it comes up. They buy it, they pay for it with PayPal or even cash for a local pickup, they take delivery and give you feedback.

Do this over a month's time with 3 or 4 people (for feedback variety) and you'll soon have the 10 you want.

Early on I adopted the policy of not giving feedback to buyers until I had received it from them. This was in the days when sellers could GIVE negative feedback to buyers. Now that it is a one way street it's even more important to wait for them to give you feedback first. If they give you negative you can respond to it and that will show up right in the area where they gave you negative.

Once I'm up to 10 or so I could care less.

Assuming it's positive feedback of course!

Now that it is a one way street it's even more important to wait for them to give you feedback first. If they give you negative you can respond to it and that will show up right in the area where they gave you negative.

You can respond to their negative feedback regardless of who leaves feedback first. You can even give follow-up feedback to the positive feedback you left the buyer.

You can respond to their negative feedback regardless of who leaves feedback first. You can even give follow-up feedback to the positive feedback you left the buyer.

I should have explained myself more fully. BACK IN THE DAY, I always felt it was better to wait for THEIR feedback before leaving any of my own.

IF they left NEGATIVE feedback, then I certainly had no problem leaving THEM negative feedback. Now of course in all of eBay's wisdom a seller can no longer leave a buyer NEGATIVE feedback no matter what.

Sure, you can answer the buyer's feedback at any point...at least it might take some of the sting off their initial post.

It is also possible for a SELLER to leave a "positive" feedback for a BUYER on this order:

"I'm POSITIVE this buyer tried to extort a refund from me contrary to what he says in his feedback to me."

Of course that kind of fake positive feedback can be looked upon very unfavorably by eBay.  When you come right down to it eBay and the buyers are IN CONTROL...sellers must work around a LOT of things.

IF they left NEGATIVE feedback, then I certainly had no problem leaving THEM negative feedback. Now of course in all of eBay's wisdom a seller can no longer leave a buyer NEGATIVE feedback no matter what.

This is exactly why eBay changed the feedback policy...because of sellers like you. As the seller you're supposed to leave feedback based on how the buyer performed his end of the contract. If he bought and paid for the item completely according to terms, then he is entitled to positive feedback regardless of the seller's performance. You used the feedback system as a means of extorting positive feedback from a buyer even if you were not entitled to it.

This is exactly why eBay changed the feedback policy...because of sellers like you. As the seller you're supposed to leave feedback based on how the buyer performed his end of the contract. If he bought and paid for the item completely according to terms, then he is entitled to positive feedback regardless of the seller's performance. You used the feedback system as a means of extorting positive feedback from a buyer even if you were not entitled to it.

Wrong on all counts.

I completed my end by packing and sending the item which I advertised accurately. I am under no obligation to give the buyer a positive feedback JUST BECAUSE he sent money.

The buyer on the other hand has unlimited freedom to say anything he wants. The items I send are exactly as described. It is not my fault if the buyer didn't read the description, or if item was damaged in shipment or if item doesn't meed buyers needs based on what buyer might have incorrectly calculated as meeting his needs.

There are in fact buyers out there who will milk the system for all its worth. They are not prevalent certainly but they are out there.

Most buyers are good, some are not.

I have sold over 1,200 items on eBay in 10 years and have about 1,050 feedback. That feedback ration on its own is noteworthy; it means a very small percentage didn't leave feedback.

Of the over 1,000 feedback I have received in 10 years, 2 were negatives. One buyer had 10 buys in the 3 years he had been a buyer. Now 7 years later he has 11 buys....and no sales.

The other buyer who left a negative feedback did so before opening a case and implied he would remove it if I met his conditions which were "give me half my money back and I keep the item".  I offered to give him a full refund upon his paid return of the item but he didn't want to do that. This is an example of what some of them will do. Not all certainly, but some.

Nope, I won't take crap from you (or anyone else) on this issue. eBay leans toward the buyer and this is widely known and talked about on eBay forums and elsewhere.

I've noticed that buyers are very late to the party regarding feedback. Feedback is so much more important to the seller than to the buyer. I don't give feedback, until I get feedback. In my package, I also write a thank you note and ask to leave a positive feedback. It doesn't work as of yet, but hopefully it'll all start to catch up!

Wrong on all counts.

Once again you're wrong!
http://ebay.about.com/od/glossaryofebayterms/g/gl_retfeed.htm

Definition: Prior to May 2008, retaliatory feedback was negative feedback left by one trading partner directly in response to negative feedback from the other. Because it was perceived by many members to be unfair, retaliatory feedback remained one of the most contentious and controversial issues in the eBay feedback system, skewing its accuracy according to some critics, until eBay ultimately removed sellers' ability to leave negative feedback for buyers.
Though retaliatory feedback is no longer possible, in the past it occurred when one partner in a trading transaction was unhappy enough to leave negative feedback about the other party, often after failing to resolve a dispute amicably. The retaliation occurred as the second party then left negative feedback in return, without regard to their own level satisfaction with the transaction or with their partner's performance in it.

Members that experienced retaliatory feedback often complained that it rendered the eBay feedback system moot, since honest members invariably thought twice before leaving negative feedback about poor trades and some good traders were unfairly underrated, often severely.

The problem was somewhat more nuanced than this, however, because positive feedback was often an important part of trading satisfaction—and thus a negative from a trading partner did often indeed result on its own terms in an unsatisfactory deal.

In practice, before the change retaliatory feedback was often removed after much discussion and eBay customer service interaction once the buyer and seller were able to agree on terms of removal.

Today only buyers are able to choose between positive and negative feedback in a transaction; sellers are able to leave only positive feedback for buyers. This May 2008 change had the effect of making retaliatory feedback impossible, and thus no longer an issue on eBay.

yeah it sucks people love to leave bad feedback but nobody likes to take the time to leave good. i used to do like 100 items a month and maybe get like 9 feedback. since opening a store however its gotten a lot better. i have feedback reminders where if someone hasn't left feedback after 10 days they get an email saying if your happy please leave positive feedback. i also have all over my paypal and ebay invoices that feedback is appreciated.

really thought the only people who take the time to leave feedback are other sellers who know how important it is as well as regular buyers who you build a relationship with, otherwise not many people will.

my numbers have gotten much better though i think this month i sold 500 items and got 375 in positive feeedback which is pretty good

my numbers have gotten much better though i think this month i sold 500 items and got 375 in positive feeedback which is pretty good

That's great volume! I'm lucky to sell 10 items! Should really post more stuff for sale!

That's great volume! I'm lucky to sell 10 items! Should really post more stuff for sale!

He's selling a single item or two in multiple sales; i.e. if you are sellig sex pills, energy pills or something along those lines you are much more likely to have those kind of figures.

Try putting on 3,500 to 5,000 items as two of the members here have done; just ordinary household items, clothing, books, collectible figurines, etc.  The 3,500 member does well; the 5,000 member has about 10 sales a month...low end used stuff.

There is no ONE right answer.