eBay Feedback Still Sucks

I’ve sold stuff off and on over the years on eBay. I had these grand ideas of making millions, but never really got around to it. I always wanted one of those deals where you sell stuff from China and it is drop shipped and you never even see it. Like those silly commercials for SMC with Tom Bosley I could just never figure out how to make any money buying something for five dollars and selling it for ten-since no one seemed to want to pay the five for it to start with.

Anyway-I sold books, golf shirts, Hawaiian shirts, the odd collectible, and the occasional cycling item. I also fell under the spell of buying stuff on eBay. The Wife and I found bulk gemstones and bought several lots of very pretty stones which we never did anything with. But they are very pretty. I have also gotten into the habit of just buying the odd item that I want on eBay because I am not at all sure where to find it in the real world. I wanted a microphone recently and found that eBay has a ton of really good microphones. I bought a USB microphone and I am very happy with it. Where in the real world does one go to buy a microphone? I don’t know, but I do know where eBay is.

So I bought a couple of items recently and found that eBay has changed The Evil Feedback System. In The Good Old Days you would buy something on eBay and then you would rate the Seller by leaving ‘Feedback’ Negative, Neutral, or Positive. Positive is the only one that is good-Negative and Neutral are counted against you. As a seller you could then Rate The Buyer-again Negative, Neutral, or Positive-and again Positive is the only one that is good.

No More. Now there is no Negative or Neutral Feedback for Buyers! This is like telling the Defense in a Football Game that they can’t recover fumbles or intercept passes any more. Why did they do this? It seems that a lot of Sellers have been using Feedback to punish Buyers who say bad things about them. Well, Duh. So now what is a Seller to do when a Buyer is total and complete idiot who leaves Negative Feedback even after you have given the Asshole a Refund? Nothing. There is nothing to be done about a Bad Buyer.

I know this all old news, but I haven’t used eBay in a while so it is new to me.

I have never been a fan of eBay’s Feedback System. Amazon.com’s Review System is just as flawed, but at least if you want to game Amazon you have to do a bit of work. eBay just takes a few seconds to click a few buttons and whamo, your done. I never had too many Negatives on eBay, but the ones I did have were from people who’s packages had been lost and I had given a refund. And while, yes, They Didn’t Get What They Ordered-nor were they exactly cheated. But the eBay Feedback System only gives you three options-Negative, Positive, or Neutral. So which would I have chosen for not getting what I wanted?

It’s never been an easy nut to crack. I know that I didn’t like Feedback before and I really don’t like it now. But I have no idea how to fix it or what to use to replace it.

Any ideas?