When eBay (NSDQ: EBAY) announced back in January that it was pulling the plug on its longtime policy of letting sellers leave negative feedback on buyers, those self-same sellers were royally peeved. Now that the policy is set to go into effect, on Monday, May 19, the ire of eBay sellers shows no sign of abating. Boy, are they p.o.'d. Here's what they're telling me.

First, some quick background. As I previously blogged, in EBay's Feedback Changes Are Bad News For Buyers, eBay's stated reason for the change is: The previous system prevented buyers from leaving honest Feedback since they feared retaliation from the sellers if they left a negative.

But sellers aren't buying that explanation. Initially, the thinking amongst the eBay user community was the policy somehow was intended to prop up the site's sagging performance, possibly by making eBay friendly for buyers. (That stemmed from the fact that buyers were widely perceived as being intimidated into leaving good feedback on sellers, because if they didn't, sellers would retaliate.)
more.. link to news article

Angry is too mild a word for it... they now count a neutral against you as bad as a negative. They value the buyers who don't give them a penny more than the sellers. They are going down the wrong path for sure.

There has to be an alternative and only a BIG company like Google can do it... all the other auction sites are small potatoes... REALLY.

its official they just updated the system new scores now showing

report a problem is interesting they have added report buyers requesting falsification of custom forms

My understanding is that they will actually be telling buyers that they can leave a negative or neutral without fear of retaliation?

Isn't that just encouraging buyers to be disatisfied?

And what's the point of HAVING both negative and neutral if they mean the same thing? (You can bet that the average buyer doesn't realize that.)

My Feedback has been 100% since 10/2000. It has now dropped to 99% because the post office lost a package and in spite of the fact that I took extraordinary steps to locate it, I got neutral feedback.

Yes, angry is too mild a word.

Speaking of feedback, what is the feedback score here all about???

bobbiesbuttonsandbows- Dont feel, I had not had a negative, or nuetral in over 16 months (last one was for a cd that the customer did not read the auction at all) as soon as eBay even mentioned the new feedback changes I had three nuetrals in the first week. and, believe it or not it was by 3 buyers who again, did not read the auctions, or did not know what a .zip file was..(again, not reading the auction format)..I can see it getting VERY bad.

I left OLA this morning due to three sales in over 3 months, cost me more then I made. during the rummage sale I actually LOST money on a few movies. the silver buckle had an offer for $50.00 so I ended the auction to sell it to that person, and I STILL have not received payment for it.

It seems no matter where ya go your screwed, go to eBay, take a chance of a ruined business due to feedback, go to other sites, and you cant even eat.

Looks like we are down to our website only, because I am NOT going to get a bad rep from buyers who don't read an auction, then want to leave the seller a neg for not reading

bobbiesbuttonsandbows wrote (View Post): › Speaking of feedback, what is the feedback score here all about???

It's kind of a joke at ebay - it goes up the more you post. You get extra points if you make a donation. Just a wee bit of silliness...

You all have GOT to see this thread.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000700584&tstart=0&mod=1211213922803

tr2ride4apd said, and I quote here "the seller who got the Neg Feedback today for as the Neg Reads " Shipped with Messy Peanuts""

Shipped with messy peanuts? oh my goodness, has it gotten that bad already..and it just started?

"Censorship reflects society's lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime."
Potter Stewart

Well, I did it! I closed my account this morning as my little way of showing my discontent. I was an eBay member since Feb 14, 1997. I signed up the day after I got out of the hospital, after finally having recovered from a car accident that almost killed me.

Maybe I should have associated "car wreck" and "eBay" much sooner, huh?

Anyway, my 10 year eButt legacy is over. Money was made, classes were taught (I taught continuing ed classes on eBay for the local college), and feedback was left. The end.

Oh - and after 10 years, with their new percentage tallying formula, my feedback became 97.8% because of one neg.

The funny part? I got the neg in response to a weak POSITIVE I left a seller, and she STILL retaliated. Even so - taking away a seller's right to neg? Idiotic!

LOL Thanks for the explanation PRG. I was wondering what I sold here and when I could expect payment.

I have truly enjoyed my eBay experience. It has been an exciting time. As the end is in sight, I'm feeling such a sense of loss. And I haven't been as involved or as long as others. Not like Tara Ann.

Maybe we need to start a site for people who are in mourning over the loss of their eBay career. And I say that, not completely "tongue in cheek."

My feedback went from 99.5 to 97.8 for 1 negative and 4 neutral feedbacks left from one buyer that purchased 4 items and felt we charged to much for shipping. One item weighed 14lbs cost me $12.00 to ship and they where charged $13.00. On another note I am already being extorted a customer wants me to lower shipping cost or else??? another 14lb item. This is just all a joke the good thing is we closed our 2 stores in Jan. and only sell 25 items a week on feebay just for advertising purposes and it works

" On another note I am already being extorted a customer wants me to lower shipping cost or else??? another 14lb item."

D**m. Figured this would be happening. Looks like they're wasting no time.

I checked the "leave feedback" link and got a popup with this message...
Important changes to Feedback
Buyers, you can no longer receive negative or neutral Feedback from sellers. You should leave honest and accurate Feedback without the fear of receiving negative or neutral ratings.

I have received 2 neutrals in the past year, both from people who didn't bother to contact me before leaving feedback, and today my 100% rating is 99.1%

On the other hand, my old eBay ID that had a 93% as a result of actual negative feedbacks, is now 100%. Buyers that had many many negs now have a 100% rating.

eBay feedback is now a complete joke, a very bad joke.

Sealand - I am *confused* - I thought repeat feedback only counted if left more than a week apart. Did eBay apparently make an exception for negs and neutrals, or did you allow this buyer to make 4 separate purchases and they didn't alert you to their bad attitude until the month was out?