eBay Ratings

[s-man]

How much does the Positive Feedback sway you on a purchase?

 

Is there a Feedback rating for a seller that you look at and say "Nope, wont buy that!" without even checking the feedback comments? Or do you always check the comments when interested in an item??

[Kermit the frog]

it really depends on the type of neg. feedback, the amount of it, the sellers positive % and the type of comics he sells (and the way he sells them too - scans, info., description, communication, etc...) ...

just shake all this factors and you'll have a nice info. about a sellers reliability!

 

regards

 

ps- there's also another vital tool: your instincts...if in my guts i don't feel confortable, even if the deal is appealing, i'll pass...in general works pretty well!

[Wally's Comics]

I usually trust a person:

- if they are a solid seller of what I want to buy

- if they have a 95% and above rating with hardily any negs in the past 6 months

- if they are a member here (that trades regularly in the marketplace)

it's a real bonus!

 

 

[Anfield Fox]

What Frog said. Usually not below 98% though unless it's a low value item.

[Scheradon]

I always check out and read their negatives. I also scan through atleast several pages of their positives as well. Many times you can guage a lot about the seller by the hidden negatives in the positives left. Sounds strange I know, but many people will actually leave a less than flattering response under the guise of a positive feedback to avoid the retalliatory neg.

 

Examples would be:

 

"Got the item ok, should bag and board though"

" Item not VF, but still worth the price"

"Comic arrived ok, but sent in manilla envelope"

 

I like to buy from people with 99% and above with no recent catastrophies being reported. For every one negative, I assume there are probably 5 to 10 more that weren't very happy and either didn't leave any feedback or left minimal positive to avoid a retalliatory neg.

 

Just my take.

[Ringfinger]

I make sure tro check for negs.

[Dick Pontoon]

I always check out and read their negatives. I also scan through atleast several pages of their positives as well. Many times you can guage a lot about the seller by the hidden negatives in the positives left. Sounds strange I know, but many people will actually leave a less than flattering response under the guise of a positive feedback to avoid the retalliatory neg.

 

Examples would be:

 

"Got the item ok, should bag and board though"

" Item not VF, but still worth the price"

"Comic arrived ok, but sent in manilla envelope"

 

I like to buy from people with 99% and above with no recent catastrophies being reported. For every one negative, I assume there are probably 5 to 10 more that weren't very happy and either didn't leave any feedback or left minimal positive to avoid a retalliatory neg.

 

Just my take.

 

In addition to this style of "reading between the lines" positive feedback, I also check to see who left it. Did most of it come from newbies who may have different standards for grading and transactions or does it contain comments from long-time members and buyers? Is the feedback for items simlar to what you are consdidering to purchase, or does the seller have mostly positive feedback for selling records and apparently came across some comics to sell?

 

And when considering negative feedback, does it sound like the buyer had a legitimate gripe, or did it come from a newbie crying because the $5.00 book they bought didn't arrive the day after the auction ended?

 

Asking questions is another good yardstick. Is a seller can't be bothered responding, or sends a terse response that he can't send more scans, or sounds functionally illiterate, I'll skip the auction.

 

I like to stick with 99% and above, too.

[Point Five]

I've said this before, but it bears repeating! -- Make sure you check the feedback the seller left for others, as well as the feedback they received. Feedback left for others can reveal a lot of communication breakdowns or just plain incoherence on the part of the seller, which doesn't come across in their feedback received because of fear of retaliation. Maybe too much trouble for a small purchase, but for a larger purchase it's always worth doing a little digging.

[Scheradon]

I always check out and read their negatives. I also scan through atleast several pages of their positives as well. Many times you can guage a lot about the seller by the hidden negatives in the positives left. Sounds strange I know, but many people will actually leave a less than flattering response under the guise of a positive feedback to avoid the retalliatory neg.

 

Examples would be:

 

"Got the item ok, should bag and board though"

" Item not VF, but still worth the price"

"Comic arrived ok, but sent in manilla envelope"

 

I like to buy from people with 99% and above with no recent catastrophies being reported. For every one negative, I assume there are probably 5 to 10 more that weren't very happy and either didn't leave any feedback or left minimal positive to avoid a retalliatory neg.

 

Just my take.

 

In addition to this style of "reading between the lines" positive feedback, I also check to see who left it. Did most of it come from newbies who may have different standards for grading and transactions or does it contain comments from long-time members and buyers? Is the feedback for items simlar to what you are consdidering to purchase, or does the seller have mostly positive feedback for selling records and apparently came across some comics to sell?

 

And when considering negative feedback, does it sound like the buyer had a legitimate gripe, or did it come from a newbie crying because the $5.00 book they bought didn't arrive the day after the auction ended?

 

Asking questions is another good yardstick. Is a seller can't be bothered responding, or sends a terse response that he can't send more scans, or sounds functionally illiterate, I'll skip the auction.

 

I like to stick with 99% and above, too.

 

Good that you metioned that, as I actually do this too but forgot to include it. I know it seems anal to go through all of this research before a purchase, but it really does pay off and help to avoid getting a screwed on eBay.

[goldust40]

I always check out and read their negatives. I also scan through atleast several pages of their positives as well. Many times you can guage a lot about the seller by the hidden negatives in the positives left. Sounds strange I know, but many people will actually leave a less than flattering response under the guise of a positive feedback to avoid the retalliatory neg.

 

Examples would be:

 

"Got the item ok, should bag and board though"

" Item not VF, but still worth the price"

"Comic arrived ok, but sent in manilla envelope"

 

I like to buy from people with 99% and above with no recent catastrophies being reported. For every one negative, I assume there are probably 5 to 10 more that weren't very happy and either didn't leave any feedback or left minimal positive to avoid a retalliatory neg.

 

Just my take.

 

In addition to this style of "reading between the lines" positive feedback, I also check to see who left it. Did most of it come from newbies who may have different standards for grading and transactions or does it contain comments from long-time members and buyers? Is the feedback for items simlar to what you are consdidering to purchase, or does the seller have mostly positive feedback for selling records and apparently came across some comics to sell?

 

And when considering negative feedback, does it sound like the buyer had a legitimate gripe, or did it come from a newbie crying because the $5.00 book they bought didn't arrive the day after the auction ended?

 

Asking questions is another good yardstick. Is a seller can't be bothered responding, or sends a terse response that he can't send more scans, or sounds functionally illiterate, I'll skip the auction.

 

I like to stick with 99% and above, too.

 

Good that you metioned that, as I actually do this too but forgot to include it. I know it seems anal to go through all of this research before a purchase, but it really does pay off and help to avoid getting a screwed on eBay.

 

It's never anal to do such research if you're talking about a transaction involving hundreds of dollars - it's just good business. Analyzing feedback the way you mentioned is essential if you have any doubts about the seller.

[Silver Surfer]

I think you have to look beyond the numbers. Has the guy padded feedback by buying $2.50 watches and other non-comic related stuff that is worthless. Has he completed some big ticket transactions and with recognized EBay sellers. I have two neg's out of over 100 feedbacks but they are from the same clown who was NARU'D (tried to scam me) so when you see his comments and no longer a registered loser below it can give you an idea of whether its legit or not.

[Rob]

I like to buy from people with 99% and above with no recent catastrophies being reported. For every one negative, I assume there are probably 5 to 10 more that weren't very happy and either didn't leave any feedback or left minimal positive to avoid a retalliatory neg.

 

Here's some circular logic: It's because buyers assume for every neg there are probably more due to people wanting to avoid retalitory negs, that make poeple want to avoid retalitory negs. I have 1 neg in 9.5 years, and it's a retalitory neg. After 30 days of no payment and no email, I left the guy a neg and he got me back. This was back in '98 or so. Now, I'm so worried that the one neg will taint buyers' perception of me, I won't give another and risk my near-perfect feedback. When you see my 1, do you assume I really had 5-10 upset customers? I hear all the time (most recently on the eBay Radio podcast) that you should not worry about retalitory negs, but wear them as a badge of honor for leaving negs for the real scammers. I'll let others do that, as the number of negs affects my sales. And I don't think everyone reads them to make sure they're legit.

 

As for me, I'm hesitant to buy from anyone with less than 100 feedback. Any less than that, and they have nothing to lose. 30 feedback, and you can risk your eBay account on some scams, and not lose very much. I'll take a risk on <$100 items, but I'd never pay $100+ from a <100 feedback seller.

[Scheradon]

I like to buy from people with 99% and above with no recent catastrophies being reported. For every one negative, I assume there are probably 5 to 10 more that weren't very happy and either didn't leave any feedback or left minimal positive to avoid a retalliatory neg.

 

Here's some circular logic: It's because buyers assume for every neg there are probably more due to people wanting to avoid retalitory negs, that make poeple want to avoid retalitory negs. I have 1 neg in 9.5 years, and it's a retalitory neg. After 30 days of no payment and no email, I left the guy a neg and he got me back. This was back in '98 or so. Now, I'm so worried that the one neg will taint buyers' perception of me, I won't give another and risk my near-perfect feedback. When you see my 1, do you assume I really had 5-10 upset customers? I hear all the time (most recently on the eBay Radio podcast) that you should not worry about retalitory negs, but wear them as a badge of honor for leaving negs for the real scammers. I'll let others do that, as the number of negs affects my sales. And I don't think everyone reads them to make sure they're legit.

 

As for me, I'm hesitant to buy from anyone with less than 100 feedback. Any less than that, and they have nothing to lose. 30 feedback, and you can risk your eBay account on some scams, and not lose very much. I'll take a risk on <$100 items, but I'd never pay $100+ from a <100 feedback seller.

 

Ya, and I should have tied that into my other posts about reading the feedbacks. I do check out both sides of the story on a transaction and even check the other feedbacks of the person who left the neg.

 

I'm in a situation right now where I'm dealing with a non-paying bidder who has one feedback. Do I really want to neg this guy and risk getting my first negative? I like having 100% positive feedback and don't want that wrecked for this insufficiently_thoughtful_person's inability to pay. I will file the Non paying bidder strike though. That alone could risk me getting a neg, but I've filed three of those in the past and have avoided the dreaded retaliatory neg by being kind in the process. Simply explaining that it was a necessary evil to get my fees back has done the trick. Many of these dips, don't realize that the strike will hurt them more than the neg will and let it go.

[Jeffreykli]

Ya, and I should have tied that into my other posts about reading the feedbacks. I do check out both sides of the story on a transaction and even check the other feedbacks of the person who left the neg.

 

I'm in a situation right now where I'm dealing with a non-paying bidder who has one feedback. Do I really want to neg this guy and risk getting my first negative? I like having 100% positive feedback and don't want that wrecked for this insufficiently_thoughtful_person's inability to pay. I will file the Non paying bidder strike though. That alone could risk me getting a neg, but I've filed three of those in the past and have avoided the dreaded retaliatory neg by being kind in the process. Simply explaining that it was a necessary evil to get my fees back has done the trick. Many of these dips, don't realize that the strike will hurt them more than the neg will and let it go.

 

If they don't participate in the NPB process, they can leave feedback, but it won't count (positive or negative) against your feedback rating.

[krighton]

There's the danger of someone that has too few feedback, and there's the danger of someone with too many...where they have so much stuff going out that they have a rather high percentage of positives that looks great, but when you dig a bit you may see a trend of people falling into the cracks and they may have 50+ or more negatives because of the amount of business they're doing.

 

I think someone with 28k feedback tends to shrug off negatives left for them since it doesn't weigh that heavily against their overall positive rating as hard as it does with someone with a couple hundred.

 

Of course you can just average it out and figure that 50 negatives to a guy with say 10k feedback is nothing, but it's still 50 people that weren't satisified with their transaction.

[infinite_comics-migration]

Sorry if this has been posted already:

 

http://www.toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs

[krighton]

Sorry if this has been posted already:

 

http://www.toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs

 

that's alot easier to use than ebay's search function, thanks.

[comicdonna]

I find it hard to decide wether or not to bid on an item. I usually spend between $200 and $500 per book. I have been burned. I do review the sellers feedback extensively. I usually ask questions and ask for a scan. If I have trouble retreiving that information, I find that there is a good chance that I'm not going to be happy with the transaction. I did leave my first neg a short while ago. It was not something that I enjoyed, but when you purchase a book described an 8.5 and you end up with a 5.0 I consider that to be major. The seller said that he couldn't please everyone, and made no restitution, so he got a neg.

[xfrogx]

i have a rule that i don't buy for more than 100$ off the same seller at a given time. that way if i do get ripped, i'm not out more than 100$. so far, most of my ebay purchases came through, though i might have lost 60$. no biggie.

 

i read the negs for sure, it might be a case that the user was the buyer and the seller left him a ret neg. so always check em. if too much negs then some alarms should go off

[Ringfinger]

Good idea.