Feedback system ... I rate it Negative!

I know I'm probably preaching to the choir...but I just want to vent! eBay will tell you that they made the changes to the feedback system to help make it more 'acurate'. The previous system caused buyers to be afraid to leave acurate feedback for the seller...fearing negative feedback for themselves in return. So eBay decides to forbid sellers to leave negative feedback for buyers. Wait, HOLD THE PHONE???!!! O.K. while this will allow buyers to openly express themselves without fearing retaliation from the seller, it leaves most sellers fearing leaving feedback for any buyer until they have received favorable 'positive' feedback from the buyer. All eBay accomplished is shifting the fear from the buyers to the sellers. It did nothing to aid in making the feedback system more 'acurate'. I have posed the following to eBay Customer Service numerous times in the past couple of months, after dealing with a number of transactions and not receiving the appropriate feedback from sellers because they are afraid to leave feedback before I leave them positive feedback. I have always paid for my bids within 15 mins of the auctions' close. I consider that immediate payment. It takes a couple of minutes for me to go through the PayPal system and create a specific message to the seller regarding shipping, etc. So within 15 mins the seller has their money, shipping instructions, and my initial correspondence to them regarding the transaction. I am a firm believer that once I have done that, as a buyer I have met all of my obligations in the transaction. Should I not then receive feedback regarding my actions? Most of what I am hearing from sellers these days is... "once you leave me positive feedback, I will post feedback for you." This leaves me feeling 'extorted' from, being that the feedback I deserve is being held for no reason but to ensure the seller receives positive feedback and all 5's in their feedback from me. As a seller, my only interest in the winning bidder's feedback is the member's payment history from previous auctions; do they pay promptly and communicate promptly with sellers. Other than that, I could care less about anything else, honestly. I suggest the following senario to help correct the flaws in the Feedback System: 1.) Use the payment flags already set-up between the PayPal site and eBay to automatically generate 'payment history' feedback for the buyers. Currently, when you pay for an item using PayPal, the PayPal system sends a flag to the eBay system to show that the item has been paid for. Use that same flag to either post the amount of time it took for the item to be paid for in the buyer's feedback, or use a grading system to do the same, such as: "POSITIVE" - Payment sent within 3 days "NEUTRAL" - Payment sent within 5 days "NEGATIVE" - Payment sent after 5 days. (Note: the number of days is just an example.) 2.) Reinstate the option for sellers to leave negative feedback for buyers. If they can only leave positive or complain to eBay for help(which other members won't see) then the system isn't acurate at-all. With the automatic payment history feedback, sellers wouldn't need to leave feedback, but could still leave detailed feedback regarding the transaction, i.e. "superfast payment", "horrible communication", "very nice to deal with", etc. With this system, the seller will not be able to lie about the amount of time it took for the buyer to pay, because the automated system would show exactly how long it took the buyer to pay. Also, the seller would not feel that they have no say in how the transaction progressed after the close of auction. Buyers now have the ability to leave acuracy points...the 5's for each area of the sellers' responsibilities as-well-as the standard feedback. I think that was a great addition, as the limited number of characters you can leave in a feedback is inadequate for most negative experiences. I think this would work well, as do all of my close eBay peers, be they family or friends. I look forward to hearing from my other eBay peers...to see what they think of my idea. Happy eBaying!!!! Be blessed.... Chris Green a.k.a. Texas Maestro

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