eBay Changes Feedback UI for Consumers

Now Has a 'Show me the Negs!' Feature...

On June 14th, eBay announced and then rolled out a tweak to feedback that allows users to filter the feedback and see just the positive/negative/neutrals instead of only being able to see the combined feedback as was the norm. We typically call this the eBay negative feedback filter and it has been a long time coming. I couldn't find any discussion about this, but this was raised as a feature by eBay in 2007/2008 if I recall and seller outrage made them rethink and punt on the feature at the time. It's always been an option in singapore and some buyers recommend going to the .sg site and loading a sellers feedback there.

In fact there are several online utilities that have been built to give buyers the same functionality such as:

• Toolhaus - This one has been around forever and has a lot of usage (20k+/m) as it is the top result in google for 'filter ebay negative'.
• feedbackselector - Allows you to also search the item text - e.g. show me all the negs for watch sales vs. 'all' sales.
• abef - A better ebay filter - this one is a very popular greasemonkey script.

Here we are in 2010 and eBay slid the feature out yesterday with nary a whimper from sellers. Let's look at the feature from both a buyer and seller perspective and I'll offer a strategy for sellers at the end.

Buyer perspective/use case and a tour

From a buyer's perspective, I do like the feature as it a) saves me time from looking through page after page of feedback and b) let's me educate myself on the types of bad experiences I could face and c) see what the seller has to say about it (if anything).

Here's a tour and a use case wrapped in one.

Let's say I'm considering buying something from eBay's new FashionVault flash sale experience - which goes under the seller ID stylepremium. I look at their feedback and notice three things of concern:

• They have a 99% positive rate which is promising
• They are not a top rated seller (which means they are a Above Standard Seller, but not eTRS)
• There's a gnarly 4.4 star on shipping and handling (for 12 months, 4.0 for last 30 days - ouch! Wait, doesn't that violate the seller performance standards of a 4.6 minimum? I digress. )
• 30 day negatives are 14 and there's 43 over the course of 6 months so they are accelerating

Fashion vault1


Before the negative feedback filter functionality, I would have to look for the 15 negatives in a sea of 800 feedbacks At 25 / page that would be 32 pages of feedback with an average of a negative every other page.

Now with this change, I can click on the '43' in the feedback ratings panel and it automagically shows me just the 43 negatives for the last 6 months for this seller: (click to expand)

Fashion vault2

A quick scan of this feedback reveals a lot about that 4.4 star:

• Most comments talk about two weeks shipping time as a problem
• There is some incidence of the wrong product being shipped.
• Generally the seller is issuing refunds for people that have a terrible experience.

Now as a buyer I can decide if I am willing to risk great prices in exchange for a possible long wait time, but know that if I get the wrong product, I can probably expect a hassle-free refund.

That's a lot more information than a 4.4/5.0 rating on a star.

Seller perspective

From a seller's perspective, you need to be aware that there is now a huge spotlight that buyers can shine on your negative feedback. Even if you are a 99% positive, you need to remember that buyers can and will choose to just look at your negatives. Also as you can see, buyers say some really scary stuff in feedback like fraud, scam, took my money, etc. So you need to be aware that a) they can say pretty much whatever they want and b) buyers can now see all of that on one filtered page without all those positives to help pull the punches.

eBay Strategy - Be sure to respond to all negative/neutral feedback!

This brings us to a strategy that was a minor thing we generally recommend, but has now gone from a 'if you have time to think about it' to a 'you need to make this a top priority part of your customer service processes'.

Some sellers don't realize that eBay allows you as a seller to publicly respond - right in the feedback page there - to feedback. I strongly, STRONGLY, recommend sellers start doing this now that this filtering is in place. Compare the stylepremium feedback where you only have the negative customer voice to this camera seller's (ETRS, 99.6%, 4.9, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9) feedback where they have responded to every negative:

Feedback feedback

You can see that a feedback reply takes a negative like: "Did not include the bag as advertised" and adds the seller's comment of: "Please call us and allow us to reconcile..." and more than softens the problem, it makes you wonder why eBay doesn't make buyers talk to sellers before leaving a negative (but I digress) - in any case it really helps with the perception and when you see it all on a page, you can tell this seller cares as they respond to every (well, all 3) negative.

In conclusion, this feature is going to shine a bright light on all of your negatives - you should take some time and gussy them up so they make it clear to buyers that you care and are going to attend to their problems as quickly as possible.

eBay Forums: Sick of eBay's Feedback

If you are POSITIVELY sick of ebay's
feedback ideas VOTE HERE!!!!

There has been lots of chatter lately in
the eBay Forums about their recent changes
to Sellers not being able to leave
negative feedback for buyers.

Here is what some Sellers have posted:

I do not like this new policy and will find other
places that is fair for both buyer and seller.
I have had 10 buyers that have not paid and 2
that disputed claim in paypal after they received
the item...and leave me neg feedback..this is
totally wrong!

I also hate this new feedback, it is totally
unfair that I can't leave negative feed back
for non payment.. I never had this problem
before. now it is common.

I think as long as the complaints are "contained"
on this eBay web site......NOTHING will be done.
We have the whole internet at our fingertips,
maybe we should focus more on going outward with
our voices instead of staying on ebay and
discussing. I have went to WWW.TWITTER.COM ...
take it outside the walls of eBay it we might be
heard better. TWITTER recently was on our major
news channel in reference to them lobbying for
problems occuring on internet, maybe the is
the next "better business bureau"

GOOD LUCK ALL.

TOP AUCTION TOOLS

eBay Seller Pricing Changes

In this article, I usually have a new useful tool
to use or suggest that was useful. This month we
go back to basics with eBay itself and their new,
what they claim, "to make a better experience
for the buyer."

Here's some new information from eBay about their
upcoming new policies affecting all sellers.

Besides the unsurprising seller fee hikes, there
has been an uproar over the impending change to their
feedback rating system. Read on...

eBay has made some exciting new moves:
reduced the upfront cost of selling on eBay by
cutting insertion fees up to 25% for auction-style
and fixed price listings. Gallery pictures in search
results are now free to help you showcase your
inventory for selling success.

Seller Update: Fees, Rewards & Standards
eBay buyers want value and selection from sellers
they can trust--and good sellers deserve rewards
for delivering great customer service. That's why
we're making a number of important changes that
may affect you:

Reduced Listing Fees
We're reducing Insertion Fees and adjusting Final
Value Fees (8.25% to 13%-up from 5.25%!) to lower your
up-front cost to sell on eBay. You wanted free Gallery,
now you've got it--plus more feature discounts for
Gallery Plus, Picture Pack, and Feature Plus.


Rewards for great sellers
There will be discounts and incentives for those who
satisfy customers best. Who decides who gets rewarded?
Customers do, by giving sellers high Detailed Seller
Ratings (DSRs).

• More search exposure through Best Match

• Fee discounts for PowerSellers

• Increased protection for PowerSellers


Feedback Changes
Significant changes coming soon will increase buyer
confidence and showcase good sellers.

• Buyers will only be able to receive positive
Feedback (Sellers will not be able to leave negative
feedback for buyers)

• Positive repeat customer Feedback will count

• Feedback more than 12 months old won't

• Negative and neutral Feedback left by the buyer
will be removed for transactions in which a buyer
doesn't respond to the Unpaid Item or if the
member is suspended.

Do you think this a good idea for eBay?
Check out the eBay Forum on the new Feedback
policies and see what other sellers think here:
forums.ebay.com

You may also read about PayPal imposing 21 day
holds on your funds.

How do you think these changes will affect you?
Leave a comment!