I was wondering if someone could give me some information on eBay etiquette.

I recently registered so I could possibly sell things in the future and I didn't want to sell with 0 feedback so I thought I would start with buying a few things and so the situation has arrisen of giving feedback. I bought an item with pay now and payed for it imediately with PayPal. This was 4 days ago and still not feedback from the seller and no item yet so I don't feed I can give him feedback.

So when should a seller give feedback to a customer when I payed him straigt away. Is he waiting to see what feedback I give him first because I'm a newbie and what are the rules on this or what do you do.

Regards, Anthony

Sellers don't usually leave feedback until you leave yours, in my experience. There are any number of things you could be a pain about, like leaving negative feedback before contacting the seller, complaining unreasonably, complaining about things stated in the ad, etc. Those all count in the feedback rating, not just whether you paid or not.

Yup, usually when buying I'll get feedback soon after giving them theirs.

When buying, I give feedback after I receive the goods.

When selling, I leave feedback after receiving money and dispatching goods.

Always, if I am not happy, I will contact the buyer/ seller before leaving feedback. I received some bike lights that were cracked - let the seller know, who simply sent some more. Obviously, they received good feedback!!!!

Thanks everyone for their comments. I just went to the letterbox and the goods have arived in good order so that's OK. If that's the way it works then that's the way it works.

Regards, Anthony

Exactly what I do...

When I sell, I leave feedback as soon as the buyer has paid.
When I buy, I leave feedback when i receive item & check it out.
All good & no problems yet.

The ebay feedback system has this weakness. Sellers should only be able to get feedback once they give it. That's not how it works at present. Most sellers withold feedback until they get it, IMHO to be able to retaliate if they get a negative. Buyers are generally reluctant to leave negative feedback because of spiteful retaliation from the seller even if payment was prompt. Any negative feedback detracts from your score, hence the desire to avoid spiteful retaliation. I know I have given positives when the seller's service was horrible, just to avoid the retaliation.

If ebay changed the sysem, the feedback scores would be more accurate.

That's also what I do and, I think, how things should be done.
Unfortunately many sellers will not give you a feedback unless you gave them a positive one first.
I have also noticed that the bad guys will give you a negative feedback if you first left them a negative one. I once received a broken item, after complaining and asking a refund without a resolution I left a negative feedback to the seller. Only to receive a negative one in return claiming I was lying. I complained to ebay, they did absolutely nothing in return.

I think most ebayers have separate accounts for buying and selling, since the rating is much more important when selling than when buying. Then you don't have to fear retaliation as a buyer.

If the guy doesn't respond within 7 days or so you can enter a dispute. After about another week you can settle and get your money back. Right now you should send a reminder. People that don't respond on Ebay generally suck, so read all the help files on ebay the you can to protect yourself. Feed back should never be given untill you receive and approve of the item.

On the other hand, lazy feedbackers are given up to 90 days to leave feedback...

Yeah I'm starting to think that the whole feedback system is a scam. I can take or leave eBay but I'll keep an eye on things and see how they turn out.

Regards, Anthony

ya, for me, ive been waiting for something for almost a month, albeit, it did come from the states and the customs usually holds it up, but i think its here now, so ill go pick it up tomorow. if its in tip top shape, hell get positive, if not, ill be sending him some emails. i found too that if you keep in good contact with the seller they tend to appreciate that, and often leave better feedback.

steve

I wish we can leave a "so-so" feedback. I had one seller who went on a 3-week conference but still had items up for sale. I waited two-and-half weeks and when I still didn't receive my item, I emailed him. That's when I received an auto-reply email stating he was at a conference and anything purchased after (given date) would be shipped upon his return. Of course I made my purchase the day after he left so I waited about 4 weeks. It arrived as promised, nothing was broken and was accurately represented in the pictures. But still.... I had to endure a 4-week wait. Didn't want to give him a good feedback, but didn't want to rip him either. Ultimately I settled on giving him a good feedback which I didn't feel he truly deserved.

Anthony,

The reason many sellers wait, especially with new buyers are because many newbies do not understand feedback etiquette.. I am a powerseller with over 11,000 feedbacks and all of my negatives are from new ebayers who did not even understand that they had to pay for an item before they would receive it.. I have even received negatives 2 days after an auction closes, saying bad service, item has not arrived yet.

When a seller sees a new ebayer they are for the most part being cautious for this reason.. 90% of the time I leave feedback as soon as money is received but will wait when it is a new ebayer...

This is the way honest people do it and it should be done. But,I have run into dishonest people with 100% feedback. It was one of the many sellers that wait for feedback before giving your feedback. This is one of the reasons so many people refer to it as AwfulBay!

I am continuously buying and selling photo gear in eBay, as I upgrade my equipment. My policy is to leave feedback once the transaction is complete

When buying, that means I leave feedback after I have received and tested the item.

When selling, I give feedback after the buyer has confirmed that the item arrived and is acceptable.

In both cases I make it clear in the initial communication that I will be happy to leave positive feedback once the transaction is complete.