Buyers not leaving feedback- Trend?

[Sunset]

So I have been doing some more selling  in the past several months on EBay and I have noticed a trend in my sells.  In about the past 3-4 months only about a third maybe even a fourth of my buyers have left me feedback.  Some of the auctions I know that the buyer recieved the item because of tracking.  The international items can't be tracked so I don't know if the item ever arrived.  It makes me kind of nervous.

Has anyone else noticed anything like this?

[Gloomygirl777]

YES!! It is the same for me. It is much more likely for me to never receive feedback than to get feedback. I wish it wasn't that way.

[elvenwine26]

Honestly, half the time I just forget to do it.  I try to remember since individuals such as yourselves care about it, but to me I find it not as important on ebay for whatever reason.
Consequently this reminds me that I have feedback to leave. Thanks, ladies!

[Eskara1862]

Yup! Totally the case ever since eBay changed the rules to the whole buyers-can't-receive-negative thing. Now, I never leave feedback for a buyer until they leave it for me. I just don't see the point; all buyers will always have 100% positive unless they are also a seller. If they take the time out to leave feedback for me, I'll do the same for them. I do include a note in every single one of my packages urging people to leave feedback and to contact me if they have any problems; most people just don't bother.

As far as feedback on Etsy/Arena/elsewhere, I've instituted 'Feedback Friday's.' Every Friday, I go through every selling venue I have something listed at and check on what feedback needs to be left. This way, I make sure nobody gets left out on the sites where it matters

[Gloomygirl777]

Why did they change it anyway?? It is so ridiculous that a buyer can't receive negative feedback.

[h1m3.]

I always leave feed back, after receiving the product. Not before or I do not wait that seller puts hers/his feedback for me first. SOmedays I just forgot it but Luckily ebay reminds me about it .

That really su*ks that buyers would not get negative feedback.. really.. if she/he is late for the paying and otherwise pain in the butt then why not -.-

[robinharper]

It ain't just on ebay.  Also here on Belgian second hand selling sites.  I have heard it also going around here for those sites.  Luckily there are still people who do give it and mostly when I sent items, it is in Belgium with a free tracking too so I can follow myself whether the package arrived. 

Hugs
   Robin

[Ringlets]

*nods in agreement with everyone else*   yes unfortunately its common for buyers not to leave feedback these days    I would have to say that many of my buyers (probably a third or more some months)  haven't bothered leaving me feedback this year either, even though I sold a lot and spent literally hours gift wrapping the items and adding special stuff and doing extra secure packaging  . Some nice buyers have sent me messages saying they were happy with the item and packing and thanking me etc  (which was great and I appreciate that )  but still didn't actually leave feedback
I always include a thank you card with the item too ,  and while I don't specifically ask for feedback, I do ask the buyer to let me know when the item arrives and to contact me if they have any questions or problems etc, and I always send everything with delivery confirmation/tracking so I know the parcels arrived safely ..so why cant they just leave some feedback? *siiiigh* 
Another pain is that while I can tell if the item arrives , unless the buyer leaves me feedback I feel I cant leave some for them either due to potential issues. A buyer tried to scam me earlier this year saying that only one of their items had been sent (a doll and the most common one, the rare one was supposed to be missing , no mention of the book included )  , but I had proof that actually all three were in the box (  I have the parcels triple checked by my family, they sign when checked,  and I record all colors of wrapping paper and what was in the box and in what order and the boxes are tamper-proof ) and the correct weight and price on the receipt for all 3 in one box (its a lot cheaper if only one was in there) and she waited a week after she had signed for/ received them before contacting me to say the rare one was missing - which she would have noticed right away if the box looked messed up and there was only 1 item in not 3. Plus it was insured, tracked and signed so I told her if she could give me details and pics of the parcel/contents/wrapping paper etc  we could find out what happened via the PO - its a very serious thing to steal parcels in the UK and I told her I'd get the police involved for us - she backed off after that   (there's a thread in here somewhere if anyone needs more details) . SO yeah ramble over. What it means now is that I am wary of leaving positive feedback for someone who hasn't left me any incase something similar happens . I'm glad I didn't leave this dodgy buyer positive feedback - she had pulled a similar thing on another seller too .
The exception is those who contact me through ebay to say they received their item and were happy with it , even though they haven't left me feedback I have those messages, so I leave feedback for them 

[ponylady]

Having good feedback is a large part of being a seller. It is the reason sellers focus on getting their items to buyers. Their goal is to receive positive feedback. I think since all of eBay's changes to it over the years, they have made it seem less important and a hassel for both buyers and sellers. Since most sellers don't make very much money on eBay their focus is on positive ratings. Eventually, with enough positive ratings they may begin to sell more and start turning a profit. That is how eBay set up the system. When buyers fail to leave feedback it hurts the eBay community. So it baffles me as to why they don't.

As far as feedback on Etsy/Arena/elsewhere, I've instituted 'Feedback Friday's.' Every Friday, I go through every selling venue I have something listed at and check on what feedback needs to be left. This way, I make sure nobody gets left out on the sites where it matters

I use these same sort of system Eskara, not always Friday's but it makes things alot easier.

[bluerose9978]

I both buy and sell on eBay. As a buyer I ALWAYS leave feedback, even if it's not right away. As a seller, I wait for the buyer to leave feedback first to make sure they're happy and have received the item and I can answer any questions they may have and do anything to ensure the transaction is completely finished. If they don't leave feedback at all (which about half of them don't) then they don't get feedback in return.

When I ship my items out I send a note letting them know it's being sent in hopes it also helps in the feedback area but people will be people... If they are motivated to leave feedback they will, if not, nothing you do will change their thinking.

[MikeysGrrrl]

I both buy and sell on eBay. As a buyer I ALWAYS leave feedback, even if it's not right away. As a seller, I wait for the buyer to leave feedback first to make sure they're happy and have received the item and I can answer any questions they may have and do anything to ensure the transaction is completely finished. If they don't leave feedback at all (which about half of them don't) then they don't get feedback in return.

When I ship my items out I send a note letting them know it's being sent in hopes it also helps in the feedback area but people will be people... If they are motivated to leave feedback they will, if not, nothing you do will change their thinking.

That's exactly what I do too. As soon as my items come in, I check everything to make sure it's all there and it's in the condition that was described and then I leave feedback, that way the seller knows the item has arrived, there aren't any problems and it helps them with future sales.

As a seller, I wait until the buyer has left me feedback before I leave it for them. Once I see that they've left me feedback, I go ahead and do the same for them. I also include small extras from time to time as well as a card thanking them for their purchase. I would say that I only receive feedback about 35% of the time.

[silverdawn]

Yah, the same happens to me when I sell.  I have 91 items with no feedback left. (I know because I don't leave feedback until the buyers do in case there are issues)  It always makes me nervous that they weren't happy with the sale or something.  Once in awhile I'll go down the list and send a reminder email, asking if they've received their items and to let me know if there were problems.  That gets a few more to leave feedback, but most still don't.   What can ya do.

Silverdawn