GLOBAL WARMING! THE SKY IS FALLING! AUUUUGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!! That's all, just trying to keep up with the rest of the riff-raff. Remember, in case of global warming, most of your possessions can be used as flotation devices. If you can't figure out which can, and which can't, we'll miss you.

Does this mean global warming is over? I am laughing my A$$ off. People are complaining about the cold spring weather and it seems like only a week or two ago everybody was up in arms over global warming. Wait...it WAS only a week or two ago. ROFL! I love people...it's mankind I don't get.

Don't like the new/current feedback system, then fight for change. How about double blind & automatic feedback which would work as follows.

Double blind feedback means that until both parties have left feedback, it can't be seen, and isn't credited to the ratings.

Automatic feedback means just that. If feedback is not left, then at the end of 45 days, eBAY automatically gives the buyer/seller a positive rating, and for sellers, 5 across the board for DSR's.

Why shouldn't each buyer/seller get credit for each and every transaction?

In double blind, you can't be held hostage because you can't see the comments until both parties have left them. Any party that chooses not to provide feedback will effectively be giving the other party an automatic positive. In this system, everyone gets credit for each and every transaction. It's not one-sided like so many transactions currently are.

In this system, neutrals should be just that, neutral, and not count against the ratings. A perfect example of a neutral would be a transaction in which the seller did everything right, but the package was delayed, or lost, by the shipper/carrier. If a neutral doesn't count against you, then why fret about it? It could've been a negative.

Negatives should be allowed against both parties. Especially since double blind prevents either party from seeing the feedback until both parties have left it. You may not be happy with the feedback you received, but it won't be retaliatory and there will be no hostage holding.

If eBAy insists on not allowing sellers to give buyers negatives, then they need to be more responsive to sellers problems.

Please comment and let me know if you see any drawbacks to this system. If you like what you have read, then please send a letter to eBAY immediately. Don't wait, cuz you KNOW you'll get distracted and forget.  Send a real letter, not an e-mail, to the following address.

eBAY Inc.

2145 Hamilton Ave

San Jose, CA 95125

RE: Feedback changes/suggestions

C'mon! We complain collectively, right? So let's fight for change collectively. BOO YAH!...or some other suitable war cry. I just happen to like....SPOOOOOOON!

Oh...and hi everyone.

Disclaimer: The rabbit writing this blog has been accused of being 'completely mental' by family, friends and complete strangers. His comments should be taken with a grain of salt and 10cc's of Thorazine, if at all possible. If change occurs, great!. If not, the rabbit blames society and wants them locked up. Whoo Hoo!

What if buyers and sellers both received automatic feedback? As I explained before, double blind is when both the buyer and seller must leave feedback and until both do, neither can see it, or receive credit for it. Someone pointed out that most people probably wouldn't leave feedback any more. Given that less than a third currently leave feedback now, eBAY ratings would come to standstill. So we add this next little gem.

If feedback is not left by either party within thirty to forty days, then eBAY automatically gives that buyer and/or seller a positive with five across the DSR's. This way buyers and sellers get feedback on each and every sale/purchase they make, instead of the 1/3 feedback we receive now. Any problems with this? As part of this process, neutral's should actually be neutrals and not count against the seller's overall ratings. A neutral would be used if the seller did everything they were supposed to, but the delivery carrier loses the item. The seller did there job, but the buyer did not receive the item. My feeling is this. If no feedback is left, then the buyer/seller must have been okay with the transaction cuz usually people bitch up a storm if there are problems. Outside of that, there really are very few REAL reasons for not leaving feedback. Sure..some people get sick, hurt, killed, deployed, etc....but with very few exceptions, there should be very few people who can say with any honesty that they just didn't have time to leave feedback. I believe that most just choose not to. So why should any buyer/seller be deprived of feedback on each and every transaction they perform? I can't think of a reason.

If you like the above ideas, send a letter to eBAY. Not an e-mail...but a letter. You all know that any e-mail you send will be met with a canned response. For all you know, humans don't even read those e-mails. Do it the old fashioned way and  send a letter. eBAY's address can be found in the community and contact us pages. I will find it and add it to the comments section if no one beats me to it. I welcome any comments/suggestions on why this will/won't work and what you think of the over all idea. And in reply to all of your comments, let me put in a pre-emptive...OH YEAH! (lol) That should do it. See ya all.

NOTE: No, you don't have to read the whole thing. You can just leave a comment about the title.

BUYERS / SELLERS: The only thing I've seen so far is that fewer people seem to be leaving feedback, but getting feedback was a problem before the changes as well. I think only a quarter of my customers ever leave feedback. I don't worry about it much and only send one reminder, but it would sure be nice to get credit for all my sales. (yeah...I know..I'm dreaming)  I may have a neutral/negative coming, we'll see. I got a buyer that, despite USPS delivery confirmation, insists they haven't received the item. I suggested that they might want to check with other members of their household in case they received it and forgot to mention it. (shrug) Not much I can do about that. Interesting thing is I sent the buyer a request for feedback over a week ago, no response. Then, a week later, I get an e-mail asking if I ever shipped the item as they hadn't received it yet. No mention of my request for feedback. Something is wrong there for sure. We'll see how it goes.

So how about you? Seeing any changes. One person I spoke with mentioned that a formerly rude seller was much more polite than in previous transactions. I wondered why they were still doing business with the seller if said seller has been rude to them several times, but didn't ask. Maybe the deals are good enough for them to put up with it, who knows? (shrug) As a seller, I may stop leaving feedback until the buyer does. Since the new system prevents sellers from blackmailing buyers, which I never did, it seems only fair not to leave feedback if they won't. Why should a buyer benefit from a ratings boost if they aren't going to reciprocate?

As a buyer, I always leave feedback. It's the right thing to do, especially if the item arrives as advertised, or better. It's also a necessary thing to do if the item arrives in less than the expected shape. The feedback system is there to help people make intelligent, informed decisions about who is safe to buy from. If buyers don't leave feedback, they are shooting themselves in the foot, as every buyer benefits from every other buyers feedback. Without that feedback, buying safely is a crapshoot. As a buyer I have had to nudge a seller, or two, for feedback, but most of the time the seller was just waiting for my feedback before leaving theirs. (the hostage situation) I totally understand why sellers did it, but as usual, some took unfair advantage of the situation and created problems for the rest of the crowd.

Of course there are both unfair sellers and buyers, simply due to the fact that the world is full of all kinds of people, some not so nice, others absolutely wonderful and, of course, a whole slew of those inbetween. Each of you knows who you are and where you fall in the various categories. There are sellers who are just plain dishonest and have no intentions of shipping the item you paid for. There are also buyers who will receive the item and then attempt to get their money back just because they can. There are sellers who hide their dishonesty in lengthy, convoluted listings, deliberately hiding their intent to sell you a fake product, or they will gouge you on either the item price or the shipping. Then there are buyers who just don't read the listings enough to know what they are bidding on, who are then upset when the receive the item they bid on because it matched the listing description, not what they wanted/expected.

There are sellers/buyers who are new and just make mistakes because they don't understand the system.

Then there are those at the top of the scale, whose experience and attitude enable them to make each and every transaction as smooth and painless as possible. Some even go out of their way to do something special, or to say something nice, even when they don't have to.

The blogs are full of all types. Where you fall is purely a matter of choice in most cases. Some abuse the system, others embrace it. Some use it to hurt other people, some use it to brighten up other peoples days. Even those who espouse correct behavior sometimes respond in a manner that is completely contrary to what they were preaching, mostly because either they don't believe what they are saying, or because they are simply human.

So how is the new system treating you, and how are you treating it? What advice do  you have for anyone, new or experienced. What little tidbit of info can you share that will make the life another easier. What little comment can you make to bring a smile to someone's face, or to help ease their pain. My goal, each and every day, is to make someone smile and, if possible, to laugh unexpectedly. The highest comment I like to receive is when someone tells me I made them spit out their drink. Bonus points if it was through their nose. (did this get anyone?) Dang! Gonna have to try harder. Oh well...looking forward to your comments.

Peace and love...the bunny from Heck...just a step above Hell.