Ebay Sellers

[Nancy]

#308

If the safest way to buy on ebay is to ask questions and check feedback, what can we do if a seller makes their feedback 'private'?
Why would a seller do this? Are they trying to hide something? Why would ebay allow it?
I'm confused Lisa

Member

July 21, 2004 at 9:43 pm

Post count: 2664

#13885

Nancy,

Personally I don't buy anything from someone who has a private feedback.

It can be that they are bad sellers and are hiding negative feedbacks or it could be a great seller who wants to hide what they sell. I guess an example would be a store employee with a discount- they use their discount to purchase items from the store and then sell them on ebay. Guess it would be a way of not getting caught doing something against ones policys.

Does that make sense? <img src='style_emoticons//blink.gif’ border=’0′ style=’vertical-align:middle’ alt=’blink.gif’ />

Anyway, here is what ebay says about it:

eBay strongly encourages you to keep your feedback profile public. In other words, everyone should be able to view the feedback other eBay users have left about you. A private profile means that others can't view your feedback.

Your feedback profile is a valuable asset on eBay. Making your feedback profile public generates trust and increases the likelihood that other eBay members will do business with you. After all, you'd probably want to see another member's feedback profile before you bought from them.

On the other hand, if you make your feedback profile private, it means that only you can view your feedback. By making your feedback profile private, you may be decreasing other eBay participants' desire to conduct business with you. Please also note that while the text of the comments will be private, other members will still be able to see the number of positive, neutral and negative comments on your account.

[Lisa]

#13885

Nancy,

Personally I don't buy anything from someone who has a private feedback.

It can be that they are bad sellers and are hiding negative feedbacks or it could be a great seller who wants to hide what they sell. I guess an example would be a store employee with a discount- they use their discount to purchase items from the store and then sell them on ebay. Guess it would be a way of not getting caught doing something against ones policys.

Does that make sense? <img src='style_emoticons//blink.gif’ border=’0′ style=’vertical-align:middle’ alt=’blink.gif’ />

Anyway, here is what ebay says about it:

eBay strongly encourages you to keep your feedback profile public. In other words, everyone should be able to view the feedback other eBay users have left about you. A private profile means that others can't view your feedback.

Your feedback profile is a valuable asset on eBay. Making your feedback profile public generates trust and increases the likelihood that other eBay members will do business with you. After all, you'd probably want to see another member's feedback profile before you bought from them.

On the other hand, if you make your feedback profile private, it means that only you can view your feedback. By making your feedback profile private, you may be decreasing other eBay participants' desire to conduct business with you. Please also note that while the text of the comments will be private, other members will still be able to see the number of positive, neutral and negative comments on your account.

[Sandra]

#13886

Yeah – I agree with Lisa, Nancy. Most sellers who hide their feedback are hiding some sort of 'negative' comment.

Sometimes they only do this for a while – until they get a few more positive feedbacks from buyers, or from buying themselves.

SHONKSTERS, Nancy – don't buy from them! OR – simply ask them why you can't view their feedback! <img src='style_emoticons//blink.gif’ border=’0′ style=’vertical-align:middle’ alt=’blink.gif’ />

[Lori B]

#13887

I think that it should be a requirement that, even if feedback is private, the feedback score % is still shown. Feedback is there for a reason, and to allow a buyer/seller to hide their overall rating is wrong. If they did/do something wrong, we should be able to see it.

But, we cannot change that. Nancy, I personally would not buy from someone hiding feedback unless I or someone I knew had dealt with them before and had a positive experience. Just be very cautious and do ask them why it is private…

Lori

[Lori B]

#13888

Oops, never mind – I reread Lisa's post and noted that the number of +. – and neutral comments can be seen. Sorry!!!

[Nancy]

#13889

This particular seller had a 96% positive feedback which is shy I didn't want to bid even though I was tempted. If he/she had 100% I would bid but I wanted to know about that 4%
I can understand the reasoning that Lisa gave but gave the sale a wide berth.

[Sandra]

#13890

On ya, girl!!

Let the Ebay sellers know nothing should be kept private from us!! <img src='style_emoticons//biggrin.gif’ border=’0′ style=’vertical-align:middle’ alt=’biggrin.gif’ />

[Author]

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