Do Not Judge By Feedback Or Reviews On Amazon Or eBay

I saw a perfect example of how a buyer can affect a good product by not knowing the proper way to leave a review or a feedback on Amazon. This buyer purchased a product and when it arrived, one of the glass jars were broke. She blamed it on the seller. BUT she left a bad review of the product on Amazon! Instead of going to her account, and leaving feedback for the seller! Why do they do that? Drives me crazy, besides not being fair or right. Her review was pointless, especially since there could be thousands of sellers, selling that same product at any time on Amazon.  Though if I was her, I'd have contacted the seller first, and tell her what happened, before leaving bad feedback.

So many buyers leave bad feedback without giving a seller a chance to make it right. Not only on Amazon, but on eBay too. We had an incident lately involving poor customer service in the tire department of  Walmart. We were ready to stop shopping there. After contacting their Facebook page, their manager handled it to our satisfaction. Because we gave them a chance to make it right. How many people actually do that?

The trouble is that it is easy for a buyer to leave bad reviews or bad feedback with the click of a mouse. They don't have to confront the seller face to face. That is the way some people like it. Giving bad reviews and trying to hurt a seller or a product makes them have a good day. Often they have bought something they did not know how to use or understand.  I saw on the eBay Buyer Discussion board where some buyers were discussing how soon they could leave negative feedback. They were looking forward to it!

So my request is to please take leaving feedback or reviews seriously. It is your seller's way to make a living. They don't mean to send you a broken product anymore than you wanted to buy one. I am not saying that they never deserve bad feedback or a bad review, but please use extreme caution when dishing it out. Think of how you would like to be treated if you sent a product that was broken in transit.

When I shop on Amazon or eBay, I don't usually go by the feedback or reviews. Most of the time, I find they are not true. Or that the person writing it, was a new buyer, or did not know what they were buying and what it was used for. Most of the bad feedback on eBay comes from new buyers. Take that into consideration when you are making a purchase.

Copyright © 2013 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2013  Kathleen G. Lupole

Trusting Feedback And Reviews

In the age of the internet, we are depending on what other people say about products we purchase online. In the early days of eBay, reading the feedback of a seller, before you made a purchase was a must. Same for a seller when selling a high ticket item. Checking the feedback of the bidders gave them an idea of what to expect. My, how things have changed!

Instead of moving ahead in the feedback system, I have found it is moving backwards. Now I never go by the feedback before buying from a seller. I study their listings and see if it looks like they gave me enough information in the listing, and if it looks like they care about their business. Then I take my chance. Or I look at the feedback they have given both sellers and buyers. I never go by the negative or neutral feedback, because it usually is from a new buyer.  Or an overseas buyer who cannot understand why it has taken so long to get to them. Even when they are aware of the hold up in customs, or they did not choose for a faster method of shipping because of the cost. The feedback system is not to be trusted in my opinion.

Clip Art Source

Now eBay has the the star system. I receive 5 stars on shipping because I ship for free. So the buyer has no choice there. They ding me every time on communication? How can that be? I send them an email thanking them for their purchase, another one for thanking them for their quick payment (even if it was not a quick payment!), then I send them another email with the Delivery Confirmation number when I ship it. I try to act friendly to them and more personal in my messages. What more can I do to get 5 stars in communication? Maybe I need to call them on the phone?

I take photos of everything I sell myself. I never use stock photos. Included in my listing is a description of every little crease, rip or mark on the books or whatever I am selling. I never get 5 stars for item as described either. What do these buyers want? I am in the dark over this. Especially since they give me positive feedback every time.

Amazon is another place I have found that reviews are totally worthless. I used to use the reviews to make my choices. Not anymore! The people who do the reviews are doing it now in a mean way, trying to hurt authors, sellers, manufacturers, musicians, etc. One recent review of a book on prepping is a good example. The reviewer did  one star reviews on every prepping book there was available. I could not see that they were verified purchases from Amazon. He copy and pasted all his reviews on each one. Another suspicious thing is that the book he liked, had 6 five star reviews that was all written in the same manner that his was. What makes me think the author is the reviewer, is because what was written about his book in the sale area, is almost the same as the reviewer's review.

If a product or book has a lot of good reviews, they may be rigged or if they have bad reviews a troll has affected the reviews. So what is the sense of using them to make a purchase? They are useless. My husband left a good review of the wind turbine he bought for our system. Someone accused him of working for the manufacturer because he left a good review! They left it as comment on his review.

I no longer read the reviews on Amazon or the feedback on eBay. They are all jokes, sadly they have ruined many seller's reputations for no reason. I know I will never encourage anyone to leave bad feedback or reviews. If possible, contact the seller or author and tell them your concerns with their methods or products. Give them  a chance to make it right first. Maybe they don't have any idea what your issue with their product is. How can they fix it, if they don't know?

Copyright © 2012 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2012  Kathleen G. Lupole