Intro for those unfamiliar with what I'm talking about (Click here)

When you buy something on an online marketplace, you’re usually asked a few days after delivery to leave feedback on the item/seller/experience if you haven’t done so already. Buyers obviously have 3 choices when this happens: A/B) follow the prompt and write positive/negative feedback which is sometimes published as a review on the item/seller’s page, or C) ignore the prompt, in which case no feedback is posted on the page. I don’t believe “C” should be allowed.

Online marketplaces (like eBay) should mark all “ungiven” feedback as positive unless the buyer specifically opts-out of giving feedback (which must be selected on each order) or, obviously, leaves negative feedback. The current system punishes good sellers just for selling their items to buyers who can’t be bothered to click through two forms on an email.

People are very quick to leave feedback when something goes wrong but rarely go out of their way to write a review when the order is fulfilled just as expected, this artificially inflates negative feedback. The feedback system I’m suggesting would counter this effect.

An order where nothing goes wrong is a “good” order! If an item you ordered arrives exactly as you expected, when you expected, etc., then the seller should receive positive feedback on their end, yet people rarely do so because they consider that the bare minimum. Counterpoint: Maybe so, but what’s the “above and beyond” in that situation? The reality is that marketplaces require sellers to have positive ratings in order to succeed.

  • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    11 days ago

    I just don’t understand why I must type something into the text box below the positive/negative selector on eBay, even as a seller. If everything went down like it was supposed to, this is pointless. “Sale went through as expected; buyer did not attempt to rip me off with a fraudulent or frivolous complaint” should not require any further explanation.

    Same thing with retailer reviews. This whole pick-the-number-of-stars thing gets to me. The fact that you delivered the product I paid for vaguely within the specified time frame is not special five-starsworthy treatment. It is the bare minimum level of obligation you as a retailer must provide to me. All of these should be a simple positive or negative, like eBay is. Let the site itself figure out what the average is and calculate the number of stars if it feels like it.

    • Admiral Patrick@lemmy.worldMEnglish
      2·
      11 days ago

      I’ve used eBay since '98 or '99 and the feedback process hasn’t changed at all since then. It’s gotten a fancier-looking UI but the mechanics of it are exactly the same as it’s always been. I think the only difference between then and now is the text used to be limited to 50 characters and it’s 500 now.

    • defunct_punk@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      11 days ago

      The text box is a nice option but shouldn’t be required IMO. If I’ve noticed that an item was packaged really well, I might note that. I think some text should be required for negative reviews, though.

      I agree with your second point but take issue with this part:

      The fact that you delivered the product I paid for vaguely within the specified time frame is not special five-starsworthy treatment. It is the bare minimum level of obligation you as a retailer must provide to me.

      I don’t consider that the bare minimum, but rather just “it,” for lack of a better word. An online order is a binary experience, either it’s good or bad. I’ve yet to understand any kind of gradient in the process where getting the thing you buy is the “bare minimum,” implying that there’s room for a “maximum,” if the seller had done more.

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