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On the fallacy of feedback: https://hbr.org/2019/03/the-feedback-fallacy
Like R&J say, bad feedback is usually all about the buyer, not the seller.
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It’s especially difficult to gauge the truth of buyer feedback. If I’ve had a truly difficult experience, I might leave feedback that sounds positive but has a few breadcrumbs for the observant/attuned audience. I might use words/phrases like “passionate” or “tons of communication.” I might say that this is an ‘enthusiastic’ buyer who ‘knows what they want.’ Things that are true, and are not objectively negatives, but which might be a dog whistle for other sellers. I don’t know if anyone else does this, though.
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I just have auto-feedback turned on after buyer payment. I rarely look at the feedback a buyer receives since it is all positive and usually generic. I haven’t thought about looking for clues left by other sellers.
I do look at a buyer’s feedback when I get an offer, but then I look at the feedback the buyer left for others to see if they have a history of leaving abusive or negative feedback. If I see an occasional negative left politely for a valid sounding reason, then I’ll still accept offers from that person. But sometimes I’ve seen more negative feedback left than positive and verbiage that makes me think I don’t want to be involved with this person in any sort of transaction. Then I decline the offer even if it is otherwise a good $ offer and usually block.
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Obviously, feedback on buyers is meaningless in ebay’s current model.
Feedback on sellers continues to be moderately useful. Of course, a single negative feedback on a seller could be just bad luck. Iterated bad feedback is a big red flag for a seller and since ebay basically shuts you down at – what – 90%? it’s really only the final digit of it that matters.
It does seem like some types of items tend towards bad feedback more than others. I still haven’t had a negative and have had 1 neutral in 2 years; I suspect this’d be different if I were selling clothing.
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I find that Amazon product reviews are much more helpful but obviously very different. I always read the best and worst reviews of a product to see if there’s any common issues people have before I purchase.
But when I buy a non-commodity item on eBay, I never read a seller’s review. I look at photos, description and price. I also dont read reviews on Amazon sellers.
Buyers should be able to rate sellers but it should be for use by the platform. If the platform feels a seller has a consistent defect in their service, then take them off the site. Public reviews allow for too much emotion.
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I usually am suspicious of the best and worst product reviews on Amazon. Companies will hire people to write reviews, and that person will either leave a glowing review where the product changed their life, or totally kick it to the ground as if it ruined everything. I look at the in between reviews that seem reasonable (and look for general trends).
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