Seller beware?

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/14/smallbusiness/ebay_feedback_changes.fsb/index.htm?postversion=2008071415


My initial thought after reading this article was "well that seems awfully unfair to the sellers." But then I thought about my personal experiences on eBay, and I realized that, while flawed, it's actually a pretty great idea. I should preface this by stating that I used to work at a store that sold items on eBay for other people (think the girlfriend from The 40 Year Old Virgin), so I certainly have empathy for eBay sellers.

That being said, one of the most frustrating things for me, as a buyer, is when the seller essentially holds your feedback rating hostage to ensure that THEY get a positive rating. In my opinion, once the seller receives my payment, my portion of the transaction is completed, which means that they should leave me feedback at that point. If the seller feels like I provided payment in an adequate amount of time, I should get a positive rating. My performance as a buyer shouldn't be contingent on how I decide to rate the seller.

Case in point. A year or so ago I purchased an item off of eBay, and THAT DAY I sent a money order for the specified amount. Weeks went by and I had not heard a word from the seller. Suffice to say that I didn't receive my item either. After three weeks, I believe, I finally filed a dispute with eBay, indicating that I sent payment but haven't received the item yet. I think it was two weeks after THAT when I received a notice in the mail, indicating that there was a package for me in the post office. I went to pick it up, and had to pay an ADDITIONAL fee because the seller didn't pay enough to have it sent to me. To make matters worse, the amount the seller paid to send the item to me was noticeably less than what he had charged me for shipping.

It goes without saying that this seller had not left any feedback for me yet, despite the fact that I was an impeccable buyer (I immediately sent out payment and e-mailed the seller letting him know that). This person was an absolutely despicable seller, and I had no choice but to not leave him any feedback at all, as he certainly didn't deserve a positive rating, and I knew if I left him something negative, I'd unfairly receive a negative rating in return.

But, as I said, the method isn't flawless. As I said, I used to work for an eBay trading post, so I know that there are loads of people who win items but never pay, and it really isn't fair that the seller essentially has no power over that scenario. Along with that, with everybody basically having 100% positive ratings, sellers can't be aware ahead of time when an unreliable buyers. For example, when a curiously high bid is made, the buyer's rating usually indicates whether or not the bid is legitimate.

I think it would be equally beneficial for the buyer and seller if the seller was forced to leave feedback in order to receive a rating, and for the ratings to be "blind" until both sides leave their feedback. This way, the seller can't hold the buyer's rating hostage in order to ensure positive feedback, and neither side can unjustly leave negative feedback for revenge.