ebay maybe the current online auction giant but with the current issues surrounding ebay and the changes they have made in several areas recently they need to watch out as the UK based site ebid.net is growing rapidly. You can actually pay zero for a listing fee and zero for a final value fee on all auctions for a one of payment that starts at just £1.99. Remember the name because you will be hearing a lot more of it in the comming months.

Lee, Bromley, UK

I agree with this move and with Ebay. There are so many times when I've been dissatisfied with a seller because either they didn't ship the item promptly as they had promised or the item was not what they said it was. However, I always resist the urge to leave a negative, but honest, comment for fear of the fact that they will do the same to me simply because they can (I've ALWAYS paid within hours after a bid). I definitely think it has been unbalanced in the past and as Ebay says-it's the buyers who have to send money to someone they don't know. I know sellers can go through negative experiences with buyers as well yet here I am-I've ordered a $70 textbook off of ebay over a week ago from someone who claimed they were a "fast shipper", paid extra for expedited shipping-& the seller STILL hasn't shipped my textbook. My class has started and now I will miss assignments. Although I checked the sellers feedback before I bought anything, it was probably skewed due to the current system.

Rachel, Voorhees, NJ

This is a shocking move from Ebay that totally undermines the premise of the Ebay marketplace. As genuine Ebay business, Flybox.co.uk is committed to excellent customer service - a move that prohibits sellers from leaving genuine feedback about the reliability of their customers will undoubtedly force sellers into new security measures, such as increased postage fees through sending packages registered post, which will no doubt cost the customer more in the long term. Ebay's success is directoy attributed to knocking down barriers between customers and traders. It seems bizarre to start creating new ones that help neither the customer, nor the seller.

Tricia Fox, Auchterarder, Perthshire

My sister and I have a very small ebay business. We stopped selling on ebay in August due to a couple of NASTY buyers that traumitized us then fragged us with feedback.

If you purchase goods to sell from a 2nd hand shop, you don't have a fancy receipt that lists items separately as you would from a 1st line retailer. Similarly, if you have cleaned out the garage and want to sell your stuff that's 10 years old you don't have the receipt anymore.

I disagree with ebay hobbling sellers feedback options. Even with + fdbk only, you can leave a mssg that explains a situation. BUT the point system becomes skewed. Ebay should at least allow undeserved feedback for sellers to be REMOVED when appropriate.

We are exploring other options to ebay currently.

PJ, Lakewood, CO

As a small seller on eBay the new commission rates will help me because only about 1/3 of what I list gets a final value fee, thus reducing my overall costs.
I use the general feedback on buyers to speed up sending items, a few negatives in the pile and I wait for payment to clear; I also get a certificate of posting if the comments indicate any devious tendencies. With these missing then all buyers will be treated as worst case scenerio.
eBay have on several occasions said to me that "We are only here to connect buyer and seller", and will distance themselves from any squabble that doesn't involve loss of fees for them, so don't expect long debate from them. They are a business and darn good at what they do. If the feedback tinkering is a failure I believe they'll be big enough to admit failure (like the eBay Express experiment) and revert back.

PJ, Alcester, UK

Ebay should be more focused on the serious issue of ebay being the the prime platform for selling stolen goods. There should be a compulsary description field stating if the seller provides the shop receipt to confirm its origin.

Sidhararth, Handsworth Wood, uk

@Steve from Pontypool -

What eBay will be doing with these changes is opening the sellers to fraud. I have sold on eBay, and been the victim of a PayPal scam. This same thief also scammed 5 other people. eBay and PayPal were both contacted, and even when presented with proof from 6 of their paying customers did absolutely nothing. The police would not get involved unless eBay or PayPal contacted them, which of course they don't.

By removing the ability of a seller to warn others of fraudulent or just asbo buyers, eBay is enabling fraud and theft. It's just that simple. If there are problems with sellers leaving hostile feedback, then eBay should deal with them on an individual basis.

With these changes, along with their general decline over the years, they have lost me as both a buyer and seller.

Rus T., Toronto, Canada

As a seller of volume goods on ebay , i am going to end my account with ebay ,as i feel the feedback system should be be impartial or it won't work! there are too many unstable ebay buyers out there, perhaps letting the seller have a limited amount of negative feedback to leave ,might be an idea for example: a buyer should be allowed to leave 4 negatives in any given 18 month period before being band from ebay ,might work, as the buyers would only use them when they really have to ,would this this work better i?

Mark

mark harrison, manchester, salford

Hey, I agree that it's an improvement- out of lots of good feedback I have one bad one (accusing me of being a thief) because after receiving faulty goods I refused to 'mutually withdraw' our feedback- something the seller obviously relied on regularly, as I then realised he had 100's of 'mutual withdrawals'. Basically, he was dishonest, and as Ebay point out, he knew how to work the system.

Nick Flynn, Nottingham,

This change renders feedback about buyers utterly meaningless - it simply has no value if it can only be positive. Admittedly retaliatory feedback can be a problem, but this solution is very unbalanced. Non-paying bidders cost sellers time and money so if ebay want to remove half the feedback system they should show the results of previous disputes for non-payment.

Dan Shepperd, Guildford,

I'm a powerseller on ebay. By rights I should be happy with this move as my seller fees now get a 40% discount.

However I think this is a bad move that will turn more people away from selling on ebay...the average seller for example. I'm involved with high value electronics and I can see many many sellers deserting the website for cheaper alernatives.

It just shows what influence shareholders have on the constant demand for growth...profit and more profit. Also the new Exec has to show he is doing something to earn his millions.

In turn I can imagine many people ending the auctions early to avoid fees. Also had anyone thought that even though a seller can only leave a 'positive' graded feedback...that he could write negative words for the buyer?

My worry is that you still get deadbeat buyers who are entirely unreasonable . Also the new system makes the mother of all assumptions that the world's postal delivery services handle our packages with kid gloves.

Rich, Strasbourg, France

i to have had a bad experiance as a buyer on ebay. i purchased a handbag, it was delivered etc, but the seller left bad, almost evil feedback. saying i was a bad ebayer, don't pay and a timewaster... but i had completed the transaction.....
think the new system will at least stop what happened to me..... have now had to get my feedback rating up again, through no fault of my own...

Donna Lisa Sherwood, catford, london

Very good decision by eBay. At the moment, buyers can be apprehensive about posting negative feedback about sellers due to the possibility of retaliatory feedback on the part of the seller.

M. Kingston - read the article. Buyers will still be able to assess the seller's reputation. If anything, it will make the seller's feedback rating a more accurate indicator of the seller's true character. The only thing that eBay has removed is the ability to give negative feedback to BUYERS.

Steve Paine, Pontypool, South Wales

Paying on time is not the only responsibilty of a good buyer. If there is a problem - both buyer and seller have to be reasonable. This rule puts too much power in the hands of the buyer. Seller can not give neg -even to NON paying bidders.

Also new rule states PP can hold sellers payment for 21 days without paying interest - More millions for Ebay - also new fees will hurt the small seller -

Join the Online Seller Cyber Union - HAVE A VOICE - go to ebizauctions.com for more information.

Nancy, Raleigh, nc

I agree with what Ebay is trying to do. Sellers should be able to comment only on the speed with which the buyer pays, which can be checked by E Bay if disputed. The problem at the moment is if a buyer is not happy with the goods or seller for some reason they are reluctant to highlight that fact by giving neutral or negative feedback as the seller simply retaliates. Currently the power to review the transaction is therefore on the side of the seller. As a buyer I received vitriolic negative feedback once, when I had the temerity to point out with negative feedback on the buyer that an article of clothing was two sizes smaller than I had been told. Since then I have always provided positive feedback whether happy or not to protect my own status. I agree with what they are trying to do.

M Jeffs, Bucks, U.K.

Surely the "physical" equivalent to this would be a store in which there was no CCTV and only the buyer's word for it about what took place at the time of the transaction?

This is a wrong-headed move, eBay. As a buyer, I actually trust a marketplace more when the parties in it are under equal scrutiny.

Zoe Marie Bullingham, London/NYC,

eBay is definitely goingdown the drains, despite the successes it has previously enjoyed. Now, by removing the negative feedback tool it's just going to make things worse. That was one of the most important things when making a purchase as buyers used that to gauge and predict the outcome of their purchasing decision - would it be a safe one? would I get my item on time? Has the seller backed out on a deal? Is the item counterfeit? etc. Soemthing is awfully fishy about that. And when companies make customers pay for their mistakes in the past (i.e. Skype acquisition), the result cant be pretty.

M, Kingston, Surrey

As a regular buyer from Ebay i think its is wrong for them to abolish the posting of negative or neutral feedback, when i am going to "bid" or "by now" an item i first read the feedback to see if i am dealing with a trustworthy seller, i think that seller should be able to have the same reassurances that i have. Now people will be able to bid without making absolutely sure that they want and can afford an item because no one will ever know that they just did not bother to pay for it, i think this will reduce the amount of people selling on Ebay.

Bryan Willmetts, Taunton, UK