Powerseller/Feedback goals?

[InvisibleTouch]

I remember when I finally reached 1000+ feedback. I felt like I had reached a major goal. Now I'm laboriously climbing toward 2000. I'll be there and past it by the end of the year, but it seems to be taking forever. Just a silly little personal milestone I'm shooting for.

Another silly little goal is to regain my PowerSeller status. I usually have it over the holiday season, and then slip out of it as sales run dry in the summer. This time I aim to keep it, and maybe even make it to Silver level.

Anyone else working on feedback goals/milestones?

[Vinca]

1. I used to, but I got annoyed at ebay and decided to ignore the numbers

and forget the powerseller thing. (I'm currently at 2217 with 100% positive and occasionally get an offer to join the powersellers.) When ebay first started, it used to be fun to list and sell. Now the listing form takes forever and everything is biased toward buyers and not sellers. The latest idea about people having to fill out a bunch of criteria on their experience rather than 1 rating has driven me crazy, even though my customers are always happy campers. I've emailed ebay numerous times telling them to "simplify, simplify, simplify," but apparently some people have to justify keeping their jobs by making more complicated forms, more annoying bells and whistles and more garbage to wade through to list an item. Another thing that bugs me is if you have an urgent situation, you can't seem to get to a real person very quickly. Last winter I encountered a bona fide criminal who bid on a bunch of items - mine and other sellers - and tried to pull a money order scam. It took 3 days for ebay to respond and oust the person, despite lots of sellers emailing them. (A later search of the 'net showed the person was a professional scamster and should have been arrested.) That's my 2 cents - sorry it turned into a bitchfest.

[InvisibleTouch]

2. I totally agree on the listing forms and feedback details!

I hate the new feedback criteria where buyers rate all kinds of aspects of the transaction. It encourages them to find something to be picky about, even if everything went perfect. Good old simple Positive/Neutral/Negative with Comment was just fine, IMO. And when I'm the buyer, I don't want to bother with all those details either.

I'm not super-fond of the new sell-your-item form either, but I've learned to navigate it. I just hope they don't change it again!

Be cautious of scam PowerSeller invites, btw, that are trying to get your password. I almost fell for one around the beginning of the year - because I was on the verge of going Silver at the time, and thought it was legit. (In defense of my stupidity I will say it was around 3 AM when I did the forbidden and clicked on a link in an e-mail - which I would normally never do.) Fortunately my web browser caught it as a fake site. I always check the "My Messages" now on ebay itself.

[Vinca]

3. I actually fell for one of those "ebay" phishing schemes early on,

but quickly realized what I had done and managed to change passwords, etc., so no harm was done. It's amazing how authentic they look. Now I never respond to anything that isn't in my mail on the ebay site.

[hobbit709]

4. I have an email box I use only for Ebay

And other boxes I use exclusively for other purposes. That way when I get one in one of my other boxes, I automatically know its fake. The first giveaway is "Dear Valued Customer" or some such variation. The real emails know your real name and not just your email address-along with the fact you will find a copy of that mail in your box on the site.

[grasswire]

5. why can't the feedback be just two simple ...

....questions?

What day did you receive payment/item?

Was the transaction satisfactory?

I have never liked the subjective aspect of feedback. There are some nutty people on eBay.