Neutral feedback

[mynameisCat]

I recently bought some cheap (and I mean CHEAP, like between $0.01 to $10) strands of beads, because I was mainly curious what the quality was like. The beads were grade B (ie: not top quality), so I wasn't expecting much for my money.

Well, I got exactly what I paid for -- sort of. They probably should have been graded X or Y. Beads that were totally different sizes (not even CLOSE to the same size), a ton of inclusions, bad dye jobs, poor cuts on the facets, all of that sort of thing.

So, I thought about leaving neutral feedback. I mean, I DID get what I paid for, and they DID say it was B grade, but as I said, it really should have been graded lower. However, I couldn't quite bring myself to do it. So in the comments, I just wrote that they were emphatically B grade stones or lower & that sometimes the pics were taken to show only stones that were roughly the same size, leaving out the ones that were either humongous or teensy on the same string.

Do you think "neutral" is more or less the same as "negative"? eBay certainly treats it like it is...

 

[kknight0506]

i think neutral is ok because the seller is always going to show you good pictures which can attract you. so he did show you the pictures of the beads even though he left the uneven ones out and he also said that they are grade B. so i think neutral is fine

 

[mynameisCat]

I'm just wondering if "neutral" feels like "negative" to people. I'm trying to think about how I feel when I see "neutral" comments on a seller's feedback...do you think people should try and work things out with a seller for "neutral" before posting them, like you might with a "negative"?

 

[Plumley]

I think neutral feedback reflects negatively, even though it isn't supposed to. If I see neutral feedback I always read it, to try to get a genuine idea of the quality of the seller. I wouldn't leave a neutral without giving the seller a chance to fix any problem.

 

[mynameisCat]

Yeah, I guess that's why i didn't really feel comfortable leaving "neutral" feedback, and the eBay form reinforces that with all the warnings...

 

[Mr_Snipes]

I agree that the "neutral" feedback is negative. But it is there to provide a way for people to leave feedback, because they were not necessarily happy, but were not completely disappointed and didn't want to leave a true "negative" feedback.

 

[mynameisCat]

Really, i guess it's kind of funny that "neutral" = "negative", if you think about it. I mean, if most people tend to treat it as a negative, why don't they just get rid of the category...?