View Poll Results: Should the site administrators have a vendor rating system on this site?
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Vendor Rating System (JonnyB please read)
02-19-2007, 05:19 PM
#76
The only issue I have with this is - what happens if the order was cancelled??? I've dealt with situations before where service was HORRIBLE to deal with and I would LOVE to give other buyers a forewarning about, but there were cases where the order ended up getting cancelled (Thank God). While I can't judge the shipping process (nor would I), there's been situations where the communication with the seller was slow or even non-existant and their staff was downright rude. Or perhaps someone purchased something and then either cancelled themselves or the seller cancelled but they never got or were slow to get their refund. I still think situations like that merit feedback, and there would be an order number, but the seller may or may not have that on record as a "valid" order number depending on how long things stay in their system.
02-19-2007, 05:20 PM
#78
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I think this would be devastating to some of the smaller companies that are legit and trying to get started. Some of them need that boost from doing group buys to help them get on there feet. The smaller startup companies also end up usually being a great asset to the ss.net community. I like the idea of having a voting system. It does keep the vendors in check. However there still is that fine line between bashing and good input. One way that could help reduce the amount of scamming is to have the vendors supply cobaltss.net with a copy of both there state and federal business license. This would allow them to have proper paperwork and do a check on them to make sure they are legit right off the bat. If there is an issue and a company bounces out on people the information needed to file against them would be in trusted hands.
02-19-2007, 05:25 PM
#79
Senior Member
Yes he did thankfully. Now you guys at least have something to go after him with. If he didn't it is a lot harder to prove that he scammed everyone. Its a lot easier to get your money or products back being that he is a registered business then if he was just some kid 8 year old kid with a vinyl cutter. I know its not the perfect solution. But its one more step of security.
02-19-2007, 07:17 PM
#80
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no vendor would be permitted to start a GB or discount thread until they were a vendor for 6 months. people looking for fast cash wont want to wait that long and wont come here to pull scams. the post also went into regulating how many GBs a vendor could hold in a given month, yr. etc. i think the same should apply for anyone selling anything on the site. You should have to be here for at least 6 months. this way, no one is coming here just to screw the members and leave.
If you mean you have to be a supporting vendor for 6mo. before you can make a GB? or just be a registered member for 6mo, then if you become a supporting vendor, then you can make a gb.
Because, I have not scammed anyone, nor do I want to. (its bad for business). I have alot of people to vouch for me, and it would make me want to take my business elsewhere if I had to wait 6 mo before seeing any sort of action.
Im not knocking your idea, however I think there should be rules/regulations involved with supporting vendors. As in: Must post some sort of license (Tax ID, Sales License, Etc) My area does not require a resale license unless i reach a certain amount of sales, but it does require my tax ID number which is obviously linked to the business information.
Obviously alot/if not all vendors accept paypal, which is a good way "not" to get scammed.
However, this has made me want to write a how to..not to get scammed.
02-19-2007, 08:50 PM
#81
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The system should be as fact based as possible. For example, what are the average delivery times. Has the vendor had any documented complaints about their products. What are their prices like.
my two cents
my two cents
02-19-2007, 11:22 PM
#82
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what i mean by the GB 6 mo. period is you should already be an established business doing business on the site regularly and promoting your products because essentially being a vendor entitles you to market your products and business...you shouldnt be relying on a GB to start your business. the problem is (and we have seen it on many many sites before)....the intentions begin well. the vendor will hold a GB to establish a min. buy in with a manufacturer with whom in most circumstances they have never done business with before. This leads to supply and demand problems when the manufacturer is unaware of the GB and therefore may not be able to supply the quantity needed in a given time frame....
Many of these group buys running are sales...not group buys.
The problem starts when the new vendor now has 10 peoples money when they need 20 peoples orders to become a dealer and arent even sure they can get those products and prices. many of the GB are set up to establish a business as a dealer which is not the way GBs should be run. it leaves a lot of room for unitentional errors based upon never dealing with the manufacturer before. although no one wants to intentionally screw the customer, it happens and has happened before. many times you want to already have an existing good relationship with the manufacturer and know what to expect when getting into a business relationship with them.
The definition of GB needs to really be defined which hasnt happened. GB are not established to start someones business or to make a vendors opening order with a manufacturer. this is where problems stem from and where customers get screwed. the customers money is being used to try and establish a business which may or may not fall through. it just leaves a lot of grey area where a customer can unitentionally get taken advantage of...especially when a vendor is running several group buys at the same time...that is a lot of money at stake at one time for a vendor to be able to vanish with.
there should be no reason running 1 GB At a time would be unacceptable. this way a vendor doesnt get swamped with a millions things and can focus on the priority at hand.
we are lucky as a community that the one scenerio at hand was regarding one product and not several....people lost 40-50 bucks max...what if it was 200? we are lucky many small companies are catering to this vehicle specifically, but at what cost to the members of the community?
rules and regs. def. need to be set regarding a lot of things in this forum....
If vendors are to be benificial to the community and have a working relationship with the members of this board, there needs to be more strict rules as to how we go about business on the site before more and more people come here just to scam people and leave. i think everyone would agree, we want vendors who will be on the site a while, who are trustworthy and worth supporting. This site has lost many vendors over the past year, and thats what should be avoided.
as for the rating system, most people are more inclined to voice a negative than a positive experience. its human nature. sure if your pissed off you want everyone to know. when things happen the way they normally should and the customer gets what they expect they dont see that as a positive, they view it as what was to be expected from a vendor. 1 negative will outweigh 100 positives...because people will focus on the bad... you may have 100 smooth transactions and 1 thing get screwed up...but that 1 thing is what everyone will remember, not the 100 satified and happy customers.
its a very very fine line. it could help the customers and vendor relations, but potentially could also hurt many businesses. Each vendor should be able to have a Bio about their business and how long they have been a vendor on the site, this way new customers are aware of how long the vendor has been around and the type of business they are and how they work, the number of products they carry etc. The rating system needs to reflect the amount of business any given vendor does. some smaller businesses maybe have 100 customers...they may get 1 neg out of 100...another vendor may have 1,000 customers and 5 negs. even though 5 negetives looks worse then 1...its still a better percentage. rating systems hurt the larger businesses moreso then the smaller ones doing less volume or those supplying one individualized product.
this is just me rambling on...its not directed toward anyone in general or any instance...its based on me being part of a business but also as a customer who buys parts for my car just like everyone else, and a member on other forums watching this happen time and time again. bottom line, establish better rules and regs first and then focus on the rating system..they both need to sorted out to prevent future issues
ok im done....whew....
Many of these group buys running are sales...not group buys.
The problem starts when the new vendor now has 10 peoples money when they need 20 peoples orders to become a dealer and arent even sure they can get those products and prices. many of the GB are set up to establish a business as a dealer which is not the way GBs should be run. it leaves a lot of room for unitentional errors based upon never dealing with the manufacturer before. although no one wants to intentionally screw the customer, it happens and has happened before. many times you want to already have an existing good relationship with the manufacturer and know what to expect when getting into a business relationship with them.
The definition of GB needs to really be defined which hasnt happened. GB are not established to start someones business or to make a vendors opening order with a manufacturer. this is where problems stem from and where customers get screwed. the customers money is being used to try and establish a business which may or may not fall through. it just leaves a lot of grey area where a customer can unitentionally get taken advantage of...especially when a vendor is running several group buys at the same time...that is a lot of money at stake at one time for a vendor to be able to vanish with.
there should be no reason running 1 GB At a time would be unacceptable. this way a vendor doesnt get swamped with a millions things and can focus on the priority at hand.
we are lucky as a community that the one scenerio at hand was regarding one product and not several....people lost 40-50 bucks max...what if it was 200? we are lucky many small companies are catering to this vehicle specifically, but at what cost to the members of the community?
rules and regs. def. need to be set regarding a lot of things in this forum....
If vendors are to be benificial to the community and have a working relationship with the members of this board, there needs to be more strict rules as to how we go about business on the site before more and more people come here just to scam people and leave. i think everyone would agree, we want vendors who will be on the site a while, who are trustworthy and worth supporting. This site has lost many vendors over the past year, and thats what should be avoided.
as for the rating system, most people are more inclined to voice a negative than a positive experience. its human nature. sure if your pissed off you want everyone to know. when things happen the way they normally should and the customer gets what they expect they dont see that as a positive, they view it as what was to be expected from a vendor. 1 negative will outweigh 100 positives...because people will focus on the bad... you may have 100 smooth transactions and 1 thing get screwed up...but that 1 thing is what everyone will remember, not the 100 satified and happy customers.
its a very very fine line. it could help the customers and vendor relations, but potentially could also hurt many businesses. Each vendor should be able to have a Bio about their business and how long they have been a vendor on the site, this way new customers are aware of how long the vendor has been around and the type of business they are and how they work, the number of products they carry etc. The rating system needs to reflect the amount of business any given vendor does. some smaller businesses maybe have 100 customers...they may get 1 neg out of 100...another vendor may have 1,000 customers and 5 negs. even though 5 negetives looks worse then 1...its still a better percentage. rating systems hurt the larger businesses moreso then the smaller ones doing less volume or those supplying one individualized product.
this is just me rambling on...its not directed toward anyone in general or any instance...its based on me being part of a business but also as a customer who buys parts for my car just like everyone else, and a member on other forums watching this happen time and time again. bottom line, establish better rules and regs first and then focus on the rating system..they both need to sorted out to prevent future issues
ok im done....whew....
02-19-2007, 11:35 PM
#83
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Donna i tend to agree with you on all of your points.
Personally if a vendor had 100 ratings and had a 99% positive rating it wouldn't stop me from ordering from them. i myself am in sales and i know you cannot please all of the people all of the time. if i saw a vendor that had 100 ratings and had a 50% or 60% positive feedback rating i would be nervous ordering from them. i mean one or two bad ratings isn't serious but when a pattern begins to develop is when i personally would have an issue. again this is not directed towards you or CA as you guys have a very good rep around here. i'm just adding my 2 cents to what you said above
Personally if a vendor had 100 ratings and had a 99% positive rating it wouldn't stop me from ordering from them. i myself am in sales and i know you cannot please all of the people all of the time. if i saw a vendor that had 100 ratings and had a 50% or 60% positive feedback rating i would be nervous ordering from them. i mean one or two bad ratings isn't serious but when a pattern begins to develop is when i personally would have an issue. again this is not directed towards you or CA as you guys have a very good rep around here. i'm just adding my 2 cents to what you said above
02-19-2007, 11:51 PM
#84
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If vendors are to be benificial to the community and have a working relationship with the members of this board, there needs to be more strict rules as to how we go about business on the site before more and more people come here just to scam people and leave. i think everyone would agree, we want vendors who will be on the site a while, who are trustworthy and worth supporting. This site has lost many vendors over the past year, and thats what should be avoided.
as for the rating system, most people are more inclined to voice a negative than a positive experience. its human nature. sure if your pissed off you want everyone to know. when things happen the way they normally should and the customer gets what they expect they dont see that as a positive, they view it as what was to be expected from a vendor. 1 negative will outweigh 100 positives...because people will focus on the bad... you may have 100 smooth transactions and 1 thing get screwed up...but that 1 thing is what everyone will remember, not the 100 satified and happy customers.
as for the rating system, most people are more inclined to voice a negative than a positive experience. its human nature. sure if your pissed off you want everyone to know. when things happen the way they normally should and the customer gets what they expect they dont see that as a positive, they view it as what was to be expected from a vendor. 1 negative will outweigh 100 positives...because people will focus on the bad... you may have 100 smooth transactions and 1 thing get screwed up...but that 1 thing is what everyone will remember, not the 100 satified and happy customers.
But there is and even larger problem on here. There were product I ordered that was never recieved but was the vendor was trying to charge me for it anyway. that was a real problem for me. then I got what I needed within 10 days from another member. go figure. I can trust some individual forum member more than a vendor on here that could have had me as a repeat customer. I even gave the vendor 2 1/2 months to resolve it. It was sad.
Last edited by Asphalt Assault; 02-19-2007 at 11:55 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
02-20-2007, 12:20 AM
#85
Senior Member
yup, the consumer needs protection more than the vendor.
if a vendor is in business, then it makes snse to be above board.
the shady few will be weeded out sooner with a rating system, or survey.
I am entitled to my opinion. Badg1rl, I have been self employed for ovr 20 years.
I have taken a lot of unnessesary crap from customers, but thats a price of busines; fair or not. But i believe the consumer needs to feel a little protection in order to spend money online and giving someone they've never talked to, nor met, a bunch of cash on the promise a good/service will be completed as agreed. As a consumer, i see no problem roasting those who deserve it. Of coarse those doin the roasting had better
have proof. A mediator isn't a bad idea, but whoever suggested a negative comment be reviewed and approved for a post to come to light is utter bullshit. that sounds like communism. this forum is paid for by advertising dollars by vendors and premium members alike The real owner of this forum has chosen to be anonymous by how they regitered this site. But it is for the people isn't it? The vendors are here because it's easier for them to reach the masses with limied to no advertizing. Ths forum is a symbiotic relationship, and to have the people spending cash in fear of being shystered
is wrong. Instill some confidence in people, and let ratings begin. Its not slander if it's true, and the companies that are lacking in service will suffer no doubt. Isn't that what americans call free enterprise---good or bad.
if a vendor is in business, then it makes snse to be above board.
the shady few will be weeded out sooner with a rating system, or survey.
I am entitled to my opinion. Badg1rl, I have been self employed for ovr 20 years.
I have taken a lot of unnessesary crap from customers, but thats a price of busines; fair or not. But i believe the consumer needs to feel a little protection in order to spend money online and giving someone they've never talked to, nor met, a bunch of cash on the promise a good/service will be completed as agreed. As a consumer, i see no problem roasting those who deserve it. Of coarse those doin the roasting had better
have proof. A mediator isn't a bad idea, but whoever suggested a negative comment be reviewed and approved for a post to come to light is utter bullshit. that sounds like communism. this forum is paid for by advertising dollars by vendors and premium members alike The real owner of this forum has chosen to be anonymous by how they regitered this site. But it is for the people isn't it? The vendors are here because it's easier for them to reach the masses with limied to no advertizing. Ths forum is a symbiotic relationship, and to have the people spending cash in fear of being shystered
is wrong. Instill some confidence in people, and let ratings begin. Its not slander if it's true, and the companies that are lacking in service will suffer no doubt. Isn't that what americans call free enterprise---good or bad.
02-20-2007, 08:50 AM
#86
Senior Member
I agree, as a vendor your customers are your top priority or at least should be if you are a good business.
i think my main point im trying to bring about is...the rules in place for vendors right now is pretty relaxed, needs some changing. I dont think people should have to wait for a ratings system to weed out scammers. by then its too late, people have lost their money.
like i said though..ive been scammed in the past before i ever knew how things worked in the business and online world. quite frankly, it sucks and wouldnt want people to deal with that in the first place.
im not saying the rating is a bad idea...i just dont know how well it will be interpreted and thats what may add issues.
Last edited by Halfcent; 02-22-2007 at 11:09 AM.
02-20-2007, 09:32 PM
#87
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i kinda like the ebay idea feedback.
CustomerX: Like xx company never sent me productx
Vendor X: Prodduct sent tracking # xyz3, had some problem with whatever sorry
CustomerX: Thanks i got it, it looks good
as you can tell i was being very general but something like ebay feed back system would be a good.
CustomerX: Like xx company never sent me productx
Vendor X: Prodduct sent tracking # xyz3, had some problem with whatever sorry
CustomerX: Thanks i got it, it looks good
as you can tell i was being very general but something like ebay feed back system would be a good.
02-21-2007, 12:13 AM
#88
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i kinda like the ebay idea feedback.
CustomerX: Like xx company never sent me productx
Vendor X: Prodduct sent tracking # xyz3, had some problem with whatever sorry
CustomerX: Thanks i got it, it looks good
as you can tell i was being very general but something like ebay feed back system would be a good.
CustomerX: Like xx company never sent me productx
Vendor X: Prodduct sent tracking # xyz3, had some problem with whatever sorry
CustomerX: Thanks i got it, it looks good
as you can tell i was being very general but something like ebay feed back system would be a good.
02-21-2007, 04:19 PM
#92
Senior Member
As I stated in another thread I think this is a fantastic idea. I'm not sure what I could add here that hasn't been said already, but I do think any vendor that isn't out to scam us should have no problems with this and if they do then they can't be trusted. What I typically do on ebay is not look at the negatives of people but look at how many repeat customers a company has. If a company gets repeat business then you know they are a good company. So a system here that showed userIDs would be important to me because that way I could see if they have repeat customers.
02-21-2007, 11:11 PM
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02-22-2007, 10:33 AM
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Its an option, not a very good one.
I would like to see everyone get a trader rating. Not just the vendors.
I got the idea from www.vadriven.com/forums
It allows feedback, like ebay.
I would like to see everyone get a trader rating. Not just the vendors.
I got the idea from www.vadriven.com/forums
It allows feedback, like ebay.
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