2008 eBay Changes – Feedback
February 6, 2008
It has been just over a week since the big eBay announcement that has gotten almost everyone who is making money on eBay in an uproar. We have been sitting back digesting all of the hubbub in the blogosphere, waiting for the right time to chime in. Now is the time for us to put in our two cents worth.
We will tackle what appears to be the most controversial subject first – eBay feedback changes. If you are just beginning in your quest to learn how to make money on eBay, then you might be wondering what the big to-do is all about. We aren’t just starting out, but we, too, wonder what all the ruckus is for.
To quickly break down the changes, we present you with the following list:
- Buyers will only be able to receive positive feedback, which means sellers will no longer be able to leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers.
- Positive repeat customer feedback will count (up to 1 feedback from the same buyer per week.)
- Feedback more than 12-months old won’t count towards your feedback percentage.
- When a buyer doesn’t respond to the Unpaid Item (UPI) process, the negative or neutral Feedback they have left for that transaction will be removed.
- When a member is suspended, all their negative and neutral feedback will be removed.
- Buyers must wait 3 days before leaving negative or neutral feedback for sellers with an established track record, thus to encourage communication.
- All feedback must be left within 60 days (compared to 90 days today) of listing end to encourage timely feedback and discourage abuse.
- Buyers will be held more accountable when sellers report an unpaid item or commit other policy violations.
What will happen is that sellers will no longer be able to hold buyer’s feedback hostage with the fear of negative feedback being held over their heads. This will allow buyers to give honest feedback to sellers, which translates into a more accurate buyer feedback rating.
Yes, you will get buyers that will take any opportunity to leave a negative or neutral feedback with a seller for the most minor of reasons but this, most likely, will be the minority. For the most part, people are not vindictive and they understand the value in leaving accurate, appropriate feedback. We hope! 
This new feedback system brings eBay’s feedback more in line with that of their competition, such as Amazon. On Amazon you can’t leave buyers feedback, and that marketplace is doing quite well. In fact, a bunch of people making money on eBay also do so on Amazon. It is called diversification and is something that you must do in order to survive.
One very positive point that doesn’t seem to be getting much discussion (go figure, people are concentrating on the perceived negatives) is the fact that the feedback you get from repeat customers will count towards your feedback score (the displayed number, not just the all positive number). This will help increase the feedback score of sellers who have a large number of repeat customers.
Gary, at The Auction Rebel, has created 12 tips to combat eBay’s new feedback policy. Instead of being one of those eBay sellers that is whining about the upcoming changes, you might want to heed Gary’s advice and be proactive.
Griff, eBay’s resident goodwill ambassador, has some interesting thoughts regarding the new eBay feedback policy. One wouldn’t expect him to say anything negative about the upcoming feedback changes, but he brings up some great points that those making money on eBay should ponder.
Listen, the eBay feedback system is what it is. Don’t be one of the complainers that is threatening to leave eBay, or go on strike. Be someone who is making money on eBay and can adjust to the changes. You might be surprised to see they are not all that bad after all! 
Image: FreeFoto.com
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Hey I just found your blog because of one of your eBay board posts. It looks great, I will be sure to add you to my RSS.
Keep up the good work,
eBay Selling Guide
After reading your post, I’m confused as to the tone of it. People that disagree with the new policy “whine” and are “complainers”, and you belittle the change in the beginning of your post. It doesn’t seem to support the positive tone you are trying to convey. I am only making you aware of it.
Also, I’d like to point out that Amazon does let sellers give feedback to buyers.
As to eBay, buyers are just as notoriously dishonest as sellers, and use retaliatory feedback as
well. They are the same animal. They fail to read clearly written descriptions, they throw a tantrum, they give negative feedback. They can be ugly to the point that a seller wants to warn people about them. I have seen feedback for UPS delivering their package to the wrong address.
Feedback is arbitrary (Look at Amazon’s vague 5-star system), and means different things to different people.
One last point. Buyers look at sellers for a reputation, obviously. Brick and mortar stores do it all the time: “Since 1953″. Erasing that lengthy reputation with the new ’12 months policy’ hurts the buyer, because they don’t have that information to rate their seller.
Fee changes have happened before and will continue on Ebay, but the final straw for me is this new Feedback Change. They have gone way over the line with this one! Slap the sellers in the face and expect us to take it? Isn’t one of our Constitutional Rights the right to Freedom of Speech? I believe that taking away the sellers right to leave whatever speech we deem right to the buyers, while leaving the buyers the right to say whatever they want in their feedback to us, can be very damaging to the sellers and also preferential treatment for the buyers. What’s to stop unreputable sellers from posing as buyers just to ruin our feedback and get us knocked off Ebay because we are one of their competitors? I think Ebay needs to take a refresher course in Human Relations in Business. Maybe if enough of us rebel, they will learn “DON’T BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU!” Without sellers, there are no buyers. I won’t hesitate to leave! I’m tired of their INTIMIDATION!