eBay Will No Longer Allow Negative Buyer Feedback

Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:39AM EST

See Comments (49)

2008 is bringing some interesting times for eBay. Its CEO Meg Whitman, one of Silicon Valley's most long-lived and controversy-free CEOs, is stepping down in March. Rumors of a big acquisition are flying. And now, some changes are in store for people who actually use the site to buy and sell stuff.

The big news: Come May 2008, sellers will no longer be able to leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers. eBay's rationale is that it will encourage buyers to leave more honest feedback for sellers. Negative feedback from buyers is rare because of the fear of reprisal from a seller leaving negative feedback against you out of spite.

And while this should remove the fear of leaving negative feedback against crooked sellers, longtime eBay merchants are already upset with the change, as it takes away their lone mechanism for fighting buyer fraud in the auction process. Just about every seller (including myself) has faced a buyer who refused to pay, or who just didn't understand how auctions worked, and once in a while I've hit these buyers with negative feedback. 

I can understand where eBay is coming from: Protecting buyers is critical in an auction system. But could this move backfire? eBay has historically placed more and more restrictions on its sellers over the years. Could this be the straw that breaks the camel's back? (I'm not sure it is, if for no other reason than that auction sellers really have nowhere else to go.) 

Other changes are also in the works, including the removal of all negative/neutral feedback left by suspended members, switching the time you can leave feedback from 90 to 60 days, and additional ability for repeat buyers to leave more feedback for sellers. (Today, your feedback for a seller counts only one time, ever.)

Hear the seller anger by listening in here! That's a lot of ranting!

LINK: Upcoming Changes to Feedback 

Comments on eBay Will No Longer Allow Negative Buyer Feedback

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  • 1 Posted by mwbudd on Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:52AM EST Report Abuse

    Unless there is some sort of mechanism to allow this buyer a means to legitimately complain about poor or shoddy business practices I will no longer utilize EBay. There are simply too many other choices available for me to not have an avenue to protect myself. Also, I use those reviews on almost every purchase to get a sense of the seller. Too many negatives will keep me away from their goods every time. How are the buyers going to be protected from bad sellers in the future?

  • 2 Posted by pwm2460 on Thu Jan 31, 2008 12:01PM EST Report Abuse

    I agree with mwbudd. I will only buy from a sellar with a high rating. I learned that lesson the hard way. I'm not sure how much more business I will do with eBay, if I don't know how to trust the merchant.

  • 3 Posted by garden_railroader on Thu Jan 31, 2008 12:06PM EST Report Abuse

    I too sell on eBay and I've made the odd purchase through that site. As a seller of 4 years, I've seen the good and the bad of the system but taking away a sellers only defence against a troublesome buyer is just nuts. Now anyone can just bid their hearts out and never pay for their items and the seller has little he or she can do about it. And naturally, eBay will continue to charge for posting your ads and fix their sale final value rate that the seller pays. I think these are dangerous waters for eBay.

  • 4 Posted by keith_adams52 on Thu Jan 31, 2008 12:25PM EST Report Abuse

    The reason given was most the negatives were coming FROM the sellers, something like 8 to 1 ratio. There can't be that many bad buyers. The buyer leaves f/b first.Complain about long shipping times and leaving a neutral f/b will most likely get you a negative from the seller. Feedback is a tool that's not being used right.

  • 5 Posted by rogueist on Thu Jan 31, 2008 12:51PM EST Report Abuse

    Its the final value fees that are the real news here. The changes to the feedback system are all positive. They should also have an automatic positive feedback given to the buyer if the seller never gives feedback and then change any positive feedback to the seller into and automatic double negative feedback because the seller never left feedback for the buyer.

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