Why eBay Uses Feedback
eBay is a marketplace rather than a shop. It provides the platform, but the sale itself takes place between the buyer and the seller, who are often strangers living in different parts of the country.
Feedback helps members assess another buyer's or seller's transaction history. Each member has a Feedback profile that builds up over time as transactions are rated.
How Feedback Works
Once a transaction is complete, both sides can leave feedback. Buyers can rate a seller as positive, neutral or negative and add a short written comment. There is a deadline for doing so, and eBay's "Leaving feedback for sellers" help page explains how long you have and the date it runs from.
Some feedback is not written by members. eBay can add automatic positive feedback for certain transactions. Its help pages explain which sellers and orders qualify and how this feedback is marked, which is worth knowing when you judge a seller's record.
Sellers can leave only positive feedback for buyers. This rule prevents sellers from leaving negative feedback in retaliation, and they cannot get around it by putting a negative or neutral comment inside a positive rating. If a buyer causes problems, such as not paying, the seller can report it to eBay instead.
Buyers can also give sellers detailed star ratings, which cover:
- how accurately the item was described
- how well the seller communicated
- how quickly the item was dispatched
- whether postage charges were reasonable
Individual detailed seller ratings are not shown to the seller with the buyer's identity. They do not change the Feedback score, although aggregate ratings can appear in the seller's profile.
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Reading Feedback Scores and Stars
Your Feedback score goes up by one for each counted positive rating and down by one for each counted negative rating. Neutral ratings do not change it. When the same two members rate each other several times within a short period, not every rating counts towards the score. eBay's help pages set out exactly how that period is defined.
The positive feedback percentage is based on positive and negative ratings from the past 12 months. Neutral ratings do not count towards it. Read the percentage alongside the number of ratings and recent comments: a percentage based on only a few transactions may give a misleading impression.
Once a member reaches a score of 10, a coloured star appears next to their user ID. The colour changes as the score rises, and eBay's help pages list the current bands.
A high score may largely reflect buying activity. Check the feedback a member has received as a seller, ideally for items similar to the one you want.
Sellers' Feedback profiles are public, so you can read their ratings and comments. Members who only buy can choose to make their profiles private.
Responding to Feedback and Its Limits
If you receive negative or neutral feedback, you can post a public reply beneath it. A calm, factual response usually reads better than an angry one, as other users will see both sides.
Sellers can ask a buyer to revise feedback, but only within eBay's limits on timing and the number of requests. eBay's revision guidance gives the current rules. The buyer does not have to agree.
Disagreeing with feedback is not, by itself, grounds for removal. eBay may remove it where it breaches its feedback rules, for example by containing offensive language or personal information, or where it qualifies under its seller protection policies.
Leaving negative feedback does not open a return, report a missing item or get you a refund. For that, use eBay's order resolution process within its deadlines. eBay's Money Back Guarantee may apply to eligible purchases, but it is a separate scheme and does not replace your legal rights. Those rights differ depending on whether the seller is a business or a private individual, and Citizens Advice can explain them.
Check recent seller feedback, read the item description carefully and use eBay's order resolution process if a problem arises.
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