• eBay will remove negative and neutral Feedback left by members who are suspended.

• eBay will remove negative and neutral Feedback left by members who fail to respond to the unpaid item process.

• The buyer requirements options have been updated to include some new features. Sellers can set up buyer requirements through My eBay. For more information about buyer requirements, see question 6 below.

• eBay has added a reporting link on the ‘Leave Feedback’ page.This makes it easier for sellers to report buyers for policy violations and unpaid items.

• Buyers must wait seven days before leaving negative or neutral Feedback for active PowerSellers who have been registered for at least 12 months.

• The period for buyers and sellers to leave Feedback has been reduced from 90 to 60 days after the transaction closes.

• Buyers must now complete a checklist of steps taken to resolve an issue before they can leave negative or neutral Feedback.  This encourages communication with sellers.

• Messaging has been added to the Feedback process to remind buyers that international transactions usually take longer to complete.

• Mutual feedback withdrawal will no longer be available and SquareTrade can no longer be used to mediate Feedback disputes.

• Beginning in February 2008, we enabled buyers and sellers to earn up to one Feedback point per week from the same trading partner. On 12 May we will apply this change to all repeat Feedback backdated to when the system was introduced in 1996.

• Members’ positive Feedback percentage will be calculated on the past 12 months’ activity (and include neutral Feedback in the calculation)

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eBay is constantly reviewing and evaluating the Feedback system to meet the community’s needs.  The changes will improve the honesty of feedback and provide benefits to buyers and sellers alike.

Benefits for buyers

Under the current system some buyers fear retaliatory Feedback.  This prevents them from leaving honest, accurate Feedback for sellers.  The changes will make it easier for buyers to judge sellers’ performance

Benefits for sellers

• Sellers who drive repeat business will be rewarded when they receive multiple Feedback points from the same buyer.

• When buyers receive negative Feedback they tend to buy less often, with this option removed we expect to see an increase in buyer activity which will benefit all sellers.

• Sellers who provide great service to buyers will stand out.

• Some negative or neutral Feedback left for sellers in the first few days after a listing has ended is due to lack of communication. The new timing restrictions for Feedback target this issue.

Benefits for everyone

• Members who are suspended for unpaid items or other policy violations will no longer be permitted to harm other members’ reputations.

• Recent Feedback gives a more accurate reflection of a member’s current performance, which is why your positive Feedback percentage will be based on the previous 12 months’ activity.

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• eBay wants sellers to focus on buyer satisfaction up front, not after an issue arises.

• Sellers still have the ability to reply to Feedback and buyers can use a follow-up comment if a negative transaction ended positively.

• The possibility of Feedback withdrawal leaves buyers open to potentially unwelcome contact from sellers attempting to have the buyer change the Feedback.

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eBay believes that the Feedback improvements will reduce any perceived imbalance in the Feedback system.  Specifically:

• Buyers will give more honest Feedback, since they won’t fear retaliatory negative Feedback.

• Buyers will differentiate high performing sellers from other sellers.

• Buyers will have greater trust in sellers, which may lead to increased buying activity.

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eBay has improved the buyer requirements options available to sellers. This will help sellers prevent certain buyers from bidding on or buying their items. Sellers can choose to block:

• Buyers with a recent unpaid item strike (new timing feature)

• Buyers registered in a country to which the seller does not post

• Buyers with a recent eBay policy violation (new)

• Buyers who have bid on or bought several of a seller’s items in the last 10 days

Learn more about buyer requirements.

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If a buyer uses the threat of negative Feedback to demand more than was promised in the item description you should immediately report the buyer to eBay. If there is clear evidence of extortion eBay will take action against the buyer.

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Negative and neutral Feedback left for buyers prior to these changes will remain unless the seller is suspended.

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Generally, if a member is suspended then any negative or neutral feedback that the member has left will be removed.  If a member is suspended within 90 days of registration, then all feedback that they have left may be removed.

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The positive Feedback percentage will be calculated by dividing all positive Feedback earned in the past year by all positive, neutral and negative Feedback.

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Buyers and sellers can earn multiple Feedback credits from the same trading partner. However, only one repeat Feedback credit per week will be added to your Feedback score, no matter how many repeat transactions you had with the trading partner that week.

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eBay began crediting repeat Feedback from repeat transactions in mid-February 2008. eBay has now backdated repeat Feedback from transactions prior to February 2008. Only positive repeat Feedback will be backdated.

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eBay has improved Feedback profiles. When you click on the number in brackets next to any member ID, you'll now see a new, enhanced Feedback profile. At a glance, you can see the most recent and relevant information about a user.

Feedback score appears at the top near the user's name and image. This gives you a quick view of how long the user has been a member and details of the member’s Feedback points that the member has received since first joining.

Recent Feedback ratings show you how the member has been performing over the past 1, 6, and 12 months.

Detailed seller ratings provide greater insight into a seller's performance.

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Eligibility for the PowerSeller program is calculated by taking the number of positive Feedback and dividing it by the total number of Feedback (including positive, negative and neutral) received in the last 12 months. This includes repeat Feedback from the same members, as long as the related transactions ended in different weeks.

For example:

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If your  Feedback rating has dropped below 98% positive as a result of the new  Feedback system which launched at the end of May 2008, you now have a 60-day grace period (until 19 July 2008) to increase your positive  Feedback to at least 98% or you will lose your PowerSeller status.

If in the next 60 days, you don’t meet any of the other PowerSeller requirements (GMV, policy compliance, etc.) the 60-day grace period won't apply and you may lose your status within 30 days of being warned.

If you received a warning for low positive Feedback before 20 May 2008, your PowerSeller status may still be removed within 30 days, and the 60-day grace period will not apply.

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