***Changes coming soon to Feedback***

Following on from our announcement back in January, we’d now like to confirm that changes to the Feedback system will come into effect on eBay.co.uk and eBay.ie from 15 May.

Why are we making changes?

We’re aiming to restore the trust and transparency that’s at the heart of the Feedback system. We want buyers to be able to rate sellers honestly so that other buyers can tell good and bad sellers apart more easily – and have total confidence in who they’re buying from.

We’re also recognising sellers who attract repeat buyers – this is a clear indication of good service. At the moment, a number of feedback ratings from the same buyer count as a single rating, but from 15 May onwards a seller’s Feedback score will reflect all the feedback they’ve been left.

More information about the changes: UK members | Irish members.

Protecting sellers

Since our announcement in January, a number of sellers have told us they’re concerned about the risk of some buyers abusing the new Feedback system. So to combat this, we’ve made some modifications to the changes we originally announced:

Before feedback is left

1. We’ll remind all buyers about to leave negative or neutral feedback for a seller to get in touch with the seller first, and to allow plenty of time for their item to arrive (we’ll also include a specific reminder for cross-border purchases).
2. Sellers will have more control over who they allow to bid on and buy their items thanks to an enhanced Buyer Requirements tool. For the first time, they’ll be able to block bidders who have been reported for policy breaches and non-payment. We’ll launch these enhancements at the end of May.
3. Buyers will be able to leave feedback for 60 days after a transaction (down from 90 days).
4. If a seller is a PowerSeller and has been on the site for at least a year, buyers will not be able to leave negative or neutral feedback for 7 days after their transaction.

After feedback is left

1. We’ll remove negative or neutral ratings if a seller opens an Unpaid Item claim and the buyer either doesn’t respond or doesn’t specifically say the seller is at fault.
2. We’ll remove negative or neutral ratings left by a buyer if they’re subsequently permanently suspended from the site.
3. We’ll base Feedback percentage scores on the last 12 months’ activity (rather than on lifetime activity) so that negative feedback doesn’t permanently affect a seller’s reputation.
4. We’ll be launching a dedicated hub for sellers to report malicious or unfair feedback from buyers.

Shopping with peace of mind

As we announced before, all listings on eBay.co.uk will soon need to offer PayPal as a Safe Payment method. This is so that buyers have the choice of purchase protection on every item they buy.

Over 95% of listings on eBay.co.uk now offer PayPal. If you don’t already offer it on yours, we’d strongly recommend you sign up now. We’ll update you soon on the final deadline for the requirement to offer PayPal on your listings.
We hope you’ll support these changes. They’ll create a safer marketplace where buyers are more confident and which rewards sellers giving good service.

Regards,
The eBay team

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/uk/200805.shtml#2008-05-07172508