4 min article

Feedback policy

Our community expects honest, transparent feedback. We allow buyers to share their experiences with the community but will remove harmful or irrelevant comments and images.

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What is the policy?

Our policy is to ensure that feedback is meaningful for both buyers and sellers. We do not allow feedback that is harmful, inappropriate or irrelevant as this reduces trust between buyers and sellers, and undermines the feedback system. You’ll find more detail below on situations in which we remove feedback. In each case, we make sure we have factual evidence to support removal.

While we’re committed to protecting sellers’ businesses, it’s worth remembering that buyers do not expect to see 100% positive feedback and that eBay is not in a position to contradict buyers’ opinions or judgment of items. We recommend that sellers reply to negative or neutral feedback with a thoughtful, well-written response that demonstrates how much you care about your buyer’s experience.

How do we remove feedback?

We use automation to proactively remove feedback that goes against our policy but in cases that are not clear-cut, we carry out a manual review. You can request removal through Seller Help, at which point a team member will review it. Depending on the situation, we may remove the comment, ratings and/or images.

If your feedback qualifies for removal, you will be notified via email and the feedback will be removed from your account within 24 hours. If it cannot be removed, we will provide clarification as to how it doesn’t violate our policy.

When do we remove feedback?

Harmful, inappropriate or irrelevant comments and images

We remove all feedback that contains any:

  • Content promoting hatred, violence or discrimination
  • Profane, obscene, adult, illegal, or explicit content
  • Opinions on any political, religious, or social issues
  • Any implied or explicit threats or intimidation
  • Personally identifiable information
  • Links, URLs, or other content encouraging sales outside of eBay
  • Infringement of third-party rights
  • Meaningless content or images that aren’t of the item purchased
  • Comments intended for a different item or seller
  • Negative comments with positive ratings, or positive comments with negative ratings
  • Personal attacks that could harm the reputation of the seller or their business and could not reasonably be viewed as constructive criticism

Any pictures left in feedback should accurately represent the item purchased and follow our policies, including the Images, videos and text policy, the Offensive materials policy, the Restricted adult items policy, and the Illegal explicit content policy.

See example

Tim received negative feedback from a buyer about a photo frame that said “Shirt was very poor quality”. Since this feedback was clearly left for the wrong item, it is removable.

Extortion and manipulation

We remove all feedback that:

See example

Jasmine sold a camera, but along with payment she received an email from the buyer stating, “If you don't include an upgraded memory card and a case at no additional charge I'll leave you negative feedback.” This is feedback extortion and as such the feedback is removable.

Buyer-related transaction issues

We remove neutral/negative feedback when we can see that:

  • The buyer asked to cancel after placing their order
  • The order was canceled due to an issue with the buyer’s address
  • The order was canceled because the buyer didn’t pay
  • The buyer is raising an issue that was correctly disclosed in the listing
  • The buyer has been actioned under our Abusive buyer policy
  • The buyer requested a change to an order after they’d paid (and their feedback relates to this)

See examples

Sam was asked by a buyer to send an item to an address that was different to the address provided in the order details. Sam didn’t agree, and the buyer left negative feedback saying “I meant to send this to my work address but the seller refused to change it”. This feedback was removed.

Sandra sold a pre-loved dress and received negative feedback that said “There was a small stain on the inside of the dress, wish I’d known, grr!!” However, the item description clearly stated that there was a stain on the inside of the dress. On this basis, the feedback is unjustified and can be removed.

However, if the dress had been described as being in excellent condition, and the information about the stain had not been included in the listing, this feedback would not be removable. In such cases, we recommend replying to the buyer to show that you take their concerns seriously. An example of a good reply would be “I’m sorry to hear you weren’t happy with the dress, I love making my customers happy. Please open a return on eBay and we can arrange for a refund.”

Item delivery issues

We remove neutral/negative feedback when the buyer is referencing:

  • A delivery issue where tracking shows us that the delivery or handling time expectations were met
  • A delivery issue where a natural disaster or unexpected event caused a carrier delay
  • A customs or tax issue outside the seller’s control that we could identify

See example

Akash sold a small car part to an international buyer, and the buyer left negative feedback that said “Import duties way too high”. Since Akash was not the cause of the issue with taxes, the feedback is removable.

Returns issues

We remove neutral/negative feedback when any of the following occurred and this is what the buyer is referencing:

  • The item was returned used or damaged and the seller deducted an amount from the refund
  • The seller declined a change-of-mind return request, as the listing didn’t offer returns
  • The buyer changed their mind and was liable for the cost of an eBay return label
  • The seller offers free returns, handled the return and issued a refund

See example

Maria listed an item and clearly indicated that she doesn’t accept returns. Her buyer gets the item, decides it wasn’t what they wanted and asks to return it. Maria declines because she is not obliged to accept change-of-mind returns and the buyer leaves negative feedback stating “Wouldn’t take the item back after I realized it wasn’t what I wanted”. Since Maria was clear about not accepting returns, the feedback is removable.

eBay site or program issues

We remove neutral/negative feedback when:

  • The comment is about not being able to retract a bid
  • The problem was caused by a technical issue on the eBay site that we could identify
  • An eBay Money Back Guarantee case or payment dispute was closed with the seller having met their obligations to the buyer
  • The item was shipped on-time with eBay International Shipping or the Global Shipping Program and there was a shipping-related issue
  • The item was sold under our Authenticity Guarantee program, was shipped on-time and passed authentication
  • The item was sold under our Guaranteed Fit program, the buyer requested a return because the item didn't fit their vehicle, and we can see that the seller met all their obligations to the buyer

See example

Linda sells an item via auction and after the winning bidder receives the item they leave negative feedback stating “I didn’t want this, I tried to cancel my bid and they wouldn’t let me. Guess I’m stuck with it.” Since the buyer’s complaint is about not being able to retract their bid, the feedback is removable.

Tip
If you think feedback goes against our policy, you can contact us through Seller Help within 90 days of the transaction to request removal.

We regularly review our policy to make sure we’re keeping up with industry standards and being fair to everyone in our community. The enforcement of our Feedback policy, which protects buyers and sellers, is dependent on both parties adhering to all other relevant eBay policies.

Activity on eBay is required to follow this policy, the eBay User Agreement and all applicable laws, as well as respect the rights of third parties. If it doesn’t, eBay may take action consistent with applicable laws and the eBay User Agreement, and may even be legally required to do so. Such actions may include, as an example only: Removing the listing or other content, issuing a warning, restricting activity or account suspension.

Why does eBay have this policy?

This policy helps protect the integrity of the eBay feedback system, and builds trust between buyers and sellers.

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