 ***A Message from Brian Burke – Upcoming Feedback Changes*** |
07 May, 2008 | 12:32
| Brian Burke |
Hello everyone…as we announced earlier this year, we’re making some bold changes to how Feedback on eBay works.
As we get closer to our launch, we want to provide additional detail and updates.
As a recap, below is what we announced in January that is scheduled to launch on May 19 in Canada:
- Sellers may only leave positive Feedback for buyers
- We will remove negative and neutral Feedback if a member becomes suspended
- Members can leave Feedback up to 60 days after a transaction (down from 90)
- We will remove Feedback when a buyer fails to respond to the Unpaid Item Process.
- Members will receive credit for weekly repeat Feedback (going back to 1996)
- We will base the Positive Feedback Percentage on the past 12 months of activity (and include neutral
Feedback in the calculation)
- The PowerSeller Program will use the same calculation method described above to determine eligibility for
the PS Program for the Positive Feedback percentage requirement of 98% positive.
Next I’d like to share some additional detail beyond what we discussed in the original post:
- In January, we mentioned that we’d block buyers from leaving negative or neutral Feedback for 3 days for
sellers “with a track record”. Since January, we’ve made the decision to increase the wait period to 7 days and
define “track record” as active PowerSellers who have been on eBay for at least 12 months.
We studied the factors that increased risk to buyers the most and found there are three: a) a seller’s Positive
Feedback percentage and Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs), b) the volume of a seller’s Feedback – both in total
and on an ongoing basis and c) length of time a seller has been on site.
We selected PowerSellers who have been on eBay at least 12 months in order to minimize risk to buyers because:
- PowerSellers have to meet quality thresholds for both conventional Feedback and, starting in July, for
DSRs
- PowerSellers have to meet volume requirements – both in total and on an ongoing basis
- One year on-site proved to be an important predictor of lower risk
All three factors prove important to predicting the risk to buyers – removing any one of them would increase
risk to a level we are not currently comfortable with at this time.
We will watch all aspects of the new Feedback system very carefully, studying how the marketplace responds and
we will make changes as we see appropriate.
- We mentioned that we’d be aligning the Mutual Feedback Withdrawal process with the new system. After much
consideration, we’ve made the decision to remove the Mutual Feedback Withdrawal process. The reason is that –
under the new rules -- it opens sellers up to extortion. As part of this decision, Mutual Agreement from third
-party Feedback mediation services, such as SquareTrade, will also no longer be accepted.
Over the last several months, we’ve had many conversations with our customers – both buyers and sellers – and
we’ve had the opportunity to consider ways we can address some of the top concerns we’ve heard. Based on the
input we’ve received from you, I want to share some additional modifications we’re making:
- We are adding language in the Leave Feedback flow for buyers who are in a cross-border transaction that
reminds them that international transactions usually take longer to complete.
- We’ve improved the interstitial page that all buyers see before leaving negative or neutral Feedback; the
updated page offers a stronger message to buyers about the need to communicate with the seller, to allow enough
time for the transaction to complete, and to keep Feedback factual.
- And later this month…
- In addition to expanding the 3-day block to 7 days, we are introducing a new Buyer Requirement that will
allow sellers to block buyers who have been reported by other sellers for eBay buying policy violations (such
as Feedback abuse, or email threats).
- We’re expanding the scope of the existing Buyer Requirement for unpaid items, so that it supports more
comprehensive blocking of buyers who have a history of non-payment.
- We’ve improved the process that sellers use to report buyers for policy violations.
As you can see, these changes represent a huge investment in transforming the way Feedback works, so that it
better serves today’s marketplace. Ultimately, the goal is to restore trust and transparency and improve the
buying experience, while offering needed checks and balances that ensure our sellers who provide excellent
service benefit.
Sincerely,
Brian Burke
Director, Global Feedback Policy
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