eBay allows buyers and sellers to leave feedback for each other after a transaction. This helps future buyers and sellers learn about the experience others have had.
However, sometimes you may regret the feedback you left or want to revise it. Unfortunately, eBay does not allow buyers or sellers to retract or remove feedback once it has been left.
Here are some things to keep in mind about eBay feedback:
Table of Contents
Why You Can’t Retract Feedback on eBay
eBay does not allow buyers or sellers to retract feedback for a few reasons:
- Feedback integrity: Allowing revisions or removals would compromise the integrity of the entire feedback system. Future buyers and sellers need to be able to trust what they read.
- Prevent abuse: Without this policy, some users could threaten others to try and get them to retract positive or negative ratings.
- Finalize transactions: eBay wants to bring closure to transactions once feedback has been left. Allowing changes later on keeps transactions indefinitely open.
What to Do If You Left the Wrong Feedback
If you accidentally left the wrong feedback or wish you could rephrase it, there are a few options:
- Contact the other user: Politely message the other user, explain the situation, and apologize. Many reputable sellers and buyers will understand if you approach them constructively.
- Leave follow-up feedback: You can leave additional positive feedback to make up for an overly critical review. This won’t remove the old feedback but can offset it.
- Report legitimate issues: If the seller lied about the item condition, filed an unjust complaint against you, or extorted you, report them to eBay. eBay may remove their account in extreme situations.
Tips for Leaving Accurate eBay Feedback
To avoid feedback regrets down the road:
- Review all details carefully: Double check the item condition, shipping time, and communications before leaving feedback. Don’t rely purely on memory.
- Give objective feedback: Focus feedback on facts and specific issues, not subjective opinions open to interpretation.
- Cool off if needed: If you had a negative experience but are feeling angry, wait a day or two before leaving heated feedback.
- Be constructive: Even for negative feedback, frame things constructively. Insulting or threatening language is against policy.
What to Do About Unfair Feedback Received
If you receive unfair, inaccurate, or malicious feedback as a seller, you can:
- Report to eBay: If the feedback violates policies, eBay may remove it after an investigation.
- Respond professionally: Reply publicly to the feedback explaining your side reasonably. Other buyers will likely see your response.
- Contact the buyer: If you have a constructive dialogue, the buyer might voluntarily revise or remove their feedback. But they cannot be compelled or threatened to do so.
- Prevent future issues: Analyze what went wrong so you can improve processes and avoid similar feedback down the road.
When eBay Will Remove Feedback
In very rare cases, eBay will remove feedback if it violates their published policies around:
- Personal attacks
- Inappropriate or abusive language
- Allegations of illegal behavior
- Threats of non-public actions
- Information violations (private or confidential info)
eBay typically will not remove feedback over:
- Negative comments
- Less than glowing reviews
- Disputes about item condition
- Differences of opinion
Essentially, eBay only removes the most extreme and policy-violating feedback. So you cannot expect removal over minor issues or misjudgments.
Other Ways to Manage Your eBay Reputation
While specific feedback comments cannot be removed or retracted, sellers still have options to manage their overall reputation, including:
- Offer returns: Accepting returns can prevent disgruntled buyers.
- Reward loyal customers: Offer special discounts for repeat satisfied buyers to incentivize future positive feedback.
- Prioritize service recovery: Go above and beyond to resolve disputes and change the minds of unhappy customers.
- Gather feedback proactively: Email happy buyers asking them to please leave positive feedback.
