What is Feedback and how does it affect my reputation?

Feedback is made up of comments and ratings left by other eBay members you've bought from and sold to. These comments and ratings are valuable indicators of your reputation as a buyer or seller on eBay. They are included, along with an overall Feedback score, in your Feedback profile.

How Feedback works

For each transaction, buyers and sellers can choose to rate each other by leaving Feedback. Feedback from buyers can consist of a positive, negative or neutral rating, and a short comment. Feedback from sellers can consist of a positive rating and a short comment. These ratings are used to determine Feedback scores. With some exceptions, outlined below, Feedback works like this:

• A positive rating increases the Feedback score by one point.

• A neutral rating does not change the Feedback score.

• A negative rating decreases the Feedback score by one point.

Each member may affect your score by one point (positive, negative or neutral) per transaction. However, to make sure that repeat Feedback is calculated in the Feedback score, the new transaction the member is leaving Feedback for must end in a separate week. For Feedback, eBay defines a week as Monday to Sunday.

For example, a buyer wins an item on Tuesday, then receives it and gives the seller positive Feedback on Thursday. If the buyer wins another item that week with the same seller, the Feedback the buyer leaves will not count toward the seller's Feedback score. But if the buyer wins another item the following Tuesday, the Feedback will count toward the seller's Feedback score.

The Positive Feedback rating is the percentage of positive ratings left by members in the last 12 months. This is calculated by dividing the number of positive ratings by the total number of ratings (positive + neutral + negative).

Important things to know about Feedback

• Always leave Feedback after a transaction so that other members may benefit from your experience.

• You cannot remove Feedback comments you have left, so be sure to leave only fair and factual comments and ratings that relate to a specific transaction you had with your trading partner.

• Usually a high Feedback score is a good sign, but you should always check your trading partner's Feedback profile to read comments and look for negative remarks.

• If you are a buyer, contact your seller to try to resolve any issues before leaving neutral or negative Feedback.

• A seller can also, in certain circumstances, request a buyer to revise their feedback.

• You must be a registered member to leave Feedback. You may leave Feedback on the items you purchased as a guest after you register.

• If the seller files an Unpaid Item dispute against a buyer, any negative or neutral Feedback left by that buyer will be removed if the buyer does not respond to the dispute before the deadline, and receives a strike. 

• When a member is suspended, eBay will remove any neutral or negative Feedback left by that member.

• Buyers must wait at least seven days before leaving a negative or neutral Feedback for a PowerSeller who has been registered on eBay for at least 12 months.