Sellers spoke and eBay listened. The e-commerce giant announced it will roll back certain parts of its controversial site changes that have had sellers in a lather since the beginning of the year.
Starting in late August, neutral feedbacks will no longer be counted in the equation that eBay uses to determine a member's feedback percentage. Moreover, eBay will retroactively recalculate feedback percentages for users worldwide, according to Lorrie Norrington, president of Global Marketplace Operations at eBay.
When eBay's infamous new feedback policy took effect in May, many sellers were outraged to discover that neutral feedbacks they received within the previous 12 months now counted as negatives. The unannounced change was seen as adding insult to injury after eBay stripped sellers of the ability to leave anything but positive ratings for their buyers—good or bad.
After hearing the protests of its largest sellers at the recent eBay Live show in Chicago, eBay admitted implementing that particular detail was a bad decision.
"When we get something wrong, we want to make it right," said Norrington in the July 10 announcement. "No one will lose their PowerSeller status as a result of neutrals being included in their feedback percentage."
Additionally, by the end of October, eBay plans to introduce a way to let buyers change the feedback they've already left for a seller. The new process is designed to replace the Mutual Feedback Withdrawal system, which was eliminated when the new feedback policy took effect.
"Everybody makes mistakes—buyers and sellers alike, and buyers should have a mechanism to change feedback if they make a mistake or if the seller rectifies an issue in a timely manner," Norrington said.
Unlike the Mutual Feedback Withdrawal system, however, the new process will enable buyers to change their feedback, instead of just erasing it from the record. Further details of the new process are expected to be released in the fall.
Norrington notes that eBay is working to resolve other problems that sellers have complained about. While she did not identify any specific issues, an updated Frequently Asked Questions summary noted that the ban on external links, announced in May, will not be enforced in July as originally planned.
eBay said it will introduce a revised links policy by mid-August that will allow sellers to include links to ProStores and non-transactional sites from their AboutMe pages. Enforcement of the revised policy would begin four weeks after it is introduced.
Auctiva staff writers constantly monitor trends and best practices of those selling on eBay and elsewhere online. They attend relevant training seminars and trade shows and regularly discuss the market with PowerSellers and other market experts.
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