eBay feedback is the seller rating system where buyers leave a positive, negative, or neutral rating with a written comment after each completed transaction. The feedback score is the cumulative count of unique positive feedback ratings a seller has received. The feedback percentage is the ratio of positive feedback to total feedback in the past 12 months. Sellers with a 98% or higher positive feedback rate and at least 100 completed transactions in 12 months qualify for Top-Rated Seller status, which reduces the Final Value Fee by 20% on qualifying listings. Feedback directly determines seller performance tier, listing visibility in eBay Cassini search results, and buyer trust.
eBay feedback is defined as the post-transaction evaluation system eBay operates where buyers rate their purchase experience on a 3-point scale: positive (green star), neutral (yellow star), or negative (red star). Each unique positive rating from a unique buyer in a 12-month period adds 1 point to the seller’s feedback score. Negative and neutral feedback do not subtract points from the score but reduce the positive feedback percentage.
What Is eBay Feedback and How Is the Feedback Score Calculated?
The eBay feedback score is a cumulative count of unique positive feedback ratings from buyers. Each positive feedback from a unique buyer adds 1 point. Multiple positive feedback items from the same buyer in a 12-month period add only 1 point. Negative feedback does not subtract points from the score but lowers the positive feedback percentage. The feedback percentage is the ratio of positive feedback to total feedback in the past 12 months.
The feedback score accumulates over the seller’s entire eBay history. A seller who has sold on eBay for 5 years and received 4,800 positive ratings has a feedback score of 4,800. The feedback score displays next to the seller’s username in eBay search results and on the listing page as a number in parentheses.
The positive feedback percentage is calculated only on the past 12 months of feedback, not on lifetime feedback. A seller with 200 feedback ratings in the past 12 months, of which 196 are positive and 4 are negative, has a 98% positive feedback rate (196 divided by 200).
Buyers have 60 days after the order completion date to leave feedback. Sellers also have 60 days to respond to feedback received. eBay does not allow sellers to leave negative feedback for buyers; sellers can only leave positive feedback for buyers. Buyers can leave positive, neutral, or negative feedback for sellers.
How Does eBay Feedback Affect Seller Fees and Performance?
eBay feedback directly determines Top-Rated Seller qualification, which reduces the Final Value Fee by 20% on qualifying listings. A seller with 98% or above positive feedback in the past 12 months, combined with 100 or more transactions and a transaction defect rate at or below 0.5%, qualifies for Top-Rated Seller status. Below 98% positive feedback, the seller does not qualify for the 20% fee discount.
The financial impact of the feedback threshold is significant. A casual seller in standard categories who qualifies for Top-Rated Plus listings pays 10.88% Final Value Fee instead of 13.6%. On $10,000 in monthly sales, the 2.72 percentage point reduction saves $272 per month. This $272 monthly saving depends entirely on maintaining the 98% positive feedback rate.
One negative feedback item can affect the rate in a low-volume account. A seller with 50 feedback ratings in the past 12 months needs 49 positive and 1 or fewer negative to maintain 98%. Two negative ratings in 50 total would produce a 96% rate, dropping the seller below the Top-Rated Seller threshold.
Feedback also affects Cassini search ranking. eBay Cassini uses seller feedback score and percentage as ranking signals alongside price, listing quality, shipping speed, and item specifics completeness. A seller with a 99.5% positive feedback rate outranks an otherwise identical seller with a 95% positive rate.
How Can Sellers Remove Negative Feedback on eBay?
Sellers can request negative feedback removal through 3 mechanisms: mutual feedback revision (both buyer and seller agree to revise), feedback extortion report (buyer threatened negative feedback to gain concessions), and eBay feedback removal (if the feedback violates eBay’s policies). eBay does not remove negative feedback simply because the seller disagrees with the buyer’s opinion.
Mutual feedback revision is the most common mechanism. The seller contacts the buyer to resolve any outstanding issue, then requests mutual feedback revision through eBay’s feedback system. The buyer receives a request to revise their feedback. If the buyer agrees, they can change a negative or neutral rating to positive. The buyer is not required to accept the revision request.
Feedback extortion occurs when a buyer threatens to leave negative feedback unless the seller provides a refund, discount, or other concession not related to a legitimate complaint. Sellers who document this pattern through eBay messages can report feedback extortion to eBay. eBay removes feedback that results from documented extortion threats.
eBay removes feedback that violates the feedback policy, including feedback that contains personal information, profanity, or accusations of illegal activity without proof. eBay does not remove feedback based on disagreement with the buyer’s subjective experience. A buyer who genuinely received poor service can maintain negative feedback even after a dispute resolution.
What Are eBay Detailed Seller Ratings and How Do They Differ from Feedback?
eBay Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) are 4 category-specific buyer ratings on a 5-point scale that buyers provide in addition to the overall positive or negative feedback. The 4 DSR categories are: Item as Described, Communication, Shipping Time, and Shipping and Handling Charges. DSR scores below 4.3 out of 5.0 in any category affect seller performance metrics and search ranking.
Detailed Seller Ratings are anonymous ratings from buyers that aggregate into an average score per category. Sellers see their average DSR in each of the 4 categories in Seller Hub but cannot see which individual buyer gave which rating.
The Item as Described DSR reflects how closely the received item matched the listing description. Low scores in this category correlate with inaccurate or incomplete listing descriptions. Sellers improve this DSR by adding detailed condition notes, multiple high-quality photos, and complete item specifics.
The Shipping Time DSR reflects how quickly the buyer received the item compared to expectation. This DSR is influenced by seller handling time, carrier transit time, and the accuracy of eBay’s estimated delivery date. Sellers who ship within 1 business day receive higher Shipping Time DSRs than sellers with 3 to 5 day handling times.
The Shipping and Handling Charges DSR reflects whether buyers felt the shipping charge was reasonable relative to actual shipping cost and service received. Free shipping listings eliminate the potential for low Shipping and Handling Charges DSRs because buyers who receive free shipping cannot rate the charge as unreasonable.