Removal of negative feedback by eBay

[rgherron]

I just had negative feedback I left for a seller who didn't respond to my request for a refund until after I left the feedback . I now see the feedback has just vanished .

This is the first time it has happened to me in 20 years or so  of trading on eBay but I gather from this forum it is now quite common which seems a bit strange from a company that frequently promotes itself as looking after the interests of buyers.

To my mind the idea of leaving negative feedback is not so much to punish the seller but to forewarn future buyers of possible problems with a seller . If negative feedback is removed then buyers can come to the mistaken conclusion they have nothing to be careful about . A long time ago for reasons best known to itself eBay stopped sellers leaving negative feedback about buyers now they seem to be doing the same re sellers. What is the point of allowing feedback if it is going to be manipulated in this manner.

[sandypebbles]

Yes, it is common when people don't abide by feedback policy and the seller either reports it or the bots pick it up

You will need to ask eBay if you want an eBay answer

What was the reason to request a refund?

If it was an item not as described or not received, you open and follow through with the appropriate dispute then leave appropriate feedback (within the rules)

However if it was change of mind/remorse buying, sellers are not obligated to accept or respond to that

Odd though, considering how many sellers you buy from who have terrible feedback

All those unhappy buyer's negs didn't put you off buying from those sellers

So your comment about negs forewarning other buyers about sellers did not forewarn you ?

[lezned-toycollector]

The only reason negative feedback is ever removed is if it is deemed to breach eBay policy.

If you want your comments to remain visible, then you must abide by the policies - it really is that simple.

If you care to share your comment here, somebody should be able to point out where you went wrong.

[padi*0409]

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@lezned-toycollector wrote:

The only reason negative feedback is ever removed is if it is deemed to breach eBay policy.

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I've had a neg removed in the past for no reason at all.

Some sellers are "more equal" than others it seems.

[countessalmirena]

OP, did you mention the dispute in your feedback? Or the Money Back Guarantee?

When do we remove feedback?

Harmful, inappropriate or irrelevant comments and images

We remove all feedback that contains any:

• Content promoting hatred, violence or discrimination
• Profane, obscene, adult, illegal or explicit content
• Opinions on any political, religious or social issues
• Any implied or explicit threats or intimidation
• Personally identifiable information
• Links, URLs or other content encouraging sales outside of eBay
• Infringement of third-party rights
• Meaningless content or images that aren't of the item purchased
• Comments intended for a different item or seller
• Negative comments with positive ratings, or positive comments with negative ratings
• Personal attacks that could harm the reputation of the seller or their business and could not reasonably be viewed as constructive criticism

That last (bolding mine) can cover a lot. With the majority of feedback removal now being performed via automatic bot-driven processes (a sort-of poor man’s AI, although it’s not actually AI), there is definitely a broad definition or set of circumstances where negative feedback will be automatically removed.

It used to be spelled out specifically that mention of a dispute or MBG would qualify the feedback for removal. I am certain that this is still part of the feedback removal bot process, but eBay no longer state as much.

The sort of feedback that stays after a dispute is raised and refund given might need careful thought to avoid a removal trigger. I’m not sure about this, but something like Interaction with seller after this item arrived “not as described” was not satisfactory; resolved in spite of seller intransigence might - MIGHT! - stay put.

If eBay are serious about requiring negative feedback to be “constructive”, I suppose one could try something like Seller may want to consider interacting helpfully and responsively with buyer when item is NOT AS DESCRIBED. Perhaps retraining in customer satisfaction and resolving issues would be constructive for this seller. I was not satisfied with the item and the seller’s conduct … but that does present as just a tad passive aggressive!

[chameleon54]

Looking at the OP's feedback left for others, they seem to have quite a few problems buying stuff on ebay. I have had feedback removed that has been left by serial neg. and nuet feedback leavers before when ebay can see they make a fairly regular habit of it.

[lezned-toycollector]

I encountered one recently who had left 59 negs and neutrals out of 200 feedback... with 22 red dots out of 25 feedback displayed on their first page - and that's after the one they left me was removed.

Of the 59 adverse ratings, they claimed that 22 items were not received and 37 were not as described... and all 59 mentioned "one very upset little boy".