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eBay ignoring its own Seller Protection policy on abusive negative feedback?
Hi everyone,
I’m a long-time eBay UK seller and I’m really concerned about how Seller Protection is being applied when it comes to unfair negative feedback.
Recently I had a buyer who left multiple negative comments on my account, not because of any mistake with the items, but simply because they “felt like it”. The feedback clearly falls under eBay’s own Feedback Abuse / Feedback Extortion rules – it’s retaliatory, inaccurate and intended to damage my account rather than describe a genuine transaction issue.
I did everything by the book:
Communicated politely with the buyer and tried to resolve the situation.
Provided full evidence in messages and screenshots showing that the feedback breaks several points of eBay’s own policies.
Contacted Customer Service multiple times, clearly referencing the Seller Protection and Feedback Abuse policies.
Despite this, the responses I’ve received have been dismissive and inconsistent. My emails and evidence are basically ignored, and I’m told that the feedback “reflects the buyer’s experience” and cannot be removed – even though it openly conflicts with eBay’s published rules.
What frustrates me most is this double standard:
When a seller makes a mistake, eBay is very quick to enforce the policy and punish the seller – defects, restrictions, etc.
But when a buyer abuses the system and leaves harmful, policy-breaking feedback, the same policy suddenly becomes “optional” and Seller Protection is quietly ignored.
To me this feels unprofessional and unfair. If eBay expects sellers to strictly follow the rules, then eBay should also follow its own rules when it’s time to protect sellers.
So my questions to the community are:
Has anyone recently managed to get clearly abusive / retaliatory feedback removed under the Seller Protection or Feedback Abuse policies?
Which contact channel worked best for you – phone, chat, email, social media, or an escalation team?
Is there any effective way to escalate a case when Customer Service keeps repeating the same scripted answer and refuses to properly review the evidence?
I’d really appreciate any advice or shared experiences. At this point I’m less worried about one negative comment and more worried about the message it sends: that eBay’s Seller Protection only works when it’s time to punish sellers, not when it’s time to protect them.
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.
plpmr
Mentor10 months ago"Has anyone recently managed to get clearly abusive / retaliatory feedback removed under the Seller Protection or Feedback Abuse policies?"
Unfortunately there's nothing abusive or retaliatory in the comments.
You blame RM but as a business seller you are obliged to get the goods to the buyer intact and on time.
blackwater_botanical_aquariums
OP10 months agoHi, thanks for taking the time to reply.
I completely understand that as a business seller I’m responsible for making sure the buyer either receives the item or gets a refund – I’m not trying to avoid that responsibility.
In this case:
The item was posted on time and using the service advertised.
The problem was caused by Royal Mail’s handling of the parcel, which is outside my direct control.
I have tried to resolve the situation with the buyer in line with eBay’s policies.
My concern in this thread is not about who pays for Royal Mail’s mistake – I fully accept that this usually falls on the seller.
What I’m asking about is feedback removal, because eBay’s own policies say that feedback which is solely about the performance of the carrier, or which is clearly unfair/abusive towards the seller, can be removed under Seller Protection / Feedback Abuse.
So I’m really looking for recent examples from other sellers where:
feedback that related only to the courier/postal service was removed, or
clearly unfair/abusive feedback was removed after escalation.
If you or anyone else has had success with that recently, I’d really appreciate hearing which contact route worked (phone, chat, etc.) and how you presented the case.
Thanks again.
red_magpie
Mentor10 months agoThere is no way that eBay will remove a monosyllabic feedback that just states "Bad". In itself it doesn't provide grounds for removal.
However, you may have a better chance of getting it removed by referring to eBay's policy on removing unfair feedback for delivery related issues, which includes: A delivery issue where tracking shows us that the delivery or handling time expectations were met.
Unfortunately the buyer didn't actually mention delivery, but from the tracking record and RM's apparent admission that the items were sent to the wrong delivery office it can surely be deduced that late delivery, for which you were not responsible, was the probable reason for the negs. Good luck anyway!
For full policy details see: https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/feedback-policies/feedback-policy?id=4208&st=3&pos=3&query=Feedback%20policy&intent=appeal%20feedback&lucenceai=lucenceai&docId=HELP1223
blackwater_botanical_aquariums
OP10 months agoThanks a lot for your detailed reply and the policy link – I really appreciate it.
The frustrating part is that I’ve already gone down exactly that route:
The item was dispatched on time with the service stated in the listing.
Tracking and Royal Mail both show that the parcel was misrouted to the wrong delivery office, which caused the delay – something completely outside my control.
I’ve contacted eBay several times, clearly referring to the part of the policy you quoted about “a delivery issue where tracking shows us that the delivery or handling time expectations were met” and explaining that the delay was due to RM’s mistake, not mine.
Every time, Customer Service just replies with the same line that the feedback “reflects the buyer’s experience” and refuse to engage with the policy or the evidence at all. So at this point the issue for me isn’t so much the single negative itself, but the fact that Seller Protection doesn’t seem to be applied even when a seller does everything by the book.
Have you (or anyone else reading this) ever managed to get feedback removed after eBay initially refused, by escalating it further – for example asking for a supervisor, Executive Resolutions team, or using a different contact channel? Any tips on how you worded the request so that they actually followed the policy?
Thanks again for trying to help.
jckl1957
·10 months agoOnly mentors can respond in this section of the forum so I think it is unlikely that you will find anyone here who has had this experience.
The feedback reflects the buyer's experience and is unlikely to be removed.
You could have offered to send replacements at no cost to the buyer and then sent them feedback revision requests after resolving their issue.
Generally, from posts that appear across the forum, it does seem that correctly registered business sellers (as opposed to business sellers trading from private accounts) are more successful in getting negative feedback removed.
blackwater_botanical_aquariums
OP10 months agoThanks for your reply.
Just to clarify: this particular account is a private account, but I’m still expected to follow the same delivery and feedback rules as any other seller, and I do.
In this case:
I dispatched the items on time using the service stated in the listing.
The delay was caused by Royal Mail sending the parcel to the wrong delivery office – something completely outside my control.
I contacted the buyer, explained the situation and offered solutions, but they chose not to engage and simply left the one-word feedback “Bad”-"Bad communication"
I fully accept that as a seller I’m responsible for making sure the buyer either receives the goods or gets their money back. That’s not what I’m disputing.
My concern here is how eBay applies its feedback removal policy. eBay’s own rules say that unfair feedback related purely to delivery problems, where the seller dispatched on time and the delay was caused by the carrier, can be removed.
I’ve pointed Customer Service to that section of the policy several times and provided tracking and confirmation from Royal Mail, but I keep getting the same scripted answer that the feedback “reflects the buyer’s experience” and won’t be removed, without any real consideration of the policy or the evidence.
So my question is whether anyone has ever succeeded in getting such feedback removed after an initial refusal, and if so, how they escalated it (supervisor, Executive Resolutions team, different contact channel, etc.).
I’m not trying to avoid my responsibilities as a seller – I’m just asking for eBay to apply the rules they publish.
Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
papso22
Mentor10 months agoThis..."I completely understand that as a business seller I’m responsible for making sure the buyer either receives the item or gets a refund – I’m not trying to avoid that responsibility".
Is totally at odds with this.... "Just to clarify: this particular account is a private account".
blackwater_botanical_aquariums
OP10 months agoYou’re right that my wording there wasn’t very clear, so let me clarify it properly.
I run a separate, fully registered business seller account on eBay.
The feedback I’m asking about in this thread is on my private account, where I occasionally sell as a private seller.
When I said “as a business seller I’m responsible for making sure the buyer either receives the item or gets a refund”, I meant this more generally – that any seller (business or private) has that basic responsibility. I’m not trying to avoid that at all.
My concern here isn’t about avoiding responsibility for the transaction – I’ve already contacted the buyer, explained the Royal Mail mistake and offered solutions.
What I’m trying to understand is why eBay’s own feedback removal policy for delivery issues isn’t being applied, even when:
dispatch and handling time were met;
the delay was clearly caused by the carrier sending the parcel to the wrong delivery office;
I’ve provided tracking and confirmation from Royal Mail.
So the question remains the same: has anyone managed to get such feedback removed after an initial refusal, and how did you escalate it?
papso22
Mentor10 months agoThe issue remains that what you are selling on your private account are not unwanted personal possessions.
Buying or making items for sale requires an ebay business account, but you must know that if you already have one.