A Misstep in Feedback Removal and a Call to Fix the BBE Disaster
This claims to foster a “fairer marketplace” by ensuring feedback reflects service quality. Yet, the second point, restricting feedback removal, feels like a slap in the face to proactive sellers. Coupled with the oppressive Bad Buyer Experience (BBE) policy (Cross-Border Selling Performance), this move doesn’t level the playing field - it tilts it against good sellers. Let me break this down and propose a path forward.
Feedback Removal: Punishing Sellers Who Go the Extra Mile
The update notes that “a high feedback score doesn’t necessarily mean every buyer experience was ideal.” Fair enough - perfection is impossible. But consider sellers like me who offer free returns to ensure buyers face zero risk. If a buyer dislikes an item, they return it at no cost - shipping covered, full refund issued. That’s an ideal experience, right? Wrong. Under this new policy, I can still lose money on the return and get a negative feedback from a bad buyer - someone fully refunded yet spiteful enough to ding my rating. Where’s the seller protection here?
Previously, we could appeal to remove this feedback. Now, eBay’s stripping that away, leaving us defenceless against buyers who exploit free returns. The data backs this up: negative feedback often comes from unreasonable buyers, not genuine service failures - especially when free returns are offered and refunds are already provided. Sellers offering free returns should be rewarded, not penalized. eBay’s logic seems to assume feedback is always a fair reflection of service, but anyone who’s sold knows bad buyers exist. Why punish the sellers who do more for customers?
The BBE Connection: A Policy That Contradicts Fairness
This feedback change doesn’t exist in a vacuum - it amplifies an existing nightmare: the Bad Buyer Experience (BBE) policy (BBE Policy). eBay’s FAQ claims, “Feedback does not affect your Seller Standards level.” That’s misleading. Negative and neutral feedback directly contribute to BBE defects in the Cross-Border Seller Dashboard, impacting sellers in 168 countries - but not UK or US sellers. How is that a “level playing field”?
I’m registered on eBay UK, yet I’m judged by BBE rules that don’t apply to domestic UK sellers. A neutral feedback or a 3-star Detailed Seller Rating (DSR) - even on shipping costs the buyer agreed to - counts as a defect under BBE. Three defects can push my BBE rate above the “market average” (e.g., 1.9%), triggering brutal restrictions:
- Funds held for 30 days on all orders, old and new.
- 75% listing reduction and lower search visibility.
- Reduced selling allowance after the restrictions lift - e.g. From 5000 to 700 active listings
A Top-Rated Seller with 100% positive feedback and free returns can be hardly considered as a bed seller yet, they can still be crippled by three defects by the BBE. Worse, BBE defects can’t be appealed or removed - unlike the feedback removal option eBay’s now gutting. This isn’t fairness; it’s discrimination against international sellers from Europe, Asia, and beyond.
BBE: Good in Theory, Disastrous in Practice
The BBE policy aims to weed out bad sellers which I understand and I am for sure for, but it’s alienating the good ones. Here’s why:
- No Volume Distinction: A seller with 100 sales and 3 defects (3% BBE rate) gets restricted, while one with 1,000 sales and 3 defects (0.3%) doesn’t. Low-volume sellers - often small businesses - are disproportionately punished.
- Harsh Penalties: Restrictions last 3 - 6 months, freezing funds and slashing listings visibility. With lower sales it takes longer about 3 months to go below "market average " % ratio again, considering you got no other defect in those 3 months and then you need to build up your selling limits again which takes additional 3 months more at least! Imagine covering international shipping out-of-pocket while eBay holds your money like you’re a scammer for 30 days and then releasing them to you daily by sales for 3 months. Most sellers can’t survive that - most quit.
- Unfair Defect Rules: Neutral feedback and 3-star DSRs count as defects only under BBE - not Seller Standards or anywhere else. A buyer’s subjective “meh” becomes a seller’s death sentence.
eBay’s losing more good sellers than bad ones in my opinion. Restricted sellers - often honest folks with years of history - don’t return after a restrictions like that. Check the eBay boards: horror stories abound of accounts tanked by a handful of defects, with no recourse.
A Better Way: Align BBE with Service Metrics defects count
If eBay wants a “fairer marketplace,” scrap BBE’s draconian rules and adopt the Service Metrics policy defects model count (Service Metrics). It’s more reasonable:
- Volume Matters: Sellers with <400 transactions in 3 months are evaluated over 12 months, needing more than 10 unique defects to face action. This protects small sellers while targeting consistent offenders which you dont want on the platform.
- Neutral feedback and low DSRs don’t count - make only serious issues count like on other eBay metrics. Not subjective issues where neutral feedback and low DSR certainly counts
Here’s my proposal to fix BBE and tie it to feedback changes:
- Drop Neutral Feedback Defects: If negative feedback must stay, fine - but neutral? It’s not a service failure or bad buyer experience. Stop punishing ambiguity.
- Limit DSR Defects: Remove defects for 2- or 3-star ratings - count only 1-star if needed. Subjective opinions (e.g., shipping cost gripes) shouldn’t ruin sellers.
- Scale by Volume: Like Service Metrics, evaluate low-volume sellers (e.g., <400 sales) over 12 months, requiring more than 10 defects for restrictions. Fairness demands it. This is the single most important change to BBE you may make and it will help your good sellers tremendously.
The Bigger Picture
eBay’s feedback update and BBE policy share a flaw: they assume buyers are always fair and sellers can absorb endless risk. That’s not reality. Sellers offering free returns already take a hit - don’t pile on negative feedback and BBE defects. International sellers aren’t second-class sellers; stop treating us like we are. Fix BBE’s rules, or scrap it entirely. Otherwise, you’re not building a marketplace - you’re breaking one, driving away the sellers who make it work.
You often copy Vinted and other platforms - they have just one rating which is "the feedback", so why you, eBay, need 5 different seller ratings? Feedback, Seller performance, Seller metrics, Detailed Seller Ratings, Reviews and Bed Buyer Experience (BBE). Why not keep just one? This is taking out your resources, costs you money and makes a division with your sellers.
With the current BBE rules, you are punishing good sellers more than bad ones. The difference is that a good seller will never return after facing BBE restrictions - leading to a permanent loss for eBay for fees earned and protentional buyers as well, while bed buyers will often try to find a way to go back and scum more people.
PLEASE HELP SHARE THIS BBE two tier seller system issues to people responsible so they can make a change and make eBay open to all sellers with same rules again!
A fairer marketplace requires real change, not just empty promises.
