eBay Tries to Make Feedback Akin to Amazon Reviews

eBay added a new "Verified Purchase" designation on feedback, its latest effort to copy features found on Amazon reviews. But the unannounced change had sellers bewildered when they noticed it as early as January 30, 2024, when a user started a thread on the eBay discussion boards titled "Feedback - Verified purchase" asking if it was a new feature and what purpose it served.

A user also asked about the feature on a popular forum for trading cards hosted by Blowout Cards on Friday. "When did eBay add the words "Verified Purchase," someone asked in the title of a post that went on to say: "Just noticed that the words "Verified Purchase" now appear in feedback lines.....has it always been there and I just didn't notice it or is it something new? Maybe it's their way of starting to fight shill bidding?"

Someone replied saying they believed it was a new feature and said, "I figured it's trying to mimic Amazon, and have reviews for verified purchases like everything else."

They also asked what would be an "unverified" purchase on eBay, since all feedback is tied to a transaction on eBay, unlike product reviews on Amazon, where a help page on "Amazon Verified Purchase Reviews" explains: "Reviews without this (Verified Purchase) label can also be helpful. For example, a customer buys an item from a different company, but wants to share their opinion on Amazon."

The person on the Blowout forums also pointed out that eBay had added an option for buyers to upload photos when leaving feedback, "which is also in line with places like Amazon," they wrote. 

Interestingly, eBay referred to feedback as "reviews" in a December 18th post discussing the addition of photos to feedback, writing in part, "these updates will help to add trust to reviews, increase buyer confidence and drive conversion for your listings."

No matter how much eBay tweaks feedback, it's tied to specific transactions between a buyer and a seller, not to particular products. Nevertheless, do you think eBay has the right idea by trying to make its feedback more like reviews?