Half of eBay Users Don’t Know Feedback Is Reserved for Buyers and Sellers

eBay said half of its users don’t know that feedback can only be left by those involved in a purchase, justifying why it added a new “Verified Purchase” designation to feedback. As we reported on February 2, eBay didn’t announce the change when it rolled out the new designation in late January, leaving sellers bewildered.

Over a week later on February 8th, eBay posted an announcement: “Feedback Display Now Shows “Verified Purchase,” explaining:

“Earlier this month we introduced a change to the eBay mobile app displaying the term “verified purchase” on the feedback page. We are implementing this change on the desktop in the next few weeks.

“We’ve added this text to remove any doubt that the person leaving the feedback was involved in the transaction. Unlike eBay, other sites allow anyone to leave feedback or ratings, not just those involved in a transaction.

“We understand that experienced buyers and sellers on eBay may view the additional text as unnecessary. However, before implementing this change, surveys with eBay users showed that half of them didn’t know that feedback can only be left by those involved in a purchase. This text removes any doubt.

“As always, thank you for selling on eBay.
“The eBay Feedback Team”

The first comment on the EcommerceBytes Blog post about the new feature last week was the following question: “Does it still say “Verified purchase” where a “buyer” has left feedback after they have cancelled the purchase?” (eBay didn’t address that question in yesterday’s announcement.)

Another reader responded and pointed to a post on the eBay discussion boards where a seller showed a screenshot where a cancelled order still displayed a feedback comment as a “verified purchase.”

The second comment on the EcommerceBytes Blog post was from a seller who believed eBay needed more clarity around the difference between feedback and product reviews: “eBay needs to learn feedback should be based on the service the seller provides with questions about product, if shipped on time, returns etc. Not with how nice or not the product is, as that is a product review.”

As we reported in last week’s blog post, some sellers believed eBay added the designation in an attempt to mimic Amazon in how it displays product reviews.

The new feature is the latest example of eBay making a change without notifying users. In recent years, eBay’s semi-annual “Seller Updates” are full of “announcements” of features already in place.

Ina Steiner

Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.