eBay’s Mutual Feedback Withdrawal to be Withdrawn

In an announcement this morning eBay's Brian Burke reviewed the upcoming changes to the eBay Feedback system. The main change is that sellers will only be able to leave positive feedback for buyers, and that change becomes official on May 19th.

While a few minor adjustments were covered in the announcement - buyers must wait seven days instead of three days before leaving negative feedback - there was a new one that may upset some people. To quote Brian:

We mentioned that we'd be aligning the Mutual Feedback Withdrawal process with the new system. After much consideration, we've made the decision to remove the Mutual Feedback Withdrawal process. The reason is that – under the new rules - it opens sellers up to extortion. As part of this decision, Mutual Agreement from third-party Feedback mediation services, such as SquareTrade, will also no longer be accepted.

Obviously, if sellers cannot leave negative comments for buyers, feedback withdrawal cannot be mutual. But why not leave it open for recalcitrant buyers to withdraw a negative comment? Many situations are resolved after a misunderstanding, or even after a comment is left accidentally and the buyer may want to change their mind.

The stated reason is that sellers are opened up to extortion. But it seems allowing only the buyer to leave negative comments opens the seller up for the same extortion. Buyers can say, "Give me XXX or I'll leave a negative comment." just as easily as "Give me XXX and I'll remove the negative comment I left."

Anybody worried?

eBay is about to open up feedback all the way back to 1996 and tinker with it. They will be giving credits for old repeat buyers, wiping out certain undeserved negatives, etc. Given the latest track record with Best Match, eBay Partner Network, and other new roll-outs - is anyone just a little concerned?

See the entire announcement here.

Popularity: 39% [?]