EBay Silences Sellers

The corporate giant of online auctions no longer allows sellers to leave negative feedback.
Deadbeat bidders hail the new rule and say it's about time someone stood up for us crooks. Mansion

by Kathleen Ryan O'Connor

When PowerSeller Carol Barton, 49, first heard about the coming revisions to the feedback policy in January, she says her first thought was, "I can't believe eBay is actually going to do this!"

Barton has begun preemptively leaving notes in every package she mails asking her eBay customers to contact her before posting a bad rating. Other sellers are taking more drastic action: A number have posted store notices saying they will no longer leave any feedback at all in protest of eBay's new policy.

EBay officials say the feedback change was necessary to counter a growing trend of sellers leaving retaliatory ratings for buyers who give them negative ratings.

"What we discovered through research was that any negative feedback that the buyer gets reduces their purchasing or willingness to purchase within the marketplace," said Brian Burke, eBay's director of global feedback policy. "The goal behind the changes is really to make sure that we've got buyer accountability and seller accountability."

Barton, an antiques dealer from Kansas City, Mo., doubts that eBay will hold up its end of the enforcement bargain. "Over the years, I've reported fraud and negative behavior and never seen any action," she said. "I don't have a lot of faith in eBay's responses. But, maybe their customer service will change too."

Since the policy revisions were put into effect in February, Barton has slowly moved most of her antique and silver charm sales to other auction and retail sites, most notably Ruby Lane.

"I think the changes, all of the changes, are geared toward large sellers," she said. "That's who they will benefit."

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