How to Remove Negative Feedback on eBay

For a business owner, reputation is everything. Getting negative feedback is the worst thing that any business owner could experience. It’s frustrating since you’ve worked hard to promote your business.

If you’ve received negative reviews on eBay, it’s not the end of the world. You’d be delighted to know that you can have negative feedback removed to restore your feedback rating on eBay!

In my experience with online selling, I’ve seen how crucial seller ratings and reputations are for an online business.

When you have a positive rating, it implies to your customers that you have great customer service and high-quality products. On the other hand, a negative rating or a bad review could hurt your eBay store since customers won’t be interested in doing business with you.

It’s no secret that selling on eBay does not go without a hitch. As much as you try to avoid negative feedback, some customers are harder to please, or there are things beyond your control. This guide shows you how to have your negative feedback removed.

Key Takeaways

• Removing negative feedback is important because it influences the customer’s buying decision and impacts your search rankings on eBay.
• There are two ways to remove negative feedback on eBay: ask a customer to remove their negative feedback or ask eBay to remove the negative feedback.
• You can submit limited revision requests to customers, so choose when to use them.
• Customers may leave negative feedback for various reasons, such as failure to meet their expectations, damaged conditions on their orders, or delayed communication.
• Observe the best selling practices on eBay to avoid negative feedback. Or learn the best way to respond to negative feedback.

Why Do Customers Leave Negative Feedback on eBay?

You want to protect your reputation as an eBay seller by maintaining a positive feedback rating. However, negative feedback is inevitable, especially with the higher customer expectations in today’s ecommerce landscape.

Here are common reasons that compel buyers to leave negative feedback:

• You failed to meet a buyer’s expectations. Whether the product quality was not as expected or it took longer for the items to arrive, there are many reasons why a buyer would be unsatisfied with an order.
• There was a communication breakdown from the buyer’s or seller’s end. Mastering the art of communicating with your customers is a crucial skill to learn so you are on the same page.
• A buyer retaliates by leaving a negative review. Any buyer threatening to extort from you in exchange for negative feedback can be suspended from the platform.

Importance of Removing Negative Feedback on eBay

The ecommerce business is all about trust and reputation. Since your customers cannot physically inspect an item they are about to purchase from your store, they’re banking on their trust in your business when buying a product from your store.

That said, reputation is the heart and soul of ecommerce marketing.

As we live in the so-called feedback economy, another buyer’s opinion matters for consumers, especially the ones who have bought a similar product. According to this 2018 report, 98% of consumers read online reviews before buying.

Meanwhile, a Buyer trust report claims that 82% of customers give more value to customer feedback than brand messaging when influencing their buying decisions.

Most consumers give negative feedback when they have a bad experience or positive feedback if they are pleased with their purchase, but neutral feedback is a rarity.

Negative feedback can significantly impact your sales. Customers prefer to buy only from sellers with a high feedback rating based on the eBay star rating system.

Whether you have negative or positive feedback is a direct reflection of your reputation as an eBay seller.

Moreover, it can also impact eBay’s search rankings. Another reason why you need to have your negative feedback removed is that it will influence the eBay algorithm.

When a customer searches for a particular product, sellers with a positive feedback rating are more likely to show up on the results. Any eBay seller won’t rank as high on the search results without a low feedback score.

While you cannot possibly remove all negative feedback on your eBay store, it’s worth a try. It is especially true if you have untrue negative feedback.

You must contest them to avoid impacting your business reputation negatively. It will also boost your product’s visibility on the eBay search engines when you remove the negative feedback left by customers.

How to Remove Negative Feedback on eBay

Want to know how to remove bad reviews on eBay? Two options are available to remove your negative feedback from eBay, and I will discuss each in detail below.

1. Ask a Customer to Remove Negative Feedback

The first option for removing negative feedback is to ask the customer directly. However, you must be careful when you do this because eBay limits the number of times you can reach out to a customer, asking them to remove a negative review.

According to eBay, the point of the limit is to ensure that eBay sellers provide excellent customer service rather than correcting any mistakes they have committed after getting bad reviews.

The idea is to avoid negative feedback in the first place! That said, use this approach only for negative feedback, not neutral feedback.

Before you contact a customer about a negative review, you must consider a couple of things.

First, if the customer has given a negative feedback rating but the comment that goes with the rating is positive, it could be that they’ve accidentally given you the low feedback rating. Some customers would be happy to revise their feedback to suit you.

Next, if the negative feedback mentions an issue with the product or the customer’s order and you were able to address the issue, you could ask them to remove the negative review.

It’s a good habit to monitor your feedback regularly to ensure you can ask customers about their negative feedback. You have up to 30 days only to make revisions on any posted reviews.

And before you send a feedback revision request to your customer, you must discuss this with them. Ensure they are willing to change their negative review so you don’t waste the limited request available in your account.

If the customer agrees to change their review, go to the ‘Request Feedback Revision’ page and send a revision request. You can access this from your Feedback Profile or via the Feedback Forum.

When sending a revision request, include a note explaining why you want that review changed. That way, the customer will have a basis for changing their review.

This request is active for ten days, so customers have as many days as necessary to replace the old negative feedback. After the tenth day, if no revisions were made to the original feedback, that revision will stick, and you can not make further changes to that particular rating.

2. Ask eBay to Remove Negative Feedback

The next option to remove negative feedback is to contact eBay directly.

You can contact eBay about a negative review on your account and ask them to remove it. You can file this report within 90 days from the transaction date based only on customer misconduct.

eBay sellers can utilize the seller reporting hub when they receive negative feedback. Feedback removal through eBay is also allowed if the following circumstances apply:

• When a customer leaves a negative review but does not pay for the item.
• When the customer’s negative feedback violates eBay policies for containing offensive or vulgar language.
• When you have evidence of feedback extortion from a buyer.

To report a negative review on eBay, go to Seller Hub to contact eBay directly. Provide a detailed explanation as to why you want them to investigate the matter or state your reason for feedback removal.

Once eBay evaluates the negative reviews a customer leaves, they can remove the entire review, the rating only, or the comment only. Sometimes, they leave the review as-is, so you must offer proof to support your request to remove negative feedback.

Other Ways to Handle a Negative Feedback on eBay

Whether you’ve run out of revision requests or your request to remove negative feedback was disapproved, there are other ways to deal with the situation when you receive negative feedback.

Respond Publicly to the Negative Feedback

It’s a natural response for humans to ignore any negativity. However, ignoring negative feedback is not something that eBay sellers can afford to do.

The negative feedback is already out there for the public to see. You should respond to it publicly by writing back to the customer, and leaving negative feedback on your eBay store.

If the negative feedback was your fault, apologize for it and let them know what steps you are taking to address the issue.

If it is the buyer’s fault, politely explain how the issue occurred and how it can be prevented.

Use professional language in writing your response. While online reviews influence consumer buying decisions, businesses that respond to negative reviews can boost their reputation because it shows their sincerity and willingness to address any issue.

You should do the same in your online business.

Contact Unsatisfied Customers

Even if you can no longer file a revision request or are not reaching out about changing their revision, contacting unsatisfied customers is worth your time and effort.

Many negative reviews are from a single customer experience, and many are willing to give online sellers another chance. Reaching out to your customers shows your commitment to improving their experience through their feedback.

For example, you can encourage them to share recommendations to improve your business and avoid negative feedback in the future.

When communicating with your customers, you can request one follow up comment from them on their original feedback. A positive follow up comment could help convert doubtful customers.

Address Issues Causing Negative Feedback

If you receive negative feedback on your eBay business, use it as a learning point to address issues and improve your business.

Whether it is an opportunity to provide excellent customer service or foster customer loyalty, getting to the cause behind the negative feedback is the best way to prevent it in the future.

For example, if you constantly receive negative feedback about your shipping. You must carefully coordinate with your logistics partners about delivery timelines and update your listings to reflect the most accurate shipping times.

That way, you won’t disappoint your customers about delays in receiving their products because the expectation is set early on.

Maintaining open communication with customers is also critical to ensure you can appease your customers so they are less likely to leave bad feedback on your store.

How to Avoid Negative Feedback

Knowing how to get negative feedback removed is one thing. But it is better if you can avoid negative feedback!

The following are best practices you must implement in your store so future buyers won’t be inclined to leave a bad review.

• Accurate Listings—Ensure your product descriptions and images (or videos) accurately depict the product you are selling. Any misleading information can cause buyer dissatisfaction, eventually prompting them to leave negative feedback.
• Write a Clear Return Policy—A written return policy ensures a fair and honest way of handling customer orders, especially if you have buyers who are unsatisfied with their orders.
• Provide Care in Packaging – Avoid damaged items and other issues with your product resulting from shipping by giving enough care and attention to packaging their orders.
• Resolve Issues Quickly—Prompt action on issues with a customer’s order and maintaining communication reassure them that any issue will be addressed quickly.
• Request Feedback from Satisfied Customers – When customers read online reviews, the positive feedback can outweigh the negative feedback. Therefore, ask any satisfied customers to leave you a review on your store to maintain a positive rating.

Final Thoughts: How to Remove Negative Feedback on eBay

The changing customer expectations and the rapid pace of ecommerce selling leave plenty of room for errors or miscommunication. Any gap can result in a negative experience among customers that prompts them to leave negative feedback on your eBay store.

Use this guide to learn how to remove negative feedback left by customers to maintain a positive rating on your eBay store. The process is simple, but it’s how you execute it that counts in ensuring that you can improve customer experience and boost sales.

FAQs

How long does negative feedback stay on your eBay account?

A negative feedback will be permanent on your account. However, it will only be used for calculating your average store rating percentage within the first 12 months.

Can I respond to negative feedback on eBay?

Yes. Go to your feedback profile where you can access all the feedback you receive in your account. You can respond to the feedback and it will appear directly below the original comment.

How to answer negative feedback?

Keep your composure and respond to the comment as objectively as possible. Clarify the feedback, and if it’s your fault, accept the mistake and show accountability. Offer a solution to the customer to express your sincerity in addressing the issue.

When responding to a negative comment, express gratitude to them for their honest opinion. Best of all, use this as a learning opportunity and adopt the feedback where necessary.

How do I hide feedback on eBay?

Go to your Feedback Profile and view All received feedback. Choose from the toggle button to Hide (instead of Visible to everyone).

Can a seller on eBay block a buyer?

Yes. eBay sellers can block specific buyers based on their criteria, especially if you have had issues with a particular buyer before, such as them not paying for their orders. Once you block them, they will be added to your Blocked Buyers list.

What feedback is not allowed on eBay?

eBay imposes guidelines on what can be included in feedback on eBay. Any violent or vulgar language or expressing opinions on political or religious issues can be a cause for feedback removal. The same is true with any explicit threats within the feedback comment.

Can buyers leave negative feedback after a refund?

Yes. Unfortunately, a buyer can still give you negative feedback after being refunded.