A Silver PowerSeller who purchased from their competitor in order to attack their feedback with low DSRs has had their account suspended by eBay. The PowerSeller traded in the Clothes, Shoes and Accessories category and their account has been suspended from the site.
Ever since feedback was first introduced people have worried about competitors “feedback bombing” them with negatives to destroy customer confidence. With the introduction of DSRs it became an invisible threat and then with the launch of the Top Rated Seller program the threat to a businesses sales became even greater.
In reality though feedback attacks are very few and far between amongst competitors. It’s much more likely a seller will suffer at the whim of an unhappy customer than a competitor maliciously buy in order to leave poor feedback.
eBay are closely monitoring feedback and will take action with buying or selling restrictions when feedback abuse is identified. They are also sending emails to buyers leaving a larger number of low DSRs than average to educate them on how feedback is valued. The email will appear in My Messages as well as being sent to the registered email address.
The email starts out “We noticed that you’ve left positive Feedback with low Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) for several sellers lately. There may be times when this is appropriate, but in most cases DSRs and the overall rating should be consistent. More importantly, leaving low DSRs with positive Feedback could be viewed as an attempt to intentionally hurt a seller’s reputation.” and goes on to add “You aren’t allowed to leave inaccurate Feedback just to harm a seller’s reputation. If we find that this is happening, we’ll take action.”
Things to do if you suspect a feedback attack
If you are concerned about a feedback attack, either actual or potential, talk to your account manager. There is also a link to report suspected feedback abuse and you’re encouraged to use it, even if the fear turns out to be unwarranted. If it turns out that a competitor is intentionally feedback wrecking and the buyer account is linked to a selling account eBay will skip education steps and move straight to account restrictions as well as removing low DSRs.
eBay say that they’ve only seeing a trickle of cases where feedback abuse is occurring and that the fear is, at least in most cases, greater than the reality. However they are stepping up the sanctions they impose for feedback abuse and will police feedback abuse strongly. eBay are determined to protect Top Rated Sellers from attack by competitors.
If you have any concerns about feedback abuse report it as soon as possible, even if you just “think” a competitor may be intending to leave low DSRs. You concerns will be taken seriously.
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