Understanding Feedback Scores

When you understand how the numbers in a member’s Feedback profile are calculated, it’s easier to evaluate a member’s reputation. You can view a member’s Feedback profile by clicking the number in brackets next to their user ID.

The Feedback score is one of the most important pieces of a Feedback profile. It’s the number in brackets next to a member'’s user ID,and is also located at the top of the Feedback profile. Next to the Feedback score, you may see a star. Feedback stars are awarded to eBay members for achieving 10 or more Feedback points.

For each transaction, buyers and sellers can choose to rate each other by leaving Feedback. Feedback from buyers can consist of a positive, negative, or neutral rating, and a short comment. Feedback from sellers can consist of a positive rating and a short comment. These ratings are used to determine Feedback scores. With some exceptions, outlined below, Feedback works like this:

A positive rating increases the Feedback score by one point
A neutral rating leaves the Feedback score the same
A negative rating decreases the Feedback score by one point

However, members can affect each other's Feedback score by only one point per week. Each member may affect your score by one point per transaction. However, to make sure that repeat Feedback is calculated in the Feedback score, each transaction the member is leaving Feedback for must end in a separate week. For Feedback, eBay defines a week as Monday to Sunday.

For example, a buyer wins an item on Tuesday, then receives it and gives the seller positive Feedback on Thursday. If the buyer wins another item that week with the same seller, the Feedback the buyer leaves will not count toward the seller's Feedback Score. But if the buyer wins another item the following Tuesday, the Feedback will count toward the seller's Feedback score.

In other words:

If a buyer leaves one neutral rating and one positive rating, it will affect the Feedback score by +1.
If a buyer leaves three negative ratings and one positive rating during the same week, the Feedback will affect the Feedback score by -1.

In addition to the Feedback score, you’ll see other numbers on the Feedback profile page. Here’s what they mean:

What it is	What it means	Where you'll find it
Positive Feedback	The percentage of positive ratings left by members in the last 12 months. This is calculated by dividing the number of positive ratings by the total number of ratings (positive + neutral + negative). .
Recent Feedback ratings	The total number of positive, neutral and negative Feedback ratings the member has received in the last 12 months.	At the top left of the Feedback profile
Detailed seller ratings	Detailed seller ratings provide more details about this member’s performance as a seller. Five stars is the highest rating, and one star is the lowest rating. These ratings do not count toward the overall Feedback score and they are anonymous. That means that sellers can't trace detailed seller ratings back to the buyer who left them. Detailed seller ratings from the same buyer are counted in the same way as Feedback – only one every week is included in the seller's score.	At the top centre of the Feedback profile
Bid retractions	The number of times the member has retracted a bid in the last 12 months.	Under the “Feedback as a buyer” and “All Feedback” headings.

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