How to leave feedback on eBay, with example wording.

Buyers. You need an eBay account, so a guest checkout cannot leave feedback. Your account also has to be at least 5 days old.¹ You have up to 60 days from the date you received the item or the expected delivery date, whichever comes first. If the listing gave no expected delivery date, you have up to 90 days from completing the purchase.¹

Sellers. You can only leave positive feedback for a buyer, and you have up to 90 days from when the transaction was completed. eBay's reasoning is that businesses do not usually get to publicly review their customers.²

If you buy several items from the same seller, eBay says to leave feedback for each sale.¹

eBay emails a reminder after you buy, and you can also start from your purchase history, where the option to leave feedback shows up if you have not done so yet.¹

1. Open your purchase history from My eBay and find the order.
2. Select the option to leave feedback next to the item.
3. Choose an overall rating: positive, neutral or negative.³
4. Rate the individual aspects of the transaction: whether the item arrived on time, how accurate the description was, the shipping costs and the seller's communication.¹
5. Write your comment. You can also give an overall star rating when the item is eligible, and add up to 5 pictures of the item you bought.¹
6. Submit it. eBay marks the feedback "Verified purchase" so other buyers know it comes from a completed eBay order.¹

eBay's help pages describe these steps in general terms and do not document the exact button labels for the eBay app, so look for the same option names in your own order screen. Once you have posted, you cannot edit or delete the feedback yourself. You can add one follow-up comment per item, which does not change the original comment or rating.⁴

1. In Seller Hub or My eBay, go to Selling, then Orders.
2. Choose the item or items and select Leave feedback.
3. Select Positive, enter a comment, then select Leave feedback.²

eBay suggests leaving it as soon as the buyer has paid, because buyers are then more likely to leave feedback for you promptly.² Do not pair a positive rating with a negative comment. eBay says that combination confuses other members and it will be removed.² If a buyer breaks an eBay policy, the route is to report the buyer, not to write a complaint into feedback.² You can add one follow-up comment to feedback you left, but you cannot edit or retract it.²

The overall rating feeds the seller's feedback score. In most cases a positive rating adds 1 point, a neutral rating adds none, and a negative rating takes away 1.¹ The separate aspect ratings are the detailed seller ratings. A seller's profile shows them as 1 to 5 stars in four areas.³

A practical way to choose: ask what actually happened in this one transaction. If the item matched the listing and arrived as promised, positive is the straightforward choice. If it was fine but something was mildly off, such as slow shipping or a small mismatch, neutral with a factual comment tells the next buyer more than silence. Reserve negative for a real problem that was not fixed. Rate each aspect on its own, so a slow shipper with an accurate listing gets a low shipping time star and a high description star.

eBay frames feedback as a way to tell a seller how they did and to help other buyers make informed decisions.¹ It also says positive feedback and reviews help sellers do more business, which is why most sellers will work with you to fix a problem first.¹ On the other side, negative feedback becomes a permanent part of the seller's record and can harm their reputation and business, so eBay asks buyers to be fair and factual and to tie the comment to the transaction.¹

eBay also notes that receiving negative or neutral feedback does not affect seller performance.⁵ This page makes no claims about feedback and search results, because eBay's feedback pages do not make any.

• Be specific. Name what you noticed: packaging, condition against the description, how long shipping took.
• Stay factual. Describe what happened, not what you think of the person.
• Keep it about this order. Comments meant for a different item or seller are removable.⁵
• Match the comment to the rating. eBay removes negative comments paired with a positive rating, and positive comments paired with a negative rating.⁵
• Leave out personal details and links. Personally identifiable information and links that encourage sales outside eBay are removable.⁵

These sentences are our own. Change the details so they describe your real order, and do not paste them unchanged if they are not true for you.

Positive feedback from a buyer

• The item matched the photos and the description exactly, and it was packed with enough padding to arrive intact.
• Shipped the next business day and the tracking updates were accurate. Straightforward purchase.
• I asked about the size before buying and got a clear answer within a few hours. The item fit as described.
• The condition notes in the listing were honest. The small scratch they mentioned was the only flaw.

Positive feedback from a seller

• Paid promptly and the address was correct. Thank you for the purchase.
• Easy transaction. The buyer asked one clear question before buying and confirmed receipt.

Neutral feedback from a buyer

• The item itself was as described, but it took eight days to ship against the handling time in the listing.
• Item arrived in working order. The box was larger than needed and the item had moved around in transit, but nothing was damaged.

Negative feedback from a buyer

Use this only after you have tried to fix the problem, and keep it to what happened.

• The listing described the item as working, but it did not power on when it arrived. I messaged the seller on the day it arrived and have not had a reply.
• The item arrived with a cracked corner that was not in the photos or the description. A return was refused although the listing offered returns.
• The tracking showed delivery to a different address than the one on my order. I contacted the seller twice and the issue was not resolved.

A few lighthearted lines

Humor is fine if it is kind, true and still about the transaction.

• Arrived faster than I finished my coffee. Packed like it was going to a museum.
• Bubble wrap level: heroic. The item survived the trip without a scratch.

What to keep out of any comment

eBay removes feedback with hatred, threats, profanity, adult or illegal content, opinions on political, religious or social issues, personal attacks that are not constructive criticism, and meaningless content.⁵ Feedback also cannot be used to extort or manipulate another member.⁵ Manipulation includes offering discounts, free items or other benefits in exchange for positive feedback, trading feedback with others, and referencing eBay feedback in a listing title or description.⁶ That means a seller should never put "leave 5 stars and get a coupon" in a package insert or message.

eBay recommends contacting the seller before you leave negative feedback if you had a problem with your order.¹ From a listing or an order you can use Contact seller.⁷ If you cannot sort it out, eBay says the first step is to open a request from your purchase history, and that you may be eligible for the eBay Money Back Guarantee if the issue is not resolved or the seller does not honor their stated return policy.⁸ For an item that has not arrived, eBay says to report it once the estimated delivery date has passed.⁸

If you already left feedback and the seller later fixes things, they can send you a revision request. You then have 10 days to accept it, which lets you change your rating and comment, or decline it. Positive feedback can never be changed to neutral or negative.⁴

For some completed orders eBay adds positive feedback itself. It does that only if you did not leave feedback within 7 days of delivery per tracking, there is no sign of an issue, and tracking shows on-time delivery. It is removed if an issue appears, such as a damaged item or an opened return, and your own feedback within 60 days of delivery replaces it.¹

To see feedback you have left or received, open your Feedback profile. That is also where you follow up or respond.¹ Your feedback shows on the seller's feedback profile.¹

Strooply does not leave, edit or remove eBay feedback. It does subscribe to eBay's Feedback notifications for connected accounts. When one arrives for a sold item, Strooply saves the rating and comment eBay reports on that item, and the Sold tab shows the rating on the sale card. Feedback itself still happens on eBay. Strooply is for the numbers around a sale: photo identification, live eBay comps and profit tracking through eBay sync. See how Strooply works, check what you keep after fees with the eBay fee calculator, and see the shipping supplies guide for packing that keeps buyers happy. If you are checking a seller before you buy, read how to find a seller on eBay and check them.