

EBay finally flipped the switch on some of its feedback changes, which were announced back in January.

Effective today, merchants cannot leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers. Needless to say, sellers are outraged, leading to calls for a boycott.

While sellers have planned various protests, Brian Burke, eBay's director of global feedback policy argues that the changes will improve customer satisfaction, which could ultimately drive business for sellers.

"We've heard some complaints [from sellers], and we'll probably hear some even louder complaints [after the changes go live], but we believe that the overall marketplace will be better and healthier for it," Burke says.

Among the changes made, eBay says it will remove any negative feedback for sellers if the feedback was left by a suspended buyer or left by a buyer who hasn't responded to the unpaid item process.

In the meantime, a handful of third-party businesses are trying to fill the hole that eBay left open. Fair Outcomes, a Boston-based business founded by a computer scientist, a game theorist and a few commercial lawyers, aims to streamline the settlement process for eBay seller-buyer disputes.

The service lets sellers invite buyers to resolve their differences on a proprietary, confidential system. Sellers are charged a flat fee of $10 to invite a buyer to settle the case. If the buyer and seller cannot resolve their differences on their own, the case will be handled by an arbitrator (a commercial attorney).

"There are real inefficiencies in bargaining attributed to things like, fear of being weak and posturing," says Jim Ring, CEO of Fair Outcomes.

Ebuyer-feedback.com, another site, is trying to establish itself as an alternative feedback platform for eBay buyers and sellers.

"This site gives sellers the ability to leave their eBay buyers positive, negative, or neutral feedback," the site says.

Photo: Flickr/LiewCF.com