Feedback is one type of defect, but there are others as well – please see the link near the bottom of this email for the full list. In today's competitive online shopping environment, buyers who aren't happy with a purchase will move on to another website. This affects the success of the whole eBay selling community, so we count a seller's defect rate as part of our evaluation of seller standards.
To ensure that defects are counted fairly, eBay takes several steps to protect sellers from defects that they didn't deserve. We'll remove defects automatically if there is clear evidence in our system that they are not accurate. We'll also remove defects manually if you contact us and the defects meet our criteria for removal.
Please note, however, that even if you did everything you could to make a transaction go smoothly, you may receive a defect that's not removable. Defects are not a way to measure selling problems; instead, they're a measurement of buyer satisfaction. For example, even if you always ship your items as quickly as possible, you may still receive a low rating for shipping time. This doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong, but there are actions you can take to prevent these negative experiences – in this example, you might consider using a different shipping carrier or shipping service. Defects signal opportunities to improve your selling practices, which in turn will bring you more repeat customers and overall selling success.