Ebay will change its feedback system so that only buyers can leave feedback in a bid to stop sellers retaliating against critical comments.

The online auction site said the move was to make buyers feel more comfortable using the site and leaving feedback that can flag up dodgy dealers or bad buying experiences.

From May, sellers will be blocked from posting any negative or neutral comments about buyers. It said that it would provide sellers with a way of removing negative feedback if it is unfair and also give better support to sellers for buyers who do not pay.

An Ebay representative told us: "The new system will give buyers greater confidence in who they’re buying from and in rating those sellers, and for good sellers who provide good customer service to have a greater opportunity to stand out.

"The reason [for the change] is that a small (but vocal) minority of sellers use the threat of negative feedback against a buyer to ensure they don’t get a deserved negative themselves.

"Frankly the system has allowed them to do this. A significant proportion of negative feedback left by sellers is retaliatory in nature; ie the buyer who has done nothing wrong other than honestly rate a poor transaction, is punished for doing so by the seller.

"Come May, it will be much easier for buyers to honestly rate and spot who some of these poorer sellers are. We will, however, be providing some back-end support to make sure sellers aren’t unfairly hit by any bad buyers, and if they are, to remove the unfair feedback."

However, being able to remove unfair feedback has not mollified sellers who believe that changing the feedback system could leave them open to extortion. They fear rogue buyers could threaten to leave negative feedback; effectively blacklisting them.

Additionally sellers are up in arms about the changes announced to the listing and final commission fees. They have vented their anger on Ebay message boards, threatening to strike, after Ebay announced last week that it is cutting the amount it costs to list an item on the site by a third but will increase the commission it charges on completion of a sale from 5.25 per cent to 7.5 per cent. So to sell a £100 camera now costs £6.70, where previously it would have cost £5.85.