Dealing with Rejection on WPBay: How Sellers Turn Setbacks Into Success
Although it happened to all of us, no one really likes it when one of their files gets rejected on the Marketplaces. Let’s be honest, nobody enjoys getting a product rejected. Whether it’s a soft rejection with some actionable feedback or a hard rejection that feels like a door slamming shut, it stings. It’s a probably moment every creator on WPBay has faced at some point.
But rejection isn’t the end, it’s part of the journey. In this article, we talked to some of WPBay’s authors (and founders!) about how they handle rejection and keep improving their work.
CodeRevolution (WPBay Co-Founder / Reviewer)
“When your plugin gets rejected, your first instinct might be to argue or feel deflated. But the better path is to pause, reflect, and take the feedback seriously. At WPBay, we review every submission with the intention of making the marketplace stronger, for developers and buyers alike.
Whenever I hit a rejection early in my career, I learned to treat it as an unexpected audit. Sometimes, you’re too close to the code to see what’s missing. I revisit the item with a clearer perspective days later, often improving not just that product but the next ones too.
Build long-term habits, not just quick fixes. Don’t be afraid to iterate hard.”
King’s Plugins (WPBay Co-Founder / Reviewer)
“I have two folders on my machine: ‘polished’ and ‘lessons’. The second one is where failed ideas go. Later, I revisit them, reuse parts, and often end up with products that become bestsellers.
Failure or rejections can be that last nudge you need to take your idea from ‘good enough’ to ‘outstanding’.”
WordPressExpertsShop (Seller on WPBay)
“Every new seller thinks their first product will be an instant hit. My first submission wasn’t. It got rejected, with a hard reject. But the feedback helped me level up. I stopped patching old code and instead rebuilt everything from scratch. That decision changed the quality of my work completely.
Now, I grown older and every rejection feels more natural, like a redirect toward something better.”
PressApps (Seller on WPBay
“Rejection is part of the grind. It’s not personal, it’s a quality filter. When I look at my first few plugins, I almost laugh. What got rejected then wouldn’t even meet my own current standards.
There’s no shortcut, just grinding. Publish, improve, repeat. Every line of code teaches you something!”
If your plugin or theme gets rejected on WPBay, take a deep breath. Remember: even the most successful sellers here had to fight through that same wall. Don’t view it as failure: view it as feedback. Sometimes, it’s exactly what you need to unlock your best work yet. So revise, regroup, and come back stronger.
Try to think like a reviewer!
Getting inside the mind of a reviewer can often make the difference between rejection and approval. At WPBay, we’re building a marketplace for developers by developers, which means our review process is rooted in real-world experience, not just checklists.
When we review a plugin or theme, we are evaluating four major pillars: technical quality, usefulness for our buyers, readiness for real-world usage and selling rights – if the seller has the legal rights to sell the submitted product. We’re not just approving code, we’re approving solutions for problems customers might have.
Each submission is assessed based on:
- Code quality (security, readability, performance, WordPress best practices)
- Value to WPBay buyers (is this solving a real need?)
- Clarity of documentation (can someone realistically use this right away?)
- Proper versioning, licensing, and admin UX (you’d be surprised how many people skip these!)
- Selling rights (it the seller allowed to sell this product?)
We want WPBay to represent trustworthy, functional products. It’s not about being harsh, it’s about setting a standard that protects both sellers and buyers.
Sometimes we get authors who are frustrated by a short rejection message. But if your product needs 10+ things fixed, it’s more productive for us to guide you toward a rewrite rather than nitpick each issue individually. In cases of major quality gaps or conceptual flaws, WPBay reviewers may issue a general rejection note instead of listing every single issue. That’s not because they’re being dismissive, it’s because they’re directing you toward a bigger-picture reset.
Take that as a sign to slow down, get a second opinion from the community, and maybe start fresh with the insight you’ve gained. Rushing re-submissions won’t help, learning will.
How to Work With Reviewers (Not Against Them)?
Authors who succeed on WPBay tend to: ask for feedback in a constructive, respectful way, also, they use rejections to fuel growth, not resentment. They always learn from other sellers and improve their submissions, keep building even when a product gets rejected. Keep this in mind: we want to help you win, but we’re not personal coaches. It’s up to you to take the initiative, ask the right questions, and bring your best version forward.
If you believe a reviewer missed something or made a mistake, WPBay offers a clear support path:
- Reply to the review feedback via your dashboard with specific questions or requests for clarification.
- Contact support if you believe your case wasn’t understood properly.
- If needed, escalate by asking (respectfully) for a secondary review from another reviewer.
Also, keep in mind that starting arguments in public threads, tagging staff aggressively, or acting entitled will never work. You’re burning bridges instead of building them.
Would You Rather Be Rejected Now, or Rated 1-Star Later?
Let’s imagine that rough plugin got approved despite its flaws. Sales trickle in. Support tickets start piling up. Ratings tank. Buyers lose trust in your name and the WPBay brand…
That’s not the future you want, neither that we want. And that’s why reviewers are here to protect you, not punish you. Every rejection is saying: “You’re almost there. Just not yet”.
If you’re thinking, “They have something against me!” -> pause. Every single successful author has faced rejection. Badges don’t guarantee approval. Relationships don’t buy passes. Even the most seasoned plugin developers on WPBay have scrapped entire files and started over. We’re building a curated ecosystem. Not everything makes it in, and that’s a feature, not a flaw.
“But My Code is Awesome!” Maybe it is. Maybe you’ve written a beautiful backend, but if the UI looks slapped together, or the UX feels rushed, that awesome code still won’t pass. Buyers don’t judge your architecture. They judge your experience. They want fast onboarding, clean interfaces, readable docs, and frictionless use. If your code is buried behind confusing design or clunky workflows, it doesn’t matter how elegant it is. Imagine buying a Ferrari engine inside a rusted-out frame. That’s how buyers feel when good logic is hidden under poor presentation.
Some authors say, “I freelance so I don’t care about polish, I just need it working”. That mindset might fly with a client project. But it won’t fly here. What you publish on WPBay is your storefront, your reputation, your portfolio. And many of the quality habits you’ll develop through WPBay: clean code, better design, more attention to detail, will actually make you a better freelancer too. Clients notice. Repeat work increases. Trust builds. Rejection here can turn into a raise out there.
Ok, now go build something awesome and improve it if it gets rejected!
If there’s one takeaway from all of this, let it be this:
Rejection is a nudge toward perfection, not a punishment.
It’s hard in the moment. You’ll feel frustrated, disappointed, even angry. That’s okay. Just don’t stay there. Use that energy. Build something better. Resubmit. Repeat. One day you’ll look back at that rejected file and say, “Wow… that would’ve embarrassed me if it went live.” That’s growth. That’s what we’re all here for.
So don’t take rejection as the end. Take it as the push you didn’t know you needed. WPBay is full of creators who didn’t quit. You’re one of them!
