One of the most crucial systems eBay has implamented to help both buyer and seller alike is the feedback system. Through it you can learn what kind of person your seller is, how his recent transactions have gone, how fast he ships, if his product is what people have expected after reading their ads, etc. The information one can get just from reading a sellers feedback is almost unlimited. This guide will attempt to help the buyer pick out some of the above mentioned information from a sellers feedback.

The Basics

  Feedback is the way both buyers and sellers tell others how their transaction with a particular person went. There are three catagories, positive, neutral and negative each designated by color. Green for positive, grey for neutral and red for negative.

  The feedback ratings system is explained here. 

  Another good place for frequently asked questions about feedback can be found here.

  One important feature of the feedback forum is the four tabs you see on the top of the page labeled:

  Feedback recieved   From Buyers   From Sellers   Left For Others

  These tabs break feedback down to make it easier to track. They show the feedback total, feedback recieved, recieved for items they bought, items they sold and the feedback they left for others. These are important in helping determine if the majority of negitive feedback was gained as a buyer or a seller and helps you determine easier if this is someone you wish to buy from or not.

The Percentage

  This is probobly one of the most mis-read statistics on eBay. After all, what's the differance between a 97.5% positive feedback rating and a 99.5%? The fact is two percent doesn't sound like much but it really can be the differance between getting ripped off or having a transaction go well. So what is the differance?

  My experience as a seller is mainly with used cell phones, so I will use that as an example. Let's say a sellers feeback has been at over 99% positive for a couple of years now. Another competitor has  97.5%. In reviewing both feedbacks, I can tell the 97% hasn't sold any more problem phones than the 99% has.  The fact is some problems can't be weeded out through testing and everyone has a certain amount of problems.

  The two percent differance comes about from how the seller deals with the problems that come up. The 99% refunds or exchanges the item when there is a problem. He works with his customers after the sale and tries to make them happy.

  The 97% does not refund or exchange problem phones. If the customer has a problem he ignores them or possably is so big that he cannot keep up with the amount of emails he has coming in. (A common problem with large sellers.) Or it may be that his items are sold  "AS-IS", in which case there is absolutly no warentee at all.

  In any case, in this particular example the two percent differance comes down to service after the sale, something that is crucial if you're looking at buying used electronics.

Comments left

  Clicking on the feedback number next to a sellers name takes you to the feedback forum where the actual comments are left. These are very important in determining what kind of issues a seller has had in the recent past and how he has handled (Or not handled) them.

  Look and see if you can catagorize the problems the seller is having. Does he ship too slow, miss payments, provide service after the sale, etc? If there is a problem, does he handle it promptly or at all? What are his responses and what kind of feedback did he leave in return? Seriously, do you want to buy something from someone who left the response of "Buyer's an idiot get off eBay!!" when there was a problem??? Do you want him calling you a name because he sold you something that turned out to be broke or do you want a professional seller who handles things fairly when there is a problem?

  You should also look at what the problem was that caused the negitive to be left. Did the buyer wait till after the sellers warantee expired to contact them about a problem? Check the ad as well. Did the buyer complain about something the seller listed in the ad? If you still have questions about the feedback, contact the seller and ask them about it. Feedback is only 55 characters long including spaces, so there is not always enough room to tell the full story.

Mutually withdrawn Feedback

  This is feedback (Usually negitive) that both parties agreed to have eBay remove. This may be done because of a mistake or because the buyer left a negitive before giving the seller a chance to work it out. Generally this shows that a seller is willing to work with a customer even after a negative has been left, something many sellers won't do.

   To summerise, check your sellers feedback for problems if you wish to avoid problems yourself. Remember, often you get what you pay for in customer service and