New? And wishing you could build your feedback quicker?  Almost daily, the community boards on ebay are clogged with questions about feedback. Many of these have to do about negative feedback they feel was undeserved, but at least once a day they are about how to get people to leave them positive feedback.

Here's the Bad News-- It's not okay to ask for feedback

Ask almost any seasoned seller how they ask for feedback and they will tell you "NEVER DO IT!" -- The reason for this is that  the feedback is an optional system, and asking, cajoling, begging or otherwise soliciting feedback is likely to get you feedback-- but probably not the positive feedback you seek!

So what's a poor newbie / zero feedback user to do?

Things That Will Help Build Feedback Faster

Five tips to building feedback faster for a buyer:

1. Pay immediately. The easiest way to do this is to buy using Paypal, and pay the same day.
2. When the item arrives, open it the same day and let the seller know it arrived and you are pleased.
   Here's where camps differ: I would suggest if you are a new buyer, leave feedback immediately after receiving your item and verifying you are satisfied. IMPORTANT-do not leave feedback prior to receiving your item and/or verifying its condition.
   The feedback you leave should be personal, and more than "thank you". Leave something that will catch the seller's eye-- they are more likely to respond to your feedback.  Note-- many sellers use "auto" feedback systems and will return any positive feedback immediately with a positive.
3. Buy several small items (low in price if need be) to establish a buying history. This will show other users on ebay that you understand the buying process.
4. Ask questions prior to bidding about anything you don't understand. This will prevent asking questions after the auction and coming across as a difficult buyer.
5. Leave Feedback first. If you are trying to build your buying feedback-- there is almost no reason to not leave feedback first. If you are pleased with your purchase, paid quickly and have not sent annoying emails to the seller-- they have no reason to leave you anything but positive in return.

Tips for building positive feedback as a seller:

1. Package carefully. Items which arrive broken, dirty or smelling of smoke are very likely to get negative feedback. Fragile items should be wrapped in tissue, bubble wrap and have a barrier which keeps them immobile during transit.
   Postal insurance will not pay on a claim unless the packing was done well, so it's to your benefit even if the item is insured.
2. State the shipping method in your auction, and FOLLOW it. If you note Priority shipping, do not try to save money by shipping Parcel. If the item weighs under 13 ounces, ship it first class (unless you have stated Priority). Priority and First Class arrive in similar time limits, but they are not always perceived as the same thing. 
3. Use CLEAN packing materials. This doesn't mean you can't recycle. Recycled materials might even be preferable in some cases-- but no one wants to receive an expensive blouse in a cereal box, so watch what you use. The biggest offender-- newspaper. If you use newspaper-- make sure it is only at the very bottom of the box as filler-- and that it is not touching the item. Also make sure that the it is CLEAN and DRY!
4. Protect your item from moisture/smells. If the item is cloth, or can absorb ordors- it is best to put it a protective barrier like a Ziploc bag. Although you may keep a scent-free, smoke-free home-- items can pick up smells along the way.
5. SHIP IMMEDIATELY. I can not stress this enough. Read my feedback..Keeps Me In Stitches Feedback  notice anything? Almost every single comment notes "quick shipping" people are impressed if their package arrives sooner than they expected. Always try to ship within 24 hours-- it will improve your feedback score dramatically!
6. Don't Sell JUNK.  This pretty much goes without saying, but if you sell something and advertise it as best, first quality, etc.... it should be.  There is no positive feedback for scammers.
7. Send the buyer a "winning bidder" email that lets them know you are glad they have won, and hope they will be happy with the item..  On this email--you might want to include a blurb that goes something like this: "Please let me know by email or feedback when you get your item- once I know you are satisfied and the transaction is closed, I will leave you positive feedback for that quick payment".  Let the buyer know you'd like to leave them positive feedback, but that you want to wait and make sure everything is okay first.  ]
8. Send a follow up invoice to your buyer.  Better communication (and by communication- I mean letting the buyer know you are aware of each step, not begging..) will bring better feedback.  Send this only if the buyer hasn't paid-- giving them a chance to remedy the problem.  Don't sound threatening... just let them know you haven't received the payment yet.  Give them a few days before making this email.
9. Follow Up on Old Items.  If after receiving the item, the buyer does not leave feedback, wait 30 -45 days.  Some "Power buyers" will leave feedback many, many days after the fact.  After 30 days (from delivery) LEAVE POSITIVE FEEDBACK. If 30 days have passed and you have had no contact, your buyer is most likely pleased with the item.  If they have paid-- now is the time to quit playing the game of "chicken" with feedback and leave the buyer a positive.  Most of the time, this positive will be returned.
10. Be sure to include a business card, or at least a packing slip.It's amazing, but many, many packages are sent without this information.  Not only is it useful should the package become lost- it's also a very important step to getting more feedback. Many buyers have several packages delivered from ebay to their house each day.  There are "Power buyers" out there!! Make it easier for them to leave you feedback by putting your information on a packing slip (you can print hese from paypal along with shipping labels) or a business card.  That way, they can place this by the computer and leave you feedback.

Provide an Option other Than Feedback First

If you are concerned as a seller about leaving feedback first- consider giving the customer an option.

Please let me know by email that you are happy with your product, so  I will know our transaction is complete-- and leave you positive feedback for your quick payment

This lets the buyer know that you just want to make sure everything is okay-- and it helps end the game of "Chicken" with feedback (No, you leave it first!)

Before Leaving Negative Feedback...

Contact the seller / Communication

Once negative feedback is left (or positive, for that matter) most sellers will consider the transaction closed.  This means is there is a problem, the time to contact the seller is prior to leaving feedback.  

Most sellers really do want you to be happy with the outcome of a transaction, so when something goes wrong-- the key to getting it fixed is communication. Contact the seller immediately.  Word the email in a positive light, if at all possible.

ex: "Dear seller,

Thank you for that quick shipping! I was excited to get my Daisy May wind up toy so quickly.  Upon opening the package, however- I noticed the wind up mechanism had broken off during shipping. I would like to return the toy for a refund, please let me know when and how to ship.

Thank you, buyer"

Notice that not only is this email not accusatory, it suggests a solution.  The seller may counter with a different offer, or not.  If you had already left negative feedback however, your options would be limited.

For both buyers and sellers:

1. Don't beg for feedback. The occasional "I'm brand new, and if I have been a good customer- I'd appreciate positive feedback to help build my rating" will be accepted kindly-- but if you have over 10, it is no longer appropriate.
2. Don't get into a war over who should leave feedback first. The person who should leave it first, is the person who feels they are comfortable with leaving it.

Discussing this with the other party never comes out well, and can backfire into neutral or negative feedback instead!

What should you do if you get feedback you think wasn't meant for you?

Ex: " These tickets were fake!"    

and you sold him a sweater... Email the buyer and ask if it's possible they confused you with another seller. If so, they can agree to a mutual withdraw, and the negative will be removed. Make sure in a case like this to use a follow-up comment on the feedback, since the comment won't be reomved, only the rating.

EX: "These tickets were fake!" 

follow-up by seller: fdback meant for other mutual withdraw

This way buyer will know what happened.

What should I do about a "soft positive"?

A soft positive is when a buyer leaves a positive feedback, but the comment is less than positive.

ex: + Sweater was beautiful, but reeked of smoke.

If you are brand new you may want to follow up with something like
ex: +sweater was brand new. but reeked of smoke. followup by seller: non-smoke home, would refund if asked.
If you are not a new seller-- it's best to let these fall of the page without comment. (This means they will move to the second page and be less noticeable after you get more feedbacks.

Much of this information was compiled by using Frequent popular opinion on the Powerseller and Clothing board-- but it's always a good idea to use judgement.