Those of us who use ebay as our main source of income take it all very seriously. For the occasional ebayer, it may all seem very simple. But the fact is, each individual auction takes a lot of time and energy from start to finish and when it's all said and done, I want to know that I can count on my people to GIVE FEEDBACK!!! At this moment, I have a 100% positive score of 560 which I am EXTREMELY proud of. But, when I go into the feedback forum to check on things, I still see the same 20 or so slackers who haven't bothered to leave feedback yet. So, in addition to all of the other things I have to do in order to keep my business running smoothly, I must now email each one of them and ask them to "please leave feedback, or if there was a problem, let me know!". Most times, I don't even get a response after this. Maybe 2 out of 10 email reminders I send get any attention at all. Believe me, I leave plenty of time for someone to take care of this simple task. I totally understand how busy we all get and that even I take a week or two to give feedback sometimes. But, I always do and would appreciate the same courtesy from others.

I also realize that those people who are fairly new to ebay may not understand the Feedback concept, especially if they are mostly buying things. I know that the first time I won an auction and was asked to leave feedback, I didn't have a clue as to what it was or how it worked. But now that I have become a powerseller, it has become one of the most important things to me. Almost as much as getting paid! Feedback shows your character, what kind of person you are, what level of service people can expect when they come to you for a purchase OR for a sale. People who don't really go out of their way to keep their customers satisfied or take their time paying for auctions they've won may not give their feedback score a second thought, and that's their business. I, however, like to think I go above and beyond for my customers by giving good deals on great items, special care in packaging, fast shipping service and IMMEDIATE payment when I am the buyer. Because of this, I think a few positive words is not much to ask. Do you?

Finally, in the case of negative feedback, which I have managed to avoid so far, I think it should only be used when ABSOLUTELY necessary. But I do believe also, that there are certain cases when an ebayer absolutely deserves negative feedback, and you shouldn't be afraid to leave it. Nobody likes to possibly start a conflict with someone else, but if a person gives terrible service and doesn't care enough to try to work with you or maybe completely ignores you, you may want to consider it. Of course, we all worry about what kind of FB they will leave for us in return, but I feel that if I have really been wronged, it's worth taking my chances. The most important thing about this is so that you may warn fellow honest ebayers of this persons practices. I certainly want to know what type of reputation a seller or buyer has before dealing with them. Also, there are so many good, honest ebayers out there. When a bad one comes along, they should get what they deserve. If a person gets enough negs they will either have to change their ways or be put out of business.

In the case of positive, as I said earlier, we all work very hard and deserve to know that our fellow ebayers are happy with the way we do business. We also want the chance to make things right if someone is unhappy with us. So the bottom line is this, if you are going to buy or sell on ebay, follow the transaction throught to the end. If it was good, GIVE US OUR POSITIVE FB. If it was not so good, let us know so we can fix it! If it was terrible and you feel you've been wronged, when all else fails LEAVE THAT NEG!!! One more thing for sellers. I've learned to wait for feedback from buyers before leaving it in return. Same for buyers, leave feedback as soon as the item arrives and you are satisified. Don't wait for the seller to leave it first, chances are they are waiting for you!!

 Well, thanks for reading my guide everyone and HAPPY EBAYING!!! - bunnyfried