I have been an eBay Power Seller for many years and began on eBay in 1998 when it was like the wild west. I currently have a 99.9% positive feedback score with 6239 positives (5404 uniques) and 5 negatives.

In the early days of eBay anyone could leave feedback on any member, even if they never had a transaction. This may seem strange today, but I suppose the idea was that an eBayer that helped another eBayer could leave positive feedback. Or on the other side, if you discovered what you thought might be a bad eBayer you could of course leave negative feedback.

So, any seller on those early days could get underserved negative feedback from anyone that didn't like the way his auction ad was written. I myself ended up with 3 out of my 5 negatives in the first year on eBay and believe me it had nothing to do with my actions as a seller nor my performance or honesty. There are just people out there looking to shoot anyone down they can. The other two I received were retaliation feedbacks.

We all know that the feedback system has flaws and eBay over the years has refined it over and over, but it still doesn't take into account the retaliation feedback factor. So what is this Retaliation Feedback Factor you might ask? Well, lets say you are a seller and you run a nice clean auction or sale on eBay. You then find the "Buyer From Hell" who just won't play by the rules. He might complain after the fact that the S&H is too high, even though it might not be and is clearly posted. He might have changed his mind and wants to back out of the deal and if you remind him it was a binding contract, he begins to pick at the auction ad to find some small flaw and throws that out to justify his attempted default on the deal. It could be a newbie who just doesn't know the rules yet and does everything wrong. Finally, the dreaded Non-Paying Bidder who eBay used to call the "Deadbeat Bidder" but alas they changed it to be politically correct to Non-Paying Bidder. I liked the Deadbeat Bidder more as it has a truer ring to it.

In any event, I have established one of the most extensive Terms & Conditions web site I think is out there. Over the years a buyer might have pointed out something to me that might not have been clear in the auction. Of course you can't put everything in the auction copy because if too long they just won't read it. So as most companies do today you must have Terms that people agree to when they want to do business with you.

These Terms are not only for your protection against negative feedback or misunderstandings but serve to explain in great detail to the buyer what they are. It also helps to protect you against the buyers that want to follow their own rules and not yours. You are welcome to visit my Terms & Conditions and model your own after mine.

You can find it at: http://mtigrp.com/ebay/terms

Now you will also see that I also have some terms on my auctions. This is also the most important ones regarding who can bid at my auction, how payment is to be made, my guarantee on the item and other pertinent information that deals with the particular item. If it is a Final Sale, it says so...if it has a Guarantee it says that too.

I have found the more honest and concise your auction copy is the more you will be rewarded with positive feedback. If you are selling a used item, make sure to take lots of photos and describe any defects in detail and in photos. Do not exaggerate in your descriptions...this will surely lead to buyer dissapointement and of course lack of positive feedback or worse negative feedback.

On new items, I offer a money back guarantee, less the S&H so this will also give the buyer a chance to look at the item and return it if not pleased. If you run a clear and concise auction you won't really have more then .5% returns so it is worth it.

To summerize this guide, I would ask you to visit my eBay store and view some of my auctions there. I think you will find some great tips on how to avoid negative feedback, get a high positive feedback score and thrive in the eBay Community.

One other thing I think is a way to avoid negative feedback and avoid eBay from coming down on you...do not charge excessive S&H fees. I am sure we have all seen those sellers practive "Fee Circumvention" by charging you .99¢ on an item worth $15 and then hitting you for a S&H fee of $14.95. This is the worst form of trickery and not only causes eBay to lose money on the Final Value Fee they charge the seller, but means that if the item has to be returned to the seller for what ever reason you will only get back the .99¢ and lose the $14.95 (most will not refund the S&H). It also means that if you insure the item or attempt to get any sort of refund you will only get the .99¢ and not the actual costs.

I have reported more then one seller for this deceptive practice and hope that eBay can take action against these crooks. They not only cheat eBay, but they cheat the customers and other sellers by making the playing field lopsided.

Regards to all and good eBaying.

Len Rapoport
A Proud eBay Power Seller: lenrapp

http://stores.ebay.com/Lens-Friendly-Auctions