Absolute Beginners Guide to eBay (4th Edition)

Next to every buyer and seller's name on eBay are a number and (more often than not) a colored star. (Figure 3.1 shows my personal star and feedback number.) This number and star represent that user's feedback rating. The larger the number, the better the feedbackand the more transactions that user has participated in.

How are feedback ratings calculated?

First, every new user starts with 0 points. (A clean slate!) For every positive feedback received, eBay adds 1 point to your feedback rating. For every negative feedback received, eBay subtracts 1 point. Neutral comments add 0 points to your rating.

Let's say you're a new user, starting with a 0 rating. On the first two items you buy, the sellers like the fact that you paid quickly and give you positive feedback. On the third transaction, however, you forgot to mail the check for a few weeks, and the seller left you negative feedback. After these three transactions, your feedback rating would be 1. (That's 0 + 1 + 1 1 = 1.)

If you build up a lot of positive feedback, you qualify for a star next to your name. Different colored stars represent different levels of positive feedback, as noted in Table 3.1.

Obviously, heavy users can build up positive feedback faster than occasional users. If you're dealing with a shooting-star user (of any color), you know you're dealing with a trustworthyand extremely busy!eBay pro.

"Mike Sez"