If you plan to interact on eBay, feedback is very important. Feedback translates to trust and drives the machine that is eBay. If you plan to buy or sell on eBay, you will want to pay special attention to your feedback.

How to get positive feedback

If you’re selling, here’s how to get a good reputation:
  • Establish contact with the buyer (pronto!) after the listing ends.
  • After you receive payment, send the item posthaste.
  • Make sure that the item you ship is exactly in the same condition as you described it.
  • Package the item carefully and ship it in an appropriate package.
  • React quickly and appropriately to problems — for example, the item’s lost or damaged in the mail, or the buyer is slow in paying.
If you’re buying, try these good-rep tips:
  • Send your payment fast.
  • Keep in touch through eBay Messages with the seller if problems arise.
  • Work with the seller to resolve any problems in a courteous manner

How to get negative feedback

Okay, you can read this in one of two ways: (a) as what to do if you’re a glutton for punishment or (b) as a list of major blunders (with their antidotes). So here goes: If you’re selling, here’s what to do to tarnish your name big-time:
  • Tell a major untruth in the item description.
  • Take the money but “forget” to ship the item.
  • Package the item poorly so that it ends up smashed, squashed, or vaporized during shipping.
If you’re buying, you can’t get official negative feedback, but the sellers still have their “say.” If you want to make your eBay experience a drag, here’s how to make a serious mess of the feedback comments you get:
  • Bid on an item, win the auction, and never respond to the seller.
  • Pick up the item in person and give the seller a personal check that bounces and never make good on the payment.
  • Ask the seller for a refund because you just don’t like the item.