You can easily get negative feedbacks on ebay, if _you_ choose to purchase from someone with a low feedback rating. I have two negative feedbacks. In both cases, I got screwed and entered (negative, neutral) feedback. The other side went postal and retaliated both times.
One seller misleadingly described a $10 campy braze-on shifters to make them seem like clamp-ons and wanted $9 to return them, and another domestic seller cashed a $130 check and rested a month before shipping a camera lens.
After these two events I probably had a 70% feedback rating because I made the stupid mistake of giving feedback before the other side had entered their feedback rating, allowing them to retaliate.
The feedback mechanism is actually designed to maximize ebay's profits. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH CREATING HONEST TRANSACTIONS. For example, the NUMBER OF DAYS BEFORE BUYER FEEDBACK WAS LEFT is probably a much higher statistical predicter of seller responsibility and chance of a successful transaction than the actual feedback rating.
If seller feedback is < 100% I try to decide if the guy has successfully executed the last 20 transactions, and check for no bad feedbacks on the most recent page (e.g. no recent death in family or whatnot). If these two checks pass then they are probably o.k. Also, I always pay by check to get an address and keep an email conversation going - every ~5 days - about the transaction (check shipped, etc.) so that I know whats going on with the seller.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA