August 2005 - eBay has issued the following fact sheet to aid new users:

eBay's Feedback System Can Help Collectibles' Buyers and Sellers Establish Themselves as Good Trading Partners

Imagine if every business in your local community - the corner mechanic, antique shop or auto dealer for example - was required to post EVERY customer comment - good and bad -- on the door to their store or shop. The results would likely be very revealing, and give you, as a potential customer, a good sense of the type of customer service experience you might expect. While that does not generally happen in our offline world, today online reputation systems are critical pieces of transacting and communicating on the Internet. eBay's system is called Feedback - the earliest and most widely used online rating system today - gives insight into the reliability of a particular buyer or seller to conduct a smooth and seamless transaction on eBay. It has become the basis of trust between buyers and sellers on the site.

Created in 1996 (one year after eBay began), eBay founder Pierre Omidyar created the Feedback system based on the Golden Rule: "By creating an open market that encourages honest dealings, I hope to make it easier to conduct business with strangers over the net. ...This grand hope depends on (eBay Buyers and Sellers') active participation. Become a registered user. Use our Feedback Forum. ...Make your complaints in the open. Better yet, give your praise in the open. Let everyone know what a joy it was to deal with someone. Above all, conduct yourself in a professional manner. Deal with others the way you would have them deal with you."

Here's how it works: For every transaction, the Buyer and Seller can rate each other by leaving Feedback, which consists of a rating (positive, negative or neutral) and a short comment like "A++," "Very knowledgeable Longaberger Basket Seller," "Prompt payment," "Speedy delivery" or "Superb Buyer." These ratings collectively become a permanent part of a member's profile, which can be viewed by clicking on the User ID or the number in parentheses next to his or her User ID.

Generally speaking, the higher the feedback score, the more positive ratings that member has received from other members. But it's also important to check the percentage of positive feedback to negative. Someone with 100 Feedback and 100% positive is likely more reliable of member versus a member with 1,000 Feedback and 70% positive. A feedback score of at least 10 earns a Seller a yellow star. Increasing feedback scores earn different colored stars - all the way to a red shooting star for a score above 100,000!

Feedback tips:

• Before bidding on that Montblanc pen you've always wanted, check the member profile of the trading partner to read comments and look for negative remarks.
• Keep your member profile public - other collectibles' Buyers may be wary of trading with someone with a private member profile.
• If an item is broken upon arrival, before leaving a hasty negative Feedback message, contact your trading partner - they may offer a solution or have a return policy, which may inspire you to leave a positive message due to the good customer service experience.
• Feedback cannot be removed once it's been left, so be sure to leave only fair and actual comments and ratings that relate to a specific transaction you have with your trading partner.
• Once a transaction has been completed, Feedback can be easily left through one's My eBay page.