Feedback is one of the most valuable aspects to consider when buying on eBay; It is an essential (but occasionally flawed) method of judging whether or not to buy from or even to sell online.

In additional to my recent guide on Shill Bidding I have also recently found that some sellers feedback has been raised artificially and fraudulently. There are two main methods of that they can do this by using 1p e-books is to boost feedback to give the illusion of reliability:

1. The eBayer buys lots of 1p or 1c digital items such as e-guides, photos or e-books on eBay, from a variety of worldwide sellers, which allows a quick way of boosting their feedback score and gaining a good reputation. Obviously a good seller doesn’t do this as it’s clearly evident repeats buys of ‘THE SECRETS TO SUCCESS ON EBAY EARN MILLIONS’ is neither necessary or good practise.
2. The Seller actually sells 1p digital items themselves. For each 1p item there are is about 49p of costs once you factor in listings fees which the seller believes this loss leader is a worthwhile investment to manipulate their feedback falsely.

Of course many buyers simply look at feedback percentage and overall feedback to judge if the eBayer is reliable. It pays just to be a little more vigilant when buying or selling.

This was drawn to my attention as I often list 1p items of tangible ‘non-digital’ clothing with free postage in order to gain interest over 10 days and found that, when searching my own auctions, the site was flooded with these items.
 
Feedback on eBay can be easily be exaggerated by a small minority on unscrupulous type. But much like real life don't let this minority put you off trading on eBay UK. Treat both sellers and buyers as you would a transaction in a shop. Be aware before you make a purchase, and don't rush to buy without considering our guides.

eBay has a feedback manipulation policy here

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