The eBay Feedback Forum forms the core of eBay's web of trust between buyers and sellers. Along with the eBay website itself and the bidding system, feedback is one of the three basic things you should be familiar with before attempting to buy or sell on eBay.
Every member of the eBay website has a feedback profile. Every feedback profile consists of three primary elements:
- The feedback score. This is the number displayed in parentheses every time an eBay member ID is shown on the eBay website. This number is calculated by subtracting the number of users reporting a poor trading experience with the member in question from the number of users reporting a good trading experience with them. The number is followed by a star that gives a visual cue about the member's reputation.
- The feedback percentage. Seen in every eBay item listing in the "Meet the seller" area, this number is the percentage of users reporting a positive trading experience with the seller in question over the past year, calculated using the same numbers as the feedback score.
- The body of feedback reports. Clicking on the number displayed in parentheses after an eBay member's ID displays the list of actual reports from eBay buyers and sellers who have traded with the person in question, both positive and negative, along with information about each transaction, most importantly the value of the transaction and whether it was a purchase or a sale for the member in question. You can find such a public list for any eBay member by searching for their feedback profile by User ID.
You can see your own feedback profile at any time by visiting your My eBay page and clicking on the number following your own eBay User ID at the top of the page.
