Definition:
Fedback percentages are a simple and easily referenced component of the eBay feedback system.
A member's feedback percentage is simply the ratio of their positive and negative feedback ratings during the previous year. For example, a feedback percentage of 90 indicates that in 90 out of 100 transactions, a user's trading partner did not leave a negative rating about the transaction.
Though a very high feedback percentage can seem impressive at first glance, it can at times be misleading, for several reasons:
- High percentages don't mean no unsatisfied partners. A rating of 90 percent positive not only indicates that 90 out of every 100 trading partners were satisfied, but also that 10 out of 10, or 1 out of every 10, were unsatisfied enough to leave a complaint.
- High percentages don't mean lots of experience. Percentage is not a good indicator of reliability on its own, since any 100 percent feedback rating can just as easily be a new eBay member with only a single positive feedback report as it can an experienced eBay member with many satisfied customers. For the complete picture, be sure also to refer to the member's feedback score.
- Negative ratings can't be left for buyers. Sellers can't leave negative feedback about buyers; only buyers can leave negatives about sellers. Someone with apparently perfect feedback that has always been a buyer in the past may turn out to be a rotten seller, or even to have been a poor trading partner all along.
