First, I believe negative feedback is meant to be used as a last report, when all attempts to resolve a problem have failed. It is meant to serve as a warning to your fellow eBay members that a person is unwilling to resolve a problem, it is not meant to be punishment for having a problem in the first place, since none of us is perfect.

I've sold about 6000 lots on eBay, and must confess that I've sold two or three chips I didn't have (miscounted multiple identical items). It happens, and I don't think I deserve a permanent negative for making a human mistake, especially when I offer a sincere apology and a prompt and cheerful refund.

I have handed out a couple of dozen negative feedbacks over the years, but always as a last resort. I have never received a retaliatory negative in return, I assume because I've always let the person know it was coming well in advance, and gave them every oportunity make good.

John, the 89th day, 23rd hour, 59th minute thing no longer works, because the time the listings stay in the accessible database is no longer fixed at 90 days exactly. Sometimes they disappear in 80 days, and sometimes they remain for 120 days or more. That logic always escaped me anyway, since it seems to say "This person deserves a negative as a warning to others that he's untrustworthy, but I'm not going to warn them for another 60 days, to protect my own feedback record". ???

It also implies that the intention is to blindside the person, which is not something I'm not interested in doing.