Yes we agree on the Feedback when payed idea. I put it in my auctions, in hopes that people will see "I leave feedback when I ship."

Two reasons for me: 1) I don't forget to leave it, 2) The person is kind of notified that the payemnt was received and the package is on the way.

I also agree that feedback is a sham. I would guess that I leave 3 for 1 in my dealings and I'm not impressed with high numbers as people can pump up their sales for a few weeks and then dump the scam on people and run.

Low numbers for new users, just means they are new. No usable information. Low numbers for long time users, means the don't buy or sell much. It's just a number.

The biggest value I have found is reading Negatives and Neutral comments. By goodness some people are rude! I won't deal with the "loonies" that seem to find feedback as a way to puff up and imagine they are powerful.

Sometimes a loser will leave a negative, so I can discount "shipped in four days, promised three days"

But if you see a string of "Item not as described", or items that were refunded because they were not working, (even though the seller made a refund) it's a absolute signal to RUN...

I have bought from and sold to a number of Low Feedback members, without problems. The biggest problems came from higher rated eBay sellers who seemed to play on the edge. Non-payments have come from higher number users.

I think people are afraid to leave negatives, because of retaliation. If I get my first negtative it will be because I screwed up or someone is a loser. I'll write a polite explination and get on with life. You and I are smart enough to see ignorant or misguided negatives.