It's All Based on Trust

People who buy and sell at eBay don't buy and sell in private. Anyone can find what others in the community have to say about doing business with anyone else -- for both the buyers and the sellers. We do this through the Feedback Forum, where users can indicate whether they've had a positive or negative experience when trading with someone else.

But don't just look at the number after a member's name -- click that number to see all the positive, neutral, and negative postings. Take some time to read what others have written. This is your opportunity to see whether a person has taken the time to make themselves a good, upstanding member of the community.

At eBay, we allow members to use a "nickname" or "User ID." If you do not want to use a nickname, you can always use your email address as your User ID. We believe that nicknames help all of us get to know each other better while providing protection from unwanted SPAM (or unsolicited commercial email).

Your reputation follows you throughout the eBay community. Everything is public. This keeps people honest. And with tens of thousands of people buying and selling every week, and more becoming part of our community all the time, you have to be trustworthy to live here. That makes for a great place to do business. And that's why people are meeting here from all over the world.

eBay is dedicated to building a "safe harbour" for conducting business on the Web. If you ever have complaints about another member of the eBay community, you can contact us and we'll help resolve it.

To make a bid or to offer something for sale, you have to register first. It's a fast process. And it opens the door to a whole new world.