What's Everyone's Opinion of Feedback Sellers?

[Griking]

You know, those people who sell things like recipes and text documents for a penny with no shipping & handling charges. Isn't just a bit crooked? I believe that they help scammers build up a decent amount of feedback so they can gain a bidder's trust. They then post a few high prices items and disappear overnight with the money.

Opinions?

[jajaja]

I wouldnt directly call it crooked, but i agree that its only to boost the feedback. It can be used for good and evil.

[xolik]

It strikes me as being slightly dishonest adn I don't think I'd ever resort to using it.

[anagrama]

Yeah, they're a bunch of skanks, but people are always going to find loopholes to abuse the feedback systems.

Instead of just complaining as usual, how about offering ways or thoughts as to how this could be prevented?
Outlawing BIN auctions below a certain price is the first thing that comes to mind, but would that affect legitimate low-price items? And besides, I'm sure the potential scammers would swiftly find alternative wways of abusing the system if that was the case.

[ryborg]

Feedback loopholes have existed since the dawn of ebay. Remember back before 2000, when you could just leave anyone any feedback for no reason? Man, that was fun.

It's only recently that ebay has cracked down on obvious feedback auctions where nothing is being sold. After ebay stopped allowing non-transactional feedback, people would set up dummy auctions with non-subtle titles like "ONE POSITIVE FEEDBACK! FREE SHIPPING! TOTALLY FREE!" Now you have to at least be selling an actual item, even if it is something as worthless as a cereal recipe or a clipart image.

Personally, I use them whenever I get a BS neg from an idiot buyer to get it off my main feedback page, or when I am setting up a new selling account for myself or a colleague. If the feedback seller is selling something like bootleg DVDs or is an obvious scammer, I don't buy their auction. There are more than enough "legit" feedback sellers.
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[kentuckyfried]

I remember back in the old days of Ebay where so many people were unloading THOUSANDS of cheap Ginsu 2000 knives at a penny for feedback ;)

[kevin_psx]

Outlawing BIN auctions below a certain price is the first thing that comes to mind,

Most of these sellers use 1 cent auctions-- your fix would not work.

When asked Ebay said they are legitimate sales & can not be removed.

Whatever.

[burnambill333]

eBay is just happy to get their 20 cents worth of listing fees for every feedback auction. It adds up you know.