What annoys me is when you leave negative feedback for someone, they often retaliate, even when they were in the wrong. Happened to me just today. The jerk didn't abide by the auction terms, had neg feedback from other sellers offering similar mdse, and after I left neg fb, he retaliated. What a jerkwad...
eBay needs to have a way to remove this kind of feedback.
The negative feedback I leave is always because individuals fail to pay me, and I do this after a 26-30 day period has passed. I've had negative feedback left for me too by those buyers. In many cases, eBay will eventually remove that feedback or reduce it to a neutral because the person who left it ends up being suspended because they've bilked several other sellers. I've gotten to the point where I don't even care about the feedback anymore. But I refuse to be intimidated about leaving negative feedback for fear of getting it back in turn from some slug.
It never ceases to amaze me that many of these buyers who don't pay you, contact you or send a payment after you've already left negative feedback for them. I've had several write me and ask me if they can pay and if I'd request a reverse on the non-paying status they've been given by eBay. They begin to panic once they see that negative on their record. I've also gotten notes from people who have been banned from eBay because of their payment record. They beg to be able to pay for the items and in many cases, it's months past the time of their transaction with me and I no longer have the item. In any case, once I receive the credit for the closing fee from eBay and I leave negative feedback, I usually don't reverse it. I figure they wasted my time, failed to answer any of my emails, failed to pay within a reasonable time (approx. 30 days) and don't deserve any favors.