“A new study concludes that some eBay users are artificially boosting their reputations on the Internet auction Web site by selling items for practically nothing in exchange for positive feedback from the buyer,”this CNET.com article reports .”Sellers with good reputations can seek higher prices on items they sell, according to the study out of the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Under eBay’s reputation system, buyers and sellers can submit feedback to each other after a transaction. Some merchants are selling items at minimal prices, such as 1 cent. They then hope that grateful buyers will give them positive feedback, ask for it or offer to provide positive feedback in exchange, according to Professor John Morgan, who co-authored the study. One merchant was selling written compliments in exchange for positive feedback, Morgan said.Researchers analyzed feedback listings during the second half of 2005 and during one month in the spring of 2006″.

Study: eBay sellers gaming the reputation system?