Arguably the punishment side existed before the web then in US tipping etiquette.
But at least the eBay 'approve' asks you whether the vendor was adequate or not, not to give them the maximum on an entirely artificial multiplier scale unless you think they should face consequences.
>Arguably the punishment side existed before the web then in US tipping etiquette.
True. In general, even if service is bad for whatever reason, most people would say you should leave a tip even if a less generous one than you normally would.
I haven't left a rating on eBay for a long time and don't use it much. But for many situations there's something to be said for thumbs up/down or an up/neutral/down rating when you're not really trying to fine tune.
But at least the eBay 'approve' asks you whether the vendor was adequate or not, not to give them the maximum on an entirely artificial multiplier scale unless you think they should face consequences.