Should you trust eBay sellers with 98% feedback?

Generally, a 98% feedback score on eBay is decent but not outstanding, so I’d treat it as a “proceed with caution” rating rather than an automatic pass or a red flag.

A few important points:

• eBay feedback is a limited signal. It doesn’t capture every problem equally well, because many successful transactions never turn into meaningful negative feedback, and the percentage can be influenced by how feedback is left.
• Look at the number of ratings. A seller with 98% from 50 transactions is very different from one with 98% from 50,000.
• Read the negative and neutral comments. Patterns like “item not as described,” “never shipped,” “fake,” or repeated shipping problems matter more than the raw percentage.
• Check how recent the complaints are. A cluster of recent negatives is more concerning than older issues.
• Consider the item’s value. For low-cost items, 98% may be perfectly fine; for expensive or hard-to-verify items, it’s worth being stricter and preferring sellers with stronger recent performance.

eBay’s Money Back Guarantee can help if an item doesn’t arrive or isn’t as described, but it can still mean delays and hassle if something goes wrong.

So the short answer is: yes, you can buy from a 98% seller if the details look good, but you should review their recent feedback, transaction volume, and complaint patterns first.