Is giving feedback compulsory?

[gaybay3]

Just wondering if it is compulsory as a buyer to give feedback to your sellers?  Just noticed someone bidding on an item I have for sale has not given any feedback to the various sellers.  Is it compulsory or just good manners?

[countessalmirena]

As kopenhagen says, it's not compulsory.

According to eBay:

 Why should I leave Feedback?

Spoiler

By leaving Feedback for a seller, you're telling them what you think. Equally important, you're letting other buyers know about your experience. Your feedback combines with others' to build a rich base of knowledge to help to find the best sellers every time you shop.

  eBay's Feedback policies page:

 My trading partner won't leave me Feedback. What should I do?

Spoiler

If you've successfully completed a transaction with another eBay member and they haven't left you Feedback, it's fine to send a message as a reminder. Remember though, leaving Feedback is completely voluntary.

 Something to keep in mind: if you're buying from an eBay member who is relatively new, or has sold relatively few items, these sellers may stand in need of receiving positive feedback from satisfied customers for a number of reasons, including

• their being able to request that a "hold" of their funds in PayPal is lifted,
• to increase buyer confidence so that buyers won't feel that there might be something wrong with the seller, and
• to offset negative feedback which might be given, for instance, by a buyer who had unreasonable expectations; this is especially important if the seller is a low-volume seller, so that 1 negative brings the seller's feedback percentage down in a disproportionate way.

However, you are definitely not obliged to give feeback, either as a buyer or a seller.