I have never liked ebay's feedback system. IMO, the seller ought not hold out on feedback once they are paid. The buyer's part in the transaction is over once they have paid, and the seller should give positive feedback immediately. I once left positive feedback for a seller, and contacted him as to why he had not done the same for me. He replied that he didn't like to bother with feedback, (even though he had hundreds to his credit).
I eventually stopped leaving feedback for sellers if they did not first leave feedback for me. I should have 20 or more feedbacks because of that. I have also never left negative feedback for a seller even if they deserved it, because I did not want to get into a negative feedback pissing match. In the 10 or so times I have sold on ebay, I have always left positive feedback to my buyers upon payment.
Not true. Talk to just about anyone who has sold on eBay for any length of time, and you will hear horror stories about buyer misconduct.
A favorite trick is to keep the good item that the seller sent you, complain, and then return an identical but damaged item and demand a refund. Sometimes, they will claim damage or misrepresentation and demand a partial refund.
The way they have the system set up now, the seller is SOL when this happens.