When my voice mail system recently gave up the ghost, I discovered that the equipment I had been using has not been manufactured in years, and no one makes anything quite like it.

After learning more than I really wanted to know about phone and voice mail systems, I narrowed my decision to two systems. One seemed to be a better choice, and was even less expensive than the other. However, when it came time to place the order I got nervous. The manufacturer seemed less 'corporate' and not as well established as the maker of the other system. I started wondering if paying the higher price was the safer thing to do, rather than dealing with a lesser-known company. Would my credit card information be secure? Would the company provide a quality product, and would they stand behind it?

The factor that won me over was eBay. Although I was not shopping for their products on eBay, it turns out that this company sells a lot on eBay, and their feedback score is 100%. Of course, the raw number isn't enough to go on. They have enough ratings that the feedback score appears to be genuine, the feedback comes from many users with established feedback scores, and the feedback is primarily for selling the type of product I was planning to buy.

eBay had a great idea when they came up with feedback scores. While a good feedback score is not a guarantee that you will be happy with your transaction, it is a good indicator. In this case, even though I wasn't planning to buy on eBay, the fact that this merchant had good feedback there gave me the confidence I needed to do business with them.

Positive feedback from eBay customers is just one way you can build credibility and create trust in the online community. The more confidence your customers have in you, the easier it will be to get their business.