eBay's new feedback system, dubbed Feedback 2.0, has rolled out internationally. Many users were aware that the new reputation system would enable buyers to rate sellers on a scale of 1 to 5 stars on four criteria in addition to the overall rating of positive, negative or neutral. But many seemed to be caught off guard at the "snapshot" the new system gives of items they have recently purchased and sold.

Some users are concerned that it is too easy to see what they are buying and selling with the new system. Previously, visitors to another member's feedback page would have to click on an item number to see what the item was. Now, eBay displays the listing title directly underneath the comment for each transaction.

A discussion about the new rating system on the UK discussion boards turned to privacy concerns on Tuesday once users could see the new system in place (http://forums.ebay.co.uk/thread.jspa?threadID=1200095203).

Users have several reasons for privacy concerns, including worry over friends and family seeing gift items; competitive factors; and embarrassment over purchases of adult and gay-themed items. Experienced users often have multiple User IDs, but that doesn't satisfy some members posting their privacy concerns on the boards yesterday. A few eBay members said they would not leave feedback for transactions and would ask trading partners to do the same to avoid having their purchases and sales appear on the feedback pages.

eBay did disclose that listing titles would display on the feedback page when it announced Feedback 2.0 in January: "Display of Item Title and Price - To give buyers more information to evaluate the reputation of a seller, the transaction’s item title and selling price will be displayed beneath each Feedback comment on the Feedback Profile page for 90 days. This will give buyers more context while reviewing and evaluating Feedback comments." (http://www2.ebay.com/aw/uk/200701221753132.html)

Sellers have been concerned over the starred rating system since eBay first announced Feedback 2.0. Some are concerned that buyers will rate them on things over which they have no control, in particular the time it takes to receive an item (http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m02/i20/s02).

Michael Berkovits, founder and owner of eBay drop-off store GoingGone in Sydney, Australia (http://www.goinggone.com.au), wrote on Tuesday that eBay had rolled out Feedback 2.0 in Australia over the last few days. "One complaint I have is that the new feedback page does not display that I am a trading assistant. It's now hidden under "more options.""

Australian members discussed the new Feedback 2.0 layout on eBay Australia's discussion board (http://forums.ebay.com.au/thread.jspa?threadID=600048401).

eBay is testing Feedback 2.0 in Australia, Belgium, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Poland and the UK before rolling it out to all of its sites.