This is an interesting topic. I never once thought about my rating of zero when I first started selling on Ebay. On my very first listing I never received any questions on my item/s either. I have purchased electronics from a seller with no rating it was a major purchase for me and I really wanted it. My decision was based on price, shipping cost and service, and the location. The closer to where I lived the better. Now I've purchased smaller items from sellers with very high ratings and was disappointed and my ratings were not good. Do you think that mattered to the seller with their high ratings? Probably not.
I sometimes buy from unknown/new sellers if all of the below things happen: 1) Their price+ shipping is the best either in terms of money or time. 2) I message them and get a quick, well-written response. 3) The total amount of money to be paid is an amount I'm willing to gamble. I have had good results so far and I feel good about them because I feel like I'm giving someone a chance. How can someone get started as a seller if no one will give them a chance to start to build ratings? I think the MAIN reason I have had good results on the things I actually buy is that I stick to sellers who care enough to respond quickly and articulately to questions. I don't buy if I get responses that take a long time, don't make sense, are in text-speak, or don't actually answer the question I asked.
