Changing out LCAs, UCAs, and bearings on front of the 4runner. Looking at everything on Wed night decided to change the stabilizer bars. Jumped online and saw that Suspension Parts Warehouse on ebay had a pair for like $42 and guaranteed Friday delivery. Feedback was 98% positive so I ordered. I was going to install Saturday. Got tracking info Thursday with Friday delivery. Friday tracking number showed still waiting for the product in order to ship. Sent an email to SPW and they responded quickly saying they would check their shipping dept. Nothing arrived Friday so I sent an email canceling the order. Bought a set a bit cheaper on Amazon with Sunday delivery. Sunday, SWP cancelled the order a quickly refunded the money. Perfect, no harm no foul, it happens. They emailed me a nice note apologizing and said when the parts arrive, just keep them for my troubles. Nice. Parts arrived today and opened the box. They were two different makes (both would have fit). One had gold colored washers and end cap, the other had silver. They arrived in very different bags. I pulled them out to compare them and noticed the silver one looked brand new. The gold looked to have been used. There was flaking paint with rust underneath with a bit of road grime/grease that was falling off. There was also pitting and deep scratches. So, just beware. Service was great, product would never go on the truck.

I consider 98% to be very bad feedback on eBay and would never purchase with that rating. Most people I know feel 99.7% is good anything lower is iffy. I occasionally buy from 99.4-5 but only after reading the negative reviews and seeing how many complaints are on minor things like late shipping or some minor annoyance.

That’s just me....

I dunno about that people can leave negative reviews just because they were ****tards and read the description wrong.

If they are up there in % read the negative reviews (shouldn't have many). You probably would find some people just can't be pleased.

Thats why I read the reviews if the rating is mid-low 99%.

Just saying 98% is a guaranteed inconsistent seller at best and likely way worse.

For me (an eBay seller as well), you have to consider the quantity of bad reviews rather than the sheer percentage. Anything under 97-98 is suspect, but if they are an individual that only sells less than 10x a year and someone left a negative review because they wouldn't accept a return due to the buyer not verifying if it would fit their application, you have to take that into consideration. In that case it may take YEARS to get their percentage back up.

I'd also love to see how you pick a restaurant or repairman if 98% positive is "guaranteed inconsistent".

For certain one has to look at the feedbacks. But that 98% score may be all purchases by the seller and one ripoff sale. If the seller is a business and almost all sales then you know purchases are not beefing up the feedback rating, but for individuals it is a real factor.

How often do you see an eBay rating below 96%? Hardly ever and usually with someone that has just a few sales offset by one complaint. So consider the bulk of eBay feedback ratings with significant sales history fall between 95-100%
then a 95% rating would be the bottom 20% score of sellers and 98% would be around an 80th percentile seller. Not good in my book. There are too many sellers on eBay to frequent any but the higher rated sellers. If you need something in a hurry and Amazon is not an option (and Loys of counterfeit or open box distressed items are sole on Amazon for sure) the I will consider 98% sellers. But it is my last option.

Just search the 'net for eBay How To articles and you will see the 98.7 recommendation or close to that.

I love to eat out. TripAdvisor is the absolute WORST for restaurants. Yelp is somewhat better. In the end, word of mouth is best if you are local to the establishment, failing that I keep an eye out for who is busy. In a strange town I will bypass appealing looking but empty restaurants and hone in on where the locals congregate, guaranteed at least decent food, plus the bonus of people watching and getting wisps of local gossip.