Inexperienced Sellers (which there will be a peek in because of all their BS) would be more likely to pay more for the item to resell – if that purchase is made on eBay they benefit from the fees of the purchase which of course have increased substantially.

Buyers become conditioned to seeing sold prices higher than what they are so they are ok with the price of the item. Also this manipulation of the buyers experience increases the likelihood that when they do stumble onto the product at a discounted rate they will be more inclined to purchase for the lower price and because it will create a sense of urgency

Finally, it deceives the public (stockholders) into believing things are going much better than they actually are. If the sell thru rate is lower but the sold price higher than it is a wash no need for concern

eBay has confused the term “feedback PERCENTAGE” with “feedback SCORE” in its feedback rating system. You serr, eBay touts that “A neutral rating does not change the Feedback SCORE.” : http://pages.ebay.com/help/feedback/questions/feedback.html

While the feedback “SCORE” does NOT change, eBay has omitted that the feedback “PERCENTAGE” DOES change as a result of receiving neutrals — and the omission is for eBay’s own benefit. Further, eBay aids a confusion of symantics as it does not have a “Feedback score.” Instead eBay has
1. “FEEDBACK PROFILE”
2. ” Recent Feedback Ratings”
3. “Detailed Seller Ratings.”

Okay… I’m sure there are other examples of deceptive practices out there. Reader’s it’s your turn to report!