I haven't done eBay in ages but rating inflation used to be a big deal there when the relationship between buyers and sellers was more symmetrical (among other differences from today). People took anything other than a positive with an "A+++++++++++++++++++++ seller" as meaning that the seller had shipped you a brick and then burned down your house. People got really pissed off if someone left a neutral because, say, the item was damaged in shipment even if the problem was ultimately resolved.