It was the sellers that were abusing the buyers on eBay that prompted the change in the rules, not the other way around. Now it works like any other store when you buy something and don't have a good experience, you are free to post a negative comment without fear of having your own feedback score ruined in retaliation.
While I agree with the rest of your post, I don't fully agree with this part. In a normal online store such as Amigakit, the customer's item isn't "reserved" for them until they have completed payment. If I sell a DVD on Ebay and a buyer decides not to proceed without telling me, I have to wait for however many days in case they choose to pay, then go through the non-paying bidder process, then I can put it back on Ebay. Now I can't even leave a warning to other sellers that the buyer is a time-waster.
IMHO Ebay has swung too far in the buyer's favour. It needs some sort of balance to protect sellers.
