I don't spend that much time on Ebay any more, but I do remember seeing people comment on how delicate items were packed. I think it's appropriate to say something about the packaging and/or give a neutral (or even negative) rating, since you've said you'll never buy anything from the seller again. Shipping is part of seller quality, after all, and that's what I'm looking for in Ebay ratings (moreso than the quality of the items for sale).

You could give a positive rating, but leave a politely nasty comment. When I buy something that could be harmed in shipping, I correspond with the seller up front about packing and offer a dollar or two more if necessary.

Think about what kind of use you want to make of eBay in future. I've never had this kind of problem, but there can be a phenomenon of retailatory feedback - if you did anything at all slow/wrong as a buyer, you may find yourself rated low as a way of striking back and making the problem look like you, not them. This is why you often won't recieve a rating until the other person has rated you.

What might be more polite is to write to the seller and share your concerns. I don't know what you would want them to do for you (partial refund?) but it is generally a good thing to give people the chance to correct a problem before taking it to feedback - because bad feedback is really crippling to a seller. OTOH, this person needs to learn how to do eBay and bad packing isn't it.

I once sold a guitar on eBay - it was damaged and I listed it as such, but the buyer found another flaw I didn't know about. I basically refunded him half the price before postage and was really glad he contacted me to negotiate before lambasting me in feedback - I genuinely didn't know about the additional flaw and appreciated the chance to make it right.

Then I'd say if you got no response or a lame response, you could mention it in a comment.

I don't know what you would want them to do for you (partial refund?)

See, this is the problem. I'm not looking for compensation or any redress. The item is still acceptable to me and the price was low enough so I don't expect any adjustment. (And perhaps that's part of eBay culture, too; should I have expected a sloppy packing job for an inexpensive item?) I just wonder if it's worth warning other shoppers about the packaging or if other buyers would be savvy enough to expect this unless otherwise noted.

retailatory feedback - if you did anything at all slow/wrong as a buyer, you may find yourself rated low

It's hard for me to imagine what I could get dinged for: I bid once, paid within an hour or so of the auction closing, and had no other exchanges with the seller. But I'm certainly unschooled in eBay protocol and culture, so what do I know?

You could give a positive rating, but leave a politely nasty comment.

This is useful to know: I'm perfectly happy to give a positive rating but also leave a pleasant comment noting the packaging so other buyers don't get the same surprise. I think you solved my problem, Ardiril.

And EvaDestruction, that's great advice; in future, I'll specifically ask about shipping for every purchase. It hadn't occurred to me because I assumed a high-rated seller (which she is) would take the bare minimum of care: an appropriately sized box, or failing that, a sheet of bubble wrap or at least some crumpled paper in the end of the box. Clearly, assumptions of minimum care are too high for eBay.

And thanks for the responses; they're all very helpful in different ways!

Just contact the seller, to point out the problem. You may not care that much about rectification, but they should know that there is a problem with how they are packing items - and they should be offered the chance to fix this.
I bought an item on eBay a few years ago - when I was new to eBay - that was in way worse condition than described (bits broken off, screws rattling around inside, only half functional. It was not worth shipping it back (it cost quite a lot to ship) and it had been packed well, so it was unlikely to have been damaged in shipping.
I thought to myself that the seller *must* have known it was in poor condition. I was left feeling pretty mad about this. So I left them negative feedback. I got a screaming response by email that I should have contacted them first.
When I cooled down, I thought that I really *should* have given the seller a chance to put things right. OK - so I assumed that they would have known the item was in poor condition when they packed it, but perhaps they did not. Perhaps they had one of their kids pack it up and never realized (some sellers do get their family involved, when they ship a lot of small items).
Since then, I always contact the seller with any complaints. Most of them tend to try to make it right, by discounting the item. You're right - this does not always make things good, but it makes you feel less cheated by the occurrence ... :-) I figure that I should at least give them the chance to retrieve the situation, before I post negative feedback.

I'm so glad I asked this question! This is immensely helpful.

I'm definitely not angry about it, nor do I feel cheated, and I've been thinking about my response since the package arrived Saturday night, so this isn't a knee-jerk thing. But I know eBay runs on feedback so I want to be honest but reasonable.

I think Ardiril's idea is what I'll do, minus the "nasty": leave a positive rating (because I AM happy with the purchase and the item and the speed with which it was shipped) and also leave a polite comment with a description of the packaging issue, noting that my feedback is otherwise quite positive. Does that sounds like a reasonable solution, or are there eBay-specific cultural rules I'd be violating?

That was feedback I once received. I shipped a bunch of cables and other loose yet indestructible amateur recording gear (adapters, spare plugs and jacks, hardware) that I just threw in a box. The buyer gave me a positive mark but left a jaded comment.

eBay now has ways to handle retaliatory feedback (I think you can dispute feedback and it'll be looked into). In the case cited here I'd probably rate the buyer well on the things he did well and then rate lower the shipping one (when you select the feedback options, a sub-feedback frame opens up. The last option is
How reasonable were the shipping and handling charges?

Here I'd rate them lower under the proviso that they way overcharged for how well it was packaged. Then in the comments I'd mention that the item could have been packed better. So something like this:
Item sold was as described, shipped in a timely fashion, blah, blah blah, could have been packaged better.

The seller won't realize they should have done better if it isn't pointed out after all.

I'd strongly suggest contacting seller first. If no satisfaction, I'd go the positive rating, negative comment route. If seller has a good reason and is very sorry, stick with positive rating. Ebay negatives are really flags for the ripoff artists, as I learned belatedly after dinging a couple of sellers without advance contact. You don't want to get into the tit for tat retaliatory feedback loop until you have a history of positive ratings as a buyer yourself.

Yeah, I still agree with contacting the seller first. Even if you don't want anything in return at all - just let them know that the packing wasn't up to snuff. If they reply sounding sorry, I'd keep comments positive and assume the lesson was learned. If no reply or a nasty one, then use the negative comment.

What bearwife said, essentially. Even a small negative translates to a big on on ebay.

I just noticed seller's can't leave negative feedback for buyers any more. So you're in the clear there, but that makes it all the rougher for sellers.

I left a negative seller rating on Amazon with the reason why (the book had been put into a legal size envelope instead of a padded one, which the postman then proceeded to bend in the mailbox--he should have left it in the cubby). I figured writing this in one place was sufficient, but the seller was pissed.

Generally, I think that if you're something other than completely satisfied, you should contact the seller before taking other action.

This discussion was very helpful --- in part, you all helped me realize that I AM satisfied overall: the (incomplete, but easily complete-able) game was a great price, the shipping cost was low, and she shipped it quickly.

There is literally nothing the seller could do to improve my satisfaction without going back in time to add a sheet of bubble-wrap. But I am, in fact, satisfied and I suspect I should have inferred (from the low shipping cost, from the seller's vagueness in the photo and description) that this wasn't going to be treated as a prized object. I can chalk this up to me learning about to eBay culture, I guess; in my limited Etsy experience, every object is a prized object swaddled in rainbows and kisses.

I gave a very positive star rating overall, and added a comment noting:
A) the oversized & unpadded shipping carton;
B) my overall satisfaction with the transaction.

Incidentally, if anyone's curious, the game board is an original 1971 Crossfire, which The Fella has mentioned several times as "the funnest game EVER." I'm thrilled to have found the board for so little; I've been following auctions for a while and the usually top out at or above $75US, which is a lot to pay for the pleasure of shooting BBs at each other.

My cousins had that game. It is a good one.