Rich there are a couple of reasons why feedback is important to a buyer:

1) Some Sellers handle payments differently depending on your feedback (personal check OK if you have XX positive feedback, or item ships on receipt of check for feedback rating of XX).

2) Some Sellers (not many) require positive feedback before you can bid.

3) If there is a problem (like delayed mail) Sellers may tend to be more suspicious of 0 feedback bidder and quicker to act.

4)Buyer may become a seller. Although I have never sold chips, I did sell a leftover inkjet cartridge when I changed printers and I also sold my old cellphone when i got a new one.

5) Having positive feedback helps make a possible negative feedback less significant. I wouldn't care much if I got a negative now and went from 219 to 218 but going from 0 to -1 could be a real problem.