The Feedback Question!! Is it safe to buy feedback? My answer: No, it's not worth it.
New accounts are especially scrutinized when the owner attempts to buy a large number of cheap auctions in short amount of time. The most susceptible items in question are digital items which require no shipping.
Are there safe items to buy to build feedback? Of course, any physical item with a value of $1 or more will usually be okay. Physical items like stamps, coins, beads, baseball cards, and used books with free shipping have been reported to be okay.
Just don't buy too many cheap items in a short amount of time, and you should be okay. What items are not safe to buy? Virtual items that require no shipping, for example eBooks, wallpapers. Most penny auctions will almost always limit your account for abusing eBay.
As an alternative you can sale cheap items to build your feedback. Selling small ticket items have been known to be okay to increase feedback.
But do not sale too many cheap auctions at one time or you could be hit with 'feedback manipulation'. Do you really need feedback? If you're just trying to increase feedback to make your items sale faster, stop! You do not need feedback to make your items sale faster or for more. Your sales page will do that for you. The more professional your auction looks and the more questions you answer for the buyer on page, the better chance you'll have at making more sales. Feedback isn't everything.
Even if you're successful at buying a lot of cheap feedback, it's been said that those accounts don't last long. Once eBay has a feeling you're trying to cheat the system, they'll list you as abusing eBay and once you start listing high risk items, they'll can your account.
If you're feedback score is too low and you need to increase your feedback to thwart suspension. You can increase your feedback by having buyers withdraw negative feedback. Go to eBay help and then select the feedback withdraw option. Try to resolve the negative feedbacks and that'll increase your feedback score. Let the customer know you'll take the item back for a full refund, or whatever to get in good standing with them.
So that's it - it's best you don't try to cheat the system to gain feedback. It's not worth the time and effort in creating an account to do so.