Hey Robbin,
So the only thing you judge a buyer on is if they pay promptly or not?
For me, them paying is not the end of their side of the deal.
Pay, Receive, Inspect, Communicate, Courtesy, honesty and a pleasant transaction... I take all of these into account.
Now, if eBay had a system where you could leave feedback in steps, then yes I would do that.
Maybe eBay should have a system where different aspects of the transaction could be rated say 1-5 (Bad to Good), and allow you to leave it at different times. Then I could leave a positive for payment, but hold off on the other categories could be rated as I go along.
I don't do feedback-hostage, because I haven't had a bad buyer do anything wrong to me yet. If someone complains to me, I usually just apologize and give a refund immediately.
For instance, it just happened. I sold some of my grandmothers sheet music. I'm not familar with how sheet music is supposed to be and I had a guy email me this morning saying the middle sheet is missing. He said he thought he would write to me before leaving a negative because it could of been a misunderstanding. I emailed him back, apologized and gave him a refund. I had already given him a positive which he deserved and he gave me a wonderful positve.
However, what if he didn't email me? What if he just gave a negative without even trying to find out why a sheet was missing.
I really think the feedback system needs to be updated giving us a chance to rate different aspects of the transaction instead of just 3 choices for the whole thing.
Paid Fast? Yes, they deserve a plus for that. But what if they took you through the wringer for 3 weeks after that?
Something like this -
Paid in timely manner: * * * * *
Good Communication: * * * *
If dispute arose, handled professionally * *
and allow a comment after each one.
Ah who knows, this is all making my head spin.
This is a good argument for just getting a website and forgetting about eBay =)
Natalie
