Gone2dogz official declaration of Feedback and other eBay Policies

Just so you know.

I always leave feedback, except ...

Feedback is important because:
(a) If somebody rips you off it is unfair to other people not to let them know.
(b) If somebody deals fairly with you, it's unfair to that person not to let others know.
IOW I believe the outcome of the transaction belongs in the public record.
For these reasons I leave feedback on every transaction, with the following exceptions:

When I've already left you positive feedback in the past, and my additional entry would not boost your "feedback number" anyway, so what difference does it make,
In one case I thought the outcome was ambiguous. The sax was advertised as "overhauled" and I didn't really think it was a very good overhaul, but I wasn't sure I could explain it clearly and convincingly, and didn't want to leave a complaint if there was a chance I might be inaccurate, and I couldn't think of a way the seller could have "made it better" anyway.
A couple times the deal came out okay, but I was left with an uneasy feeling about the other person. For example, the guy who yelled at me about his mouse (see below). What do I do here? I can't say it was a positive outcome (I didn't have much fun that day), and I can't say it was non-positive (the deal was completed successfully). I had a subjective problem with this and similar deals, not an objective one that can be publicly shared without creating misunderstandings.
A couple times there was no reasonable remedy, so I didn't ask. For example, when the packaging was terrible but the item survived. What am I gonna do -- ask for something to make up for the error? Not.

Some people avoid leaving negative feedback because they "don't like to say something bad". I think the need for a clear public record outweighs this consideration.
I have left negative or neutral feedback several times, and a majority of them have been due to poor packaging. Especially with expensive items, it's just inexcusable to put that much value at risk by not paying attention to your packing -- even more so because I always send the seller a link to one or both of my how-to-ship pages, the general instructions or the sax-specific instructions.
Other causes for negatives:

Deadbeat bidder
Deadbeat seller (ripoff) (only happened once, fortunately. Yuck!)
Item inaccurately described and no willingness to correct the situation. My complaints must be specific. Not "seller thought it was good, I thought it was fair" but " seller omitted to mention the broken-off arm" (etc).

Feedback is always restricted to factual matters -- whether communication did or did not occur, item was damaged or not, etc.

I leave positive feedback if something is wrong with the original deal but the other person makes a diligent and successful effort to reach a mutually acceptable resolution.

Bidder's Remorse and other non-paying situations

I know that sometimes people win the auction and just can't or won't pay, for reasons totally out of my control. It's aggravating but it is simply part of the business. I will try not to take it personally. I will also always report it to eBay. This is for two reasons:

It is the only way I can get credit back for my auction fees
It will get the deatbeat bidder barred from eBay if he does it two more times. This is not a revenge motive but a fairness issue. If the bidder is repetitively behaving this way, it is a gross unfairness to other sellers not to see to it that the bidder ultimately is stopped. And remember, if the bidder learns from the problem and doesn't repeat the mistake, then no harm is done to him by being reported to eBay.

Communication

Silence is not Golden

The most destructive thing you can do in your auction communications is to fail to communicate at all. People who don't follow the eBay policy of establishing contact within 72 hours of the auction close are making extra hassle and confusion for the overworked seller. Buyers whose payment is delayed, sellers whose shipment is delayed, buyers who are unhappy with their item -- if they don't say anything, they are making the situation worse. Even if your communication is distasteful ("I'm not going to pay after all! ") it's still much more decent than total silence.

Never attribute to hostility what you can attribute to computer error

I don't know exactly how reliable e-mail servers are in general, and whether the stories of "I never got your email" or "you never got my email" are caused by computer error or carelessness, but I will always send multiple messages before I assume you are truly not responding.

Cyberspace is not like reality

People seem to get bent out of shape especially easily in electronic communications. I think it's because it's a new medium with unclear cultural expectations, and they don't have the reassuring eye contact or chummy tone-of-voice they've got used to in other communications.

Primary rule: Before you get hopping mad at someone whom you've only met through email, try a cool factual response. See if it saves the day. Try a phone call, too. ("Hello! I didn't like what I saw -- is this what you really meant?")

Silence is not always Silence. And the 72-hour rule.

Sometimes just a computer crash will put you or me out of communication for a few days. This is why eBay will disclose phone numbers of your trade partners -- so you can call them before you go nuts complaining about their non-response.
Sometimes people really do forget! You are near giving up on the deal, you send them a simple reminder, and instead of being in a big angry fight you get an answer like "Omigosh I forgot, I'll send your [money][item] right away!". Problem solved! No yelling!
However, having sent multiple messages and tried the phone, if I don't hear from a high bidder within the 72 hours, I reserve the right to treat that bidder as a deadbeat for feedback and SafeHarbor purposes; and I reserve the right to sell to the second high bidder. I also reserve the right to back out of the auction if your 72-hour silence makes me apprehensive that you won't deliver the goods.
I had one case where a guy won the auction but left the country before the auction was done, and came back two weeks later. He was all bent out of shape that I had cancelled the deal. Guess what? If you're going to go tearing off to Timbuktu, you should notify your seller before you leave! Duh!

Problems with the deal?

Negative feedback is the correct remedy for a deal that has finally failed, but it also means the abandonment of other remedies. Before leaving negative or neutral feedback, I will always contact the other party to explain what has bothered me, and open the possibility of a mutually satisfactory resolution. I suggest you adopt the same approach. Isn't it more pleasant to get what you want, than to leave a flaming complaint about not getting it?

Want to bid, but short on cash?

I'm usually open to offers such as a (sizable) (non-refundable) deposit to secure the deal, accompanied by some clear picture of when and how you can complete it.
Of course it is necessary to work out something like this before you bid.

Speedy Speedy Speedy!

There seems to be a growing addiction to speedy deals on eBay. I sold a mouse awhile ago to a guy who, three days after paying, sent me some anguished letter about how he had not received the mouse yet and he "had never been treated this badly before". Think about this. It kinda grows on ya, don't it?
I enjoy receiving my item instantly, too, but I know that many of the sellers out there (like me) have lives outside eBay. Maybe you (like I) cannot dash straight to the post office the instant a payment arrives. Big flaming deal!. Just keep me updated (see "silence is not golden" above) and I will not start screaming and frothing at the mouth at you.
I like to ship as soon as I am paid, but a trip to the post office gobbles up a lot of time, and I much prefer to go when I have a bunch of items to ship all at once. This might mean you wait 3 extra days while I wait for some more payments to trickle in. If this drives you bananas, thank you for not bidding.
Exception:Some of my high-price auction winners have gone out of their way to rush rush payment to me. And I reciprocate on big-ticket deals. After all, when you put megabucks in the mail, you have a right to be very excited about the new toy you are acquiring, as well as anxious about the strange "Dogz" person out there who has received your money and will (you hope) send you something for it!
I may leave feedback speedily or wait a couple of weeks until I have a whole batch of 'em to leave all at once. Kindly do not work yourself into a lather of anxiety over speedy or non-speedy feedback.

You are welcome to copy and distribute any part of my carefully-composed rants. If you do so, I would appreciate your giving credit in the form of a hyperlink to my rant pages or my auctions