Posted By:
scott (runscott)A bad seller looks for any excuse to avoid being inconvenienced by the buyer, and also for any excuse to suck an extra penny out of them. Example: Steve Verkman charging me $20 for s&h on an item. All he did was wrap a piece of cardboard around the two pictures - I opened it by sliding my fingernail across the tape at the top and pulling both photos out! Then he had the nerve to send me an auction catl'g!!! But here's where he loses: I read the catl'g, drooled over about 8 items I would normally have bid on, then threw it in the trash. (Was it worth an extra $15 s&h extortion?)
A good seller does whatever it takes (within reason) to keep his buyers coming back. Example: Mastro sends me provenance to support an item I bought from them one month earlier - I never asked for it, but they sent it as an extra.
Fortunately the good examples FAR exceed the examples of bad sellers: Cy Petras packs like you wouldn't believe - incredible! It doesn't really protect my cards any better than my own packing, but you can see his intent and it makes you come back. Bob McCann has never charged me insurance and every card comes in a box much larger (usually) than necessary. Again, it doesn't add that much but he is definitely a preferred seller in my opinion.
And the feedback thing...Sorry, but customer-oriented sellers leave feedback as soon as they receive payment. This does two things: it lets the customer know you have received payment and it "softens them up",i.e-the rest of the transaction will be smoother for you and they are more likely to ignore little problems and leave you good feedback. I have occasionally received a crappily-packed item, which of course chaps my A**, but when I see their glowing feedback about my lightning-fast payment and how friendly I am, what can I do? (answer: leave good feedback and move on).