[ILLusion]

There has been an alarming increase in the MISUSE of the Trader Feedback system. In particular, there are a good number of users who feel that it's okay to leave a negative feedback for a deal that NEVER ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE.

This includes leaving negative feedback against users who ask about a product but don't commit to buying it, and moreso, against users who say they want the item but don't follow through (tire kicker syndrome.)

For the sellers who feel slighted by this: GET OVER IT. Anybody who's done any appreciable amount of business on the internet or in real life, knows that UNTIL THE CASH IS IN YOUR HAND, *NOTHING* IS COMMITTED NOR SET IN STONE! Anybody who works retail or any service for that matter, knows this. It should be no different here!

In this "ebay-era", I understand the frustration on the seller's part. On ebay, if you commit to placing a bid on an item - YOU ARE COMMITTED TO BUYING IT. And if you don't pay up, YOU WILL DESERVE THAT NEGATIVE RATING THAT WILL BE SENT TO YOU. However, this is ASC, NOT ebay! We don't charge you listing fees, so you're not out cash. Don't take it so hard. Don't cry. Don't even get stressed over it. In fact, don't even take off the listing or bother putting "SPF" on your item UNTIL YOU HAVE CASH IN HAND. Payment, is the biggest commitment.



COURTESY
Not to be a complete a-hole pr!ck about online sales, there is also some courtesy involved on BOTH parties.

To the seller:
It is courteous to allow a grace period for the buyers to send funds to the seller. It's up to you to determine for yourself and for the buyer, what an "appropriate" grace period is. MAKE THIS CLEAR, UP FRONT. If other buyers approach the seller during this grace period, it is additional courtesy to let them know: "hey, I have another buyer who just committed to buying the item, and I've given him 1 business day to get in to the bank so he can direct deposit me. If he can't do it, then you're next in line."


To the buyer:
Understand, that the seller is depending on YOU to make payment in a timely manner. He is holding that item for you for a set grace period, because YOU made a commitment to buy it, and YOU ARE ACCOUNTABLE, as a grown up adult, to follow through with this commitment. When you fail to follow through on this commitment, you cause the seller to lose out on potential sales that he could have made, but ended up losing because you were a deadbeat. Walking away with an "oh well, not my loss" attitude is selfish. If you need to wait for some funds to clear so that you will have the cash to pay the seller, TELL HIM UP FRONT. Tell him "I really want that item you're selling, but I don't get paid till next Friday. Is it cool if I pay then?" If the seller does not agree - no problem. He has no obligation to. But if you pass the grace period, expect the seller to move on. If the seller throws a few choice words at you as well, guess what? You deserved it and asked for it. So take it with grace.

Understand why the frustration is there, and please, for the love of cute little kittens, save yourself some trouble and the grief of sellers by NOT saying you want the item until you have the cash ready to pay, and have thoroughly thought through your financial situation. I can't even count the number of flaked sales "commitments" I've had due to broken down car repairs, kids college fund, family funerals, whatever. You shouldn't be burning every last cent you have on airsoft anyways, but you're all adults. I'm not going to tell you what to do with your money. Just realize the consequences of flaking.


If I dished out a negative feedback for every person who's said they wanted something from me but never followed through, I would have issued THOUSANDS of negative feedbacks by now.


MOVING FORWARD

Sellers: STOP leaving negative feedback for flakers. It's not appropriate, as a transaction never actually took place. I'm not going to make a hard rule about this yet, because I expect everyone trading on this forum to be grown up, accountable, and responsible adults (I roll my eyes as I say this.) I don't want to see the current increase continue in growth. If after posting this, there is a continued growth of such abuse of the system, I WILL create a hard rule about this, which effectively makes the misuse of the trader feedback system in such regard, to be an infractable offense that could lead to a temporary ban from the forums.

Buyers: STOP committing to buy something if you have no intention to follow through, or haven't fully thought out your financial situation. If you received a negative feedback, then stop making commitments you can't follow through on. You bone the seller in the process and you raise his hopes for nothing.


RETALIATORY FEEDBACK

As a reminder, there IS a hard rule against leaving retaliatory feedback, which WILL net you an infraction that could lead to a temporary system ban. It can also result in you LOSING YOUR AGE VERIFICATION STATUS. Retaliatory feedback is described as follows:
- You are the seller
- Your buyer is unsatisfied with the item you sold him, you failed to meet the requirement of satisfaction to the description of the transaction, and as a result, the buyer issued you a negative feedback. Despite the buyer paying you IN FULL, and ON TIME (thus, fully meeting the prescribed outline of his end of the deal), you left him a negative feedback in retaliation for the one you sent to him.

I don't care if you thought the buyer was annoying, or a pain in the ass after the transaction. Leaving him a negative rating because he gave you one, IS RETALIATORY. This is an abuse of the rating system, and will gain you an infraction.



The need for me to even have to post this notice gives me a headache...