ebay feedback policies...
I dunno guys. I almost never leave feedback for my buyers until they have done so for me. In my About Me page, I explain why. I don't believe its blackmail. If you don't want to leave me any feedback, you don't have to. Feedback isn't required.
I used to leave feedback right away for my buyers but stopped after I got burned by buyers who would rather leave a negative feedback for me if something didn't go their way, instead of communicating with me. I find that waiting until I know my customer is happy is a very good idea. Sadly, there are too many people out there who won't do the right thing unless someting is held over their heads. The buyer is more likely to work with me, and we are both more likely to get satisfaction with the transaction if we both have something to loose.
That being said, I think my policies are VERY customer friendly.
I charge around 50 cents over postage for expenses like packaging material, tape, labels, toner, electricty, gas, time, and eBay fees.
If something never arrives, I just ship out another item, no questions asked, or refund your money. If both arrive, you can keep both.
If you get something and its broken in shipping or DOA, I will just ship you a new one, no questions asked, or refund your money. You can dispose of the first one.
If the item doesn't work the way I said it would, I'll refund your money and the shipping, and you can keep the item.
Everything is USPS Priority, and its all insured. Only take PayPal - no checks, no money orders, so no fraud.
This formula works well for my auctions, because most of the items I sell generally go for 50% of retail, and most items are under $5.
Now, if the item was larger, like, lets say, a washing machine or a laptop computer, thats a different story. If I am earning more than a few bucks on an auction, I am more than willing to eat any costs and just charge the auction amount plus str8 shipping. Or you can pick it up and pay cash. Or you can use your shipper.
I don't like having to hold feedback over peoples heads. I'm not in this for the feedback, I'm in it for the money - so I don't care if the transaction earns me a positive feedback. At the same time, I don't want some jerk sullying my reputation because they are not willing to be civil and play by the rules.
Oh, and HarvestGold... thats a beautiful Maytag... I'm so jealous! Poor thing. Hope you can get it ship shape soon.