What to leave for correspondence?

[triber]

I am puzzling to decide what to leave for correspondence feedback for purchase made, no correspondence at all, no feedback. I hate to down grade people, but how can I leave something for something that didn't happen.

I am mostly a seller, as soon as I can after a purchase like many of you I am sure, I send a note thanking the buyer for purchase and payment, give the date I will be mailing and a rough estimate of time expected for delivery. Then I leave feedback right away. I don't think a buyer should have to wonder if payment was received, when item would be mailed etc.

[esclyons]

i believe you are over thinking this, if you purchased a product, and received what you ordered in a timely manner than you should be leaving positive all full stars feedback..  no seller communication automatically gives them 5 full stars in that category.. and as far as a thank you note, that is up to you if you feel it is necessary.. there is no need to tell a buyer when the item will be mailed, seller's have their shipping times on the webpage, and ebay automatically sends a email, to the seller when payment is made and a email to the buyer when the item is mailed..

although as a seller i do leave feedback right away, i know a lot of seller's who have it set up to only leave feedback once, the buyer has left one for them..

just my thoughts..

[femmefan1946]

I put most of that (shipping date, thanks for purchase) in the feedback I leave as a seller, as soon as I ship.

As a buyer I also have a standard feedback, mentioning 5 Stars, which I started doing when DSRs and feedback meant something.

[recped]

there is no need to tell a buyer when the item will be mailed, seller's have their shipping times on the webpage

No right or wrong of course but I'd say it's important and valuable to send buyer a personal message indicating the shipping date and delivery estimate.

Why?

Most buyers are not running back to eBay to see if you have shipped and if your shipping is delayed (or you have an extended handling time) repeatedly check.

Then there is the issue of delivery estimates, mine are FAR more accurate than the ones eBay hands out.

I have sent a direct email to every buyer, always have and always will. The email generally goes out a few hours before I've actually shipped, it includes the details of the item(s) purchased and the buyers address, method of shipping and tracking if it exists, this gives the buyer a brief opportunity to inform me of any address issues.

As far as feedback I leave for sellers, if I get around to it at all they get a nice comment and 5 stars all round, if they did something where I feel they don't quite deserve that (rare) they get no feedback at all (I've never left a neg or neutral for a seller).

[pjcdn2005]

I always send a note to buyers for all of the reasons that you mentioned but also because I think it personalizes the sale and that can be a benefit if there are any problems later on. But  in my experience, most sellers don’t send any messages. 

triber, if you don’t want to rate the seller on communication you could just leave it blank.  I would either do that or give them 5 stars..I wouldn’t give them less stars.