I also get into this quandary from time to time and I frequently elect NOT
to leave feedback in cases where there is no clear-cut "right answer".

I believe much of the feedback you see on ebay is pure hype - that is, you send
the payment as expected, the guy raves about what a great ebayer you are.
Why? That is no more that what would be expected! Usually when I win an
auction I e-mail the person within a few minutes to get the total so I can
get payment to him. It is as much my convenience as his, because then I don't
have to remember it. (a challenge at my age! - too many Volvo facts crammed in
there!) On the other hand I was banned from bidding on one fellow's auctions
because he felt I didn't pay promptly enough. (I had a crunch at the time and
didn't send payment for a couple days after the auction.) He didn't file neg
feedback but e-mailed me that he didn't have time for such delays. And I had
bought a fair amount of stuff from him. He finally grudgingly let me bid.

Although it is usually agreed upon in advance I wonder if packaging, shipping
and associated costs should be the subject of feedback. I have bought things
where the cost of shipping far exceeded the cost of the item simply because the
vendor didn't want to go to the post office. Others charge a $5 handling fee
"because they work full time and have to take extra time out to conduct the
auction, pack and ship the item". Wait a minute! Isn't it the SELLER's job
to sell the item? He is the one who benefits from the sale, sets starting
price, etc! If they decide to "work full time" and do ebay too, it should NOT
come out of the buyer's skin!

Pardon me if I have blathered too much...... Something got me started!
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!