You got it almost right, fixwear.
But I don't think my advice is unreasonable.
I did say if a person pays and receives their item in a reasonable time frame, to give positive feedback.
I only suggested a person mark down a seller's stars if the buyer had to ask after several days and the reply indicated that the seller only got around to posting with a prompt.
I wasn't suggesting 3-4 days for an item to arrive, just that within that time a seller should have a reasonable answer for a buyer, outlining their posting schedule.
I find that most sellers I have looked at lately seem to have a much faster postage time than 5 days. If i read that in an ad, i would respect it and not enquire till after 5 days.
But I think we also have to be realistic here. To give an example. Years ago, I used to regularly see a woman who advertised scrapbooking products with a wait time of at least 5 weeks (because she had to order from USA I guess). Now by your lights, if a person buys under those terms, they should accept it. But I would think a buyer would have every right to mark a purchase like that down as slow postage.
I know it was listed in the terms but that doesn't change the fact it is really slow compared to most other sellers. Feedback is very much about perceptions.
I suspect that any seller who routinely does not post out till eg 5-7 days after payment is going to cop a beating in their postage stars. I personally would not dare sell on ebay unless I could manage to post out in 3 days or under, it is just asking for trouble.
I don't think ebay particularly wants small sellers anyway. Saw something on the news about ebay and some new big company they have signed up with for auctions. I expect ebay to change a lot over the next few years. Instant payment, mainly new stock, big companies.
