justcruising48,
Good communication matters to me.
In an average sort of purchase, though, I don't need to be chatty with a seller. Occasionally I'll come across sellers who have wonderful, possibly quirky, communication which raises that aspect well above expected, but by definition, that's "above expected" for what is, when all's said and done, just a purchase.
I don't expect the checkout staff at a supermarket to regale me with witty anecdotes while they're scanning the tins of Fancy Feast for my cat, or the greengrocer staff to recite John Donne poetry to me as I hand over the portobello mushrooms, the most bursting-with-flavour tomatoes I can find, the fresh mixed leaf lettuce, the creamy cauliflower, etc. The butcher who chops up the soup bones for me is unlikely to greet me with "How dost thou, sweet lady?" and the fishmonger parcelling up the salmon has never, to my recollection, sped me on my way with "I marvel how the fishes live in the sea, but ah, give me now leave to leave thee, Mistress".
(All right; I'd love it if they did!)
If I encounter people with whom communication is a delight, that is fair and fine; I'll enjoy it.
If online information about an item is clear, with good images, dimensions, etc., and my purchase goes through without a hitch, is well packaged, sent quickly, and is as I had every reason to expect it to be (based upon the information given), that's sufficient information for a smooth transaction. Had I not exchanged a syllable with the seller, I'd still be satisfied.
If the item purchased was to be personalised and the seller had indicated on their site (or in their listing, if it's eBay) that purchasers were to ask via online form or "ask a question" about which initials were to be engraved on the item (for instance), and the seller never got back to me AND got the initials wrong, that would be poor communication, and I would anticipate the seller making it right. If the seller re-engraved another copy with the correct initials, all well and good. If the seller blamed me for his/her mistake... not good.
If the seller's listing were poorly expressed with bad spelling and grammar, but I could make out what the seller meant, not a problem; I would simply leave the stars for communication blank, all things being equal.
If a listing's wording irritated or offended me, I'd be less likely to purchase from that particular seller. If I did buy from the seller, I'd have done so knowing that the seller's communication style wasn't gorgeous, and therefore I would feel I had no right to quibble about said communication after the fact. (That is, the communication available to me up to the time of purchase; if the seller were irritating or offensive after that, it may be another matter.)
Unless a seller were actually hostile and offensive, or completely unresponsive when response was necessary, I'd not be marking communication down. I think of 5 as "all necessary communication was undertaken for a successful transaction"; I don't expect the invoice in sonnet form, much though it pains me to receive invoices in unimaginative prose (confound all blank-faced invoice makers who do write up solemn invoices with the ink of quenched cuttlefish).
