I have seen a few posts of people seeming a little confused by the new transaction/feedback section of the site. This is going to be a walkthrough of how to use the system for everyone. Feel free to ask questions, post comments or offer suggestions if you have any.

First off we are allowing members to go back and account for past trades that we have done, hence why some of us have a lot of feedback already. Everyone is welcome to get feedback from their past legitimate transactions.

First thing to do is click the My Home button on the top right nav. bar. On the lower right you will see the transaction section. It will show all your pending and past transactions if you have any in that area. To start a new transaction simply click the Start Transaction button. A search box will appear allowing you to search for whatever member it is you are wanting to trade with. Find and select their name. Now it brings up the actual transaction screen. Select the transaction type you are wanting to setup; trade, purchase, sell, or gift. Then title the transaction so the other party will know what it is regarding. The terms box is where you have to hammer out all the details and come to terms. (you can reply as many times as you want to keep going back and forth on the terms by posting comments on the transaction). The reference URL can be used if you want to reference a FS/FT thread on NA or eBay. Then you must click the I agree button to start the transaction. That is all there is to starting a transaction, and once that is complete an email will be sent to the other party letting them know a transaction has been started.

Once they have replied and accepted the deal then you are able to leave feedback for one another. Leaving feedback is very important because it shows who can be trusted on the site and keeps everyone more honest. To leave feedback click the Leave Feedback button in the actions field. By doing that a new text box will appear and you have 200 characters to type your thoughts on the trade. We also added a "Moment of Truth" field when 200 characters just isn't enough. Below that is the rating..positive, negative, or neutral. Below that is the Detailed feedback area where you can grade the other member on communication, shipping speed, packaging, and as described. Once you have all that filled out, click the "Post Feedback" button and feedback will be posted and the transaction complete.

Also from the My Home screen if you click "view all" it will show you all your past and pending deals for you to look over in case you have any problems or issues with the deal. Keeping track of the item #'s is also a good way to quickly find a transaction you are looking for.

Another quick note. Just accepting a transaction does NOT leave feedback for it. You have to click the leave feedback button and then post feedback for it to take effect. Just typing a message in the comments/terms box of the transaction will not act as feedback on that member's profile.

You can also start a transaction by clicking a user's name, which will take you to their blog/site page. There is a start transaction button at the top nav bar there as well. Another way is from the member directory which is located beside the My Home on the top nav bar. Just search for the user in the directory and use the drop down menu to select "Start New Transaction."

I think that about covers everything, if I missed anything, feel free to chime in.
~~NGD

great tutorial Jason...

Nice tutorial Jason --

A few more notes about the feedback system that may not be readily apparent:

1. By starting a transaction, you are immediately agreeing to your posted terms. If either party changes the terms of the deal (ie, they want a different deal), this "resets" the other party's agreement.So if Jason sends me an offer, he's agreeing to it. If I change the terms, Jason has to re-agree to the changed terms. Once both parties agree, feedback can be left.

2. The extended feedback criteria (ie, Shipping Time, etc) change depending on the transaction type. If you're selling something, the buyer will see all of those criteria, whereas the seller will only see a limited set (ie, Communication, Overall).

3. You can post as many comments as you without changing the terms.

Thanks for the write up Jason,I appericate it

Yeah, but how do you see who you've LEFT feedback for? I've got feedback back from two people, but I've left feedback for others who have not return the favour... only I can't remember who because I have no way of seeing who I've already left feedback for (or do I?)

I've got that on my list of stuff to add in the very near future. It was supposed to be done before we went live, but I kept stalling.

There was a site update?

It was major, didn't you notice the bottom left logo is now transparent?

alright,
so i left negative feedback for NGD. I have no idea how it left a neg when it was obvious it was meant to be positive. I wish I would have noticed this thread before i even tried fucking around with it. SOOOOOOOOO my question... anyway to get rid of the negative for him? I apologize for being a complete fucktard on the new system and I want everyone to know that the neg was NOT INTENDED. sorry jason.

with recent new members i'd suggest a sticky on this thread so it doesn't get lost. I've been here since the beginning and i had problems with it. I can say i'm not a huge fan of the new layout, but I am slowly learning...

once again sorry Jason.

Not a problem... I'll be removing that for him as it was obvious based on your feedback that it was supposed to be positive.

Just out of curiosity, what would you do differently about the layout? I'm always open to ideas to make it better.

EDIT: Fixed Jason's Feedback

I figured it was just a mistake Josh, no worries bro. I was confused at first at why you left me a negative though. Then I read the feedback and was like he had to screw up. Hopefully this thread will help you understand it a little
~~NGD

Dain,
Let me rephrase that... it isn't the whole layout, but more so the feedback/transaction application and another thing.

I am impressed with the site don't get me wrong but the feedback thing has really kind of been a nuisance for me. hard to navigate, just a little different from what it used to be. I would also like to be able to click right to my messages from any page on the site... even if I don't have new messages. I know I can click my home now, but before it took me forever to figure out how to get there. thanks for fixing and sorry if it came across rude. Just frustrated with the feedback thing and also leaving the negative on accident. I appreciate

That reminded me of something I wanted to do anyway. The "no new messages" panel at the top of the page now has a link to your Inbox. I found it annoying as well to have to click My Home first.

Excellent. I meant to suggest this to you when we talked last night. I can toss that note in the trash now
~~NGD