Bartertown.com

Let's say you complete a transaction. You are happy and leave a good reference. How long should I wait before asking politely for them to reciprocate?

I'm not worried as it's been less than a day but just curious overall.

If they read your positive (which you can check from your outbox), then no more than a week. I don't usually hound people but I just noticed how many I am missing and am changing my policy.

Once they have received everything and your both content I would expect a reference as soon as possible. I would wait a few days and if they are consistently logging on and you still don't get a reference then after a few days I would send him a polite PM. However, don't get upset if they refuse to leave you one, I have had 4-5 people not leave me a reference and although I have PM'd them politely about it they simply refuse to answer it. It's not a requirement to leave references, and some people just like to soak in the references while not giving them to others.

Hehe. I just made a form letter and PM'd all the missing ones I had. BT only lets you BCC 5 people at a time though.

Before leaving the ref, I sometimes send a PM saying, "So, all is well with the trade, then, and we can exchange positive references?"
If they don't respond, I don't bother with a ref (unless they don't respond, but leave me one).
Once they respond, I leave one. If I haven't received mine yet, I PM and say "I just left your positive reference. I'd appreciate it if you'd reciprocate when you get a minute."
Maybe a reminder a couple days after that.

Eric