I see what he wants to have happen, but you can especially see that this can't be done. Look at Open Bazaar, they try to fix this via a "double up" kind of thing, put 2X the money up, and if everyone is happy they should release the funds. Unfortunately, that's really risky. Look at the trolls here on this thread. They would happily keep your funds locked up forever, maybe try to extort you for more in order to release the funds, etc... I see nothing but trouble with that system.
There is simply no better way to do it other than someone creating an insurance program, with similar rules as to what Ebay does, and charges for it, like Ebay does. Or you can take on the risk like we did in the old days of ebay. Take the risk that the item will arrive, and only buy from those that seem to have a good reputation.
As far as being branded with a bad reputation, you can always start over again. True, at first you'll look like an unknown newb, but usually you can increase your reputation with buys, which are less risky in general than sells, and once you get a decent track record you can start selling again.
It's not a permanent branding burned on your forehead.
I just don't see any solution yet to this day, that can't be easily manipulated by someone, to cause hurt or to rip someone off. And thus, reputation is often the only way.
Why such a reputation should be more exclusive to a rich person than a poor person, I don't see it. It's a matter of fulfilling transaction obligations, regardless of size. So I think Andreas is wrong here, and being a bit of a pinheaded programmer. Sure, I'd be all for a system that took all risk, and mathematically zero'd them out. But that will simply never happen. It can't. One side is financial, one side is a tangible product that has many properties. Weight, quality, taste, color, smell, texture, etc... that can not be.... what's the word? The product side has many shades of grey, you can't settle disputes without human interaction and thus, the way disputes are settled has a lot to do with the quality of the transaction and thus the quality of the product.
