caveat emptor

It's hard to believe, but I have been internetting around in one form or another for twelve whole years now. In that time, I have made a large number of purchases online: makeup, books, electronics, clothes, CDs/music, bath products...the list goes on.

One of the coolest things I've discovered online is the awesomeness that is Etsy. I love almost everything about it: Buying, selling, the whole "homemade" ethos...but here is a question: When you buy something from someone, and it's defective/of poor quality/not what you expected, how do you handle making a complaint or a return when it's actually a person on the other side of things?