It's obvious that people have different ideas about tipping, but what bugs me is when I ask what a good tip is and people say, "Whatever you want." Uhhh.
So the last time I tipped someone for something, it was a BS who made my arcanite rod. I didn't give him flack when he said that, because his main is lower lvl than mine, so he probably had no idea either. So I just tipped him 10% of the price of the mats that I bought on the AH, and he was very happy, even though he had rods on the AH selling for more than what I paid for the mats + tip. I got what I wanted for a price I was good with, and he got something he didn't expect. So, hey, let's be up front about this if you have an idea about the type of tip you want. Let me KNOW. Because I dunno. :)
But I must be on a good realm, because I can count on one hand the # of people I've ported for free (not including friends/guildies/groups after instances), and I've never asked for a tip. If someone's annnnooyyying about the port, though, I'll actually ask for a fee of 1-2g, depending on how annooyyying they are. :)
I've worked for tips before, in several different capacities, and, yeah, I know that's different, because it was my actual livelihood, but when someone mentioned tips, I had no qualms whatsoever telling them what was proper and standard. If I got stiffed, oh well, and if I ended up w/ that customer again, I might just snipe once about it, but a tip is a tip, and a fee is a fee, bottom line, period. And you absolutely cannot expect people to either a) read your mind or b) know what is proper, if they haven't been educated about it.
Trill