Jan 13 2009
Detailed Seller Ratings~Those Darn Stars
Yesterday, the day after I received new feedback, my search standings changed from RAISED to STANDARD. I checked the box to determine why….my DSR board showed I had a 4.7 on Shipping and Handling…but yet I was lowered. In my account it said I had been lowered to a 4.6, so my listings no longer have a raised level of visibility.
Looking back at the auction details, I saw that I charged the woman $5.45 for shipping of a fragile item to be sent to PA from KS. The auction ended on Dec. 7, she paid on Dec. 8, and the package arrived on Dec. 11. She won the item on an opening bid of .99…which is great! My actual cost on the shipping was $6.88, not to mention the bubble wrap, shipping label and printing, and the fuel to get it to the PO.
This is the second time in a month that someone has ranked me lower, when my actual cost of shipping was more than what they paid.
Do buyers know this?—–
*Buyer satisfaction rating
Your buyer satisfaction rating can raise or lower the visibility of your listings. Do they care?
I am not a Powerseller (YET), but I definitely agree that eBay should try to educate buyers about the star rating system.
I KNOW I AM NOT ALONE.
Yesterday afternoon, I got up enough nerve to contact eBay to voice my opinion about the unfairness of the system. Boy was the guy good…no matter what I said, it was up to ME to make it more clear in MY auctions about the costs associated with shipping and to educate buyers. His direct suggestion was to make it very clear (how much more clear can it be that it states I charge XX amount for shipping right at the top of the eBay portion of the auction?) to raise my star ratings. He mentioned that even large retail establishments are given star ratings, but my retort was that those BIG RETAILERS don’t have eBay hovering over—stating that if their ratings (no matter how objective/subjective) drop to a 4.1….their business will be closed. Hmmmmm! {lowered head–rocking back and forth—in disbelief}.
