posted on February 22, 2008 09:02:44 AM new
Time or cost?
I got a 4.7 very quickly on both my ID's and it has never budged. I find this a bit strange since the cut off for a 15% discount is 4.8.
Seems like it would go up and down somewhat - not just park there!!
posted on February 22, 2008 09:04:03 AM new
I have a 4.8 for cost but 4.7 for time (the 4.7 for time moved up from 4.6 when I took shipping back from my kids who were shipping for me this summer but I can't seem to get it to go up from there. I only ship once a week as described in my auctions so I guess that unless I am willing to step that up I will have to live with the 4.7. If I KNEW that I would get a 4.8 AND better search placement AND the shipping discount I might consider it but I think that unless I could beam the items to my buyers it would not change significantly.
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posted on February 22, 2008 09:10:04 AM new
I just ship once a week or sooner if requested. It did one bump up but hasn't moved in months. (I have about 2000 ratings now)
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posted on February 22, 2008 09:10:24 AM new
All of my items ship within 48 hours, 90% go priority mail, NO handling fees (average 'over postage' amount of shipping paid by buyer is under 30 cents).
Two selling ID's ~
dsr 4.9,4.8,4.8,4.6 powerseller id
dsr 4.8,4.7,4.7,4.5
posted on February 22, 2008 09:11:26 AM new
Yes, I do. I had 5's then 4.9s. After Christmas debacle...4.8.
I ship within 2 working days. I am middle of the road on shipping costs within my area (vintage ads which goes from 3.29-6.00).
Sometimes if the ad goes high enough I refund their shipping and sometimes I add an extra ad if I have a bunch of whatever they bought. I think that colors the overall experience.
Also, I send a payment received note, a shipping note. My postal program shows the package received (entered into) my post office so they can see it really mailed the day it mailed.
Beth
posted on February 22, 2008 09:11:45 AM new
4.6...but once they start doing the 30 day cycle...you will probably see it change more often. Like with Neglus compare the 1900 total with the 450 per month...the monthly average will be quicker to vary, hopefully in a good way. Sad part is the way that the 5 stars are explained...you just about have to ship the item BEFORE they even bid/pay!...plus include a LINCOLN or HAMILTON to boot!
[ edited by rhpepsi on Feb 22, 2008 09:12 AM ]
posted on February 22, 2008 10:00:26 AM new
I have 4.9 on everything, but my shipping cost which goes from 4.7 to 4.8. The intl customers seem to ding it down to 4.7, which is why I no longer ship out of the country unless someone asks to bid. I don't charge much of a handling charge at all. Considering that I have to go to the post office with the int'l items and the post office is 5 miles away, I should charge them. They're just not happy no matter what you do.
posted on February 22, 2008 10:58:28 AM new
The DSR system is a farce. I have 4.9 - 5.0 on all but shipping price and there I am a 4.7 (and hanging on by a thread - I am sure). I don't care, my shipping is padded slightly but I doubt it would matter, if I charged actually shipping costs. I just think the buyers do NOT want to rate anyone with perfect 5.0's. I have been rating the sellers I buy from with perfect now, because I can see this could be damaging. But the other day when I was at Starbucks, I got an online thingy to fill out and I found myself not rating perfect either. It is HUMAN NATURE and a really STUPID system for ebay to embrace.
posted on February 22, 2008 11:16:00 AM new
I agree Deichen - I am making sure I rate sellers 5 stars across the board now..no matter what! I rarely give the best rating when completing a survey unless I am absolutely wowed but now that I know how important the stars are to a seller's business I must rate 5 stars.
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posted on February 22, 2008 11:38:04 AM new
2 IDS
1. 4.9,4.9,4.9,4.7
2. 4.9,5.0,4.9,4.8
The first one took a hit at Christmas with heavy Le Creuset pots/ovens ,it was down to 4.5. I had stealth shipping on the first 10 or so till I saw the star dings and started posting the shipping cost . It started coming back up rather fast. If you use stealth shipping it might be a good idea to start showing cost. It helped me.
posted on February 22, 2008 11:38:10 AM new
I don't have a 4.7 on everything
Main ID is 4.8, 4.9, 4.7 and 4.7
2nd ID is 4.8, 4.8, 4.7 and 4.7
On the 2nd ID shipping is done within 24 hours.
I think part of the problem is I live on the east coast and sell many items on the west coast. Ship 1st class when I can but always offer priority. I think I get dinged for the time 1st class takes from coast to coast. Unfair but if I only offer priority I would take a hit on the cost stars. This seems like a no win for me!!!!
Why is it that ebay seems so hung up on the shipping time/charge and not the most important - Item as described. Seems to me that should determine placement in searches over shipping time and cost??? At least we have more control over that.
posted on February 22, 2008 11:51:57 AM new
My selling ID has DSRs of 4.9, 4.9, 4.9, 4.8.
I do charge a handling fee of $1.00, ship within two days, and use Shipping Assistant. When using SA, the buyer can see that the item has been accepted by the USPS, and has left my hands. Insurance is included in the s/h fees.
I also have my poor buyers deluged with all the Vendio email. The Thank Yous (for each item), the item paid for, the item has been shipped (w/DC#), and finally, the "I note that you received your order ..."
Oh, and, at checkout (Vendio Redirect) they have to manuever through the dreaded "Webloyalty"
posted on February 22, 2008 12:20:25 PM new
Bill, is your Shipping Assistant - through Endicia? It is $20 more a month for bulk acceptance scans (showing it left your hands)
Or is your through something else? If so .. how much does it cost/
posted on February 22, 2008 12:22:30 PM new
Bill K...I can see you will probably be able to keep your numbers high. You have a certain clientele that you deal with. Mainly one collectible category that isn't subject to many descrepencies. My latest "neutral" was from overseas....sold an older collectible tin...they thought it should of had the contents still in it I guess. Another one was....sold a single page ad out of a magazine..slightly stained and smelled "old"..not real bad, but you tell it was almost 100 yrs old. Buyer complained...said it was a copy.
These DSRs are really gonna come down to clientele you are selling to. Where you are selling...east coast here also...west coast wants it yesterday! Lately ...international(not Canada) is giving me about 5 days and they start $%$&$@#$@$ ...where's my stuff??
As for the S/H charge DSR...if you CLEARLY state your shipping and have 1 or 2 calculators in your auction...this DSR should NOT be a factor.---Buyers should get a "1" for not being able to SEE the COST.
As for the 5 & 15% discount for powersellers. I seriously do not think it was put into place to encourage us (powersellers) to reach those numbers. I think it is a bigger CARROT stuck out there for those smaller sellers that are close to that $1000/mnth target to increase their auctions and try to get to that status. Unfortunately when they reach it, they will soon realize that the more feedback/ratings...it could come back to bite them.
posted on February 22, 2008 12:45:44 PM new
deur1 - I use SA from the USPS. Since I do not print postage here, SA is free. I usually go to the Brea P.O. every day at 5pm to have postage put on my envelopes. It gets me away from my computer and out of the house every day. I have to say that it is nice to be in the real world an hour a day.
When the postal clerk scans in the label, it shows that it has been accepted by the USPS within a few hours.
posted on February 22, 2008 12:50:58 PM new
fluff - it always has been that way for me.
Here is the info available for an item that was shipped 2/16/2008 -
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February 19, 2008 7:31 am Arrival at Unit HOLLAND PATENT , NY 13354
February 17, 2008 9:41 pm Processed ROCHESTER , NY 14606
February 16, 2008 6:31 pm Processed ANAHEIM , CA 92899
February 16, 2008 4:29 pm Electronic Shipping Info Received BREA , CA 92822
February 16, 2008 2:50 pm Acceptance BREA , CA 92822
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When given the DC# the customer can see that the item is no longer with me.
posted on February 22, 2008 01:06:56 PM new
Bill - I am surprised that you, as a stamp seller, use printed postage on your packages! I always use stamps because postcard collectors are frequently stamp collectors as well. I even get positive FB about the stamps we use.
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posted on February 22, 2008 01:14:35 PM new
Bill with Endicia, it is called Bulk Acceptance Scans. Bulk Acceptance Scans. Show your customers that you shipped their orders.
After you print the labels for that day, you print a "report" sheet, the PO or postal carrier(if you have it picked up)scans that sheet.
The information is put into the PO system and says accepted at your PO.
The bad thang tis -- it cost almost $20 extra a month - with Endicia
That is why I do not have it !
My DH takes everything to PO early each morning. My poor old mail carrier would have a hard time getting all my things in his lil bitty car.
posted on February 22, 2008 01:15:42 PM new
Bill, I was confused because you said SA does this for you. But it doesn't. The act of physically taking the package in and having it scanned is what gets you the online record, not SA.
If you put stamps on them (like I used to) and dropped them in a collection box they would not be scanned until much later.
posted on February 22, 2008 02:10:45 PM new
When you order philatelic items from Mystic Stamp Co., which is the largest dealer in the U.S., your order is sent with printed postage. The same with many other large dealers.
posted on February 22, 2008 04:39:34 PM new
My PS account has
4.9/4.8/4.8/4.7
My non PS account has
4.8/4.7/4.6/4.5
My main account I have a free shipping deal for purchases over a certain amount, and I combine shipping so if they purchase 5 items, they pay only 1 shipping charge.
On my secondary account, I load a lot of fees in shipping, and don't discount.
I am amazed consider how polar opposite these are, the DSR's aren't a whole lot different.
It has led me to conclude that there isn't going to be a lot I can do about it, I hope I continue to qualify for 5%, but I think anyone who ships in volume isn't going to get 15%
posted on February 22, 2008 04:42:22 PM new
I used to use stamps on my packages - I am a stamp collector. It just got to be too time consuming to do so, so I switched to online postage. I don't see stamps though. I used to think it was cruddy when a company like Krause would send their philatelic products using online postage, but I now understand why that is the case. Anyway, I actually used to send a SASE to get the stamps back, so I've got quite a nice collection of used CTC and GFA stamps on cover and used.
posted on February 22, 2008 05:35:11 PM new
4,9
4.8
4.6
4.8
I finally caved in & accepted PayPal, before that it was snail mail only so it slowed my shipping time, but I expect my 4.6 shipping time to improve with PayPal, but I raised my S&H so that might go down. I don't care.
posted on February 22, 2008 06:33:25 PM new
4.8 on both shipping cost and time. When I do a show and am gone for five days, even when customers take a week to pay after auction ends, I still go from 4.9 to 4.8 on time, and hover for a while. Seems stuck at 4.8 for now.
posted on February 23, 2008 04:20:17 AM new
4.7 on both cost & time. I ship at least twice a week. I don't go overboard on shipping.
I worked in automotive retail for over 20 years. Yea a car salesman and manager blah blah.... Anyway we ran into the same problem with surveys in the car business. Dealer incentives and salesmans paid were tied to the surveys so you had to give the customers great service. I always got great surveys from the folks I held the most gross profit on. The folks that squeezed every last dime out of you of gave you the worst survey. I had one customer who bought 2 cars from me and came back for a third and I refused to sell him another car because he was the type that never gave 10's all 9's so he ended up costing me money when he bought a car. Should have seen the look on his face when I told him that! Now thats sad.
posted on February 23, 2008 04:35:23 AM new
Got this from the Stores board. THis type of rating is called the "Likert Scale" and one downfall is the "Central tendency bias" (people tend to rate in the center):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Likert_scale
"Likert scales may be subject to distortion from several causes. Respondents may avoid using extreme response categories (central tendency bias); agree with statements as presented (acquiescence bias); or try to portray themselves or their organization in a more favorable light (social desirability bias)."
It seems to me, that given that tendency, ebay should be extra careful of the wording and should add another yes/no question in the equation: Would you buy from this seller again? The answer to this question should receive heavier weight when determining seller performance!
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posted on February 23, 2008 05:30:16 AM new
good idea about yes or no for would you buy again. I get a lot of feedback that says they would buy again. But..yes or no is very black and white with no middle ground.
(the 4.7 for time moved up from 4.6 when I took shipping back from my kids who were shipping for me this summer but I can't seem to get it to go up from there. I only ship once a week as described in my auctions so I guess that unless I am willing to step that up I will have to live with the 4.7. If I KNEW that I would get a 4.8 AND better search placement AND the shipping discount I might consider it but I think that unless I could beam the items to my buyers it would not change significantly.
