carolinetyler
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posted on October 11, 2007 03:23:14 PM new
I am really upset about the star ratings affecting search results, and I was concerned this thread may get lost in a previous topic.
Unfortunately, buyers seem to think shipping time also equates to time in transit - to offset that godawful postal increase, I started offering parcel post on many items, which of course takes longer - even if I shipped the second I received their payment, they would still give me a low score if it takes 5 days in transit.
Even those sellers who don't charge a handling fee are getting whacked for shipping charges, since the actual costs are getting more expensive.
So what do I have to do, offer free shipping and only sell to buyers who are within a 1-2 day shipping time?
This stinks! Does anyone have any ideas of a protest or complaint that we could make - what do you think of a 'group' letter or email to Ebay outlining our concerns - perhaps if comes from many users it will have some influence - it's always worth a try - any ideas?
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 Caroline
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neglus
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posted on October 11, 2007 03:47:04 PM new
Well, there is this thread (petition with 570 comments) on the Stores Board but eBay hasn't officially responded to it:
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2000424804&tstart=0&mod=1192136832738.
I don't know what we can do about this - looks like it's cast in stone  . I don't "free shipping" will help your stars because there are people offering "free shipping" with 4.6 rating on shipping cost! Go figure.
I would like ebay to at least "Fix" the definition of the various ratings. Before I realized the impact they would have, I didn't give "5" ratings unless I was really WOWED by the seller - simply filling the contract didn't get top rating. I wouldn't think of giving anything less than 5 stars now - just too damaging!
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http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
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CBlev65252
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posted on October 11, 2007 03:49:20 PM new
Caroline - There are sellers protesting on just about every eBay board and I don't think it will do any good. They've been protesting the star ratings since its inception even starting a thread "petition". eBay doesn't care about the sellers. They are more concerned with fixing the bad rap they've gotten from buyers. The "search" manipulation will hurt a lot of sellers. There are many very large sellers with poor star ratings. I wonder how long they will tolerate being at the bottom of the searches. I think everyone should watch to make sure that those sellers don't get preferential treatment, though. I can't see eBay pizzing off their high volume sellers that way.
Cheryl
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carolinetyler
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posted on October 11, 2007 04:01:22 PM new
I appreciate the links and info - I am sending the following to Ebay and have posted it on the Ebay forum - please feel free to cut and paste and use it as you see fit to add to the protests - I think if we make enough noise, perhaps we will be heard:
Dear Ebay
Please take a moment to review the following concerns regarding the use of the DSRs (Detailed Seller Ratings. In particular, I am quite concerned regarding any future plans to use these ratings to affect search results.
1. The difference between the top 10% and bottom 10% in the categories is merely .4 to .6 of a star – this difference is miniscule and therefore not enough to properly distinguish top and bottom performers in each category.
2. The ratings themselves do not adequately give a ‘picture’ of a seller’s performance – those sellers trying to offset rising shipping costs by offering lower priced and slower alternatives are penalized by the longer transit time, as buyer’s are equating the time in transit to shipping time.
3. Buyers are expressing their dissatisfaction with rising shipping costs by marking it in their DSRs – for those sellers offering larger items and not even charging a handling fee, the shipping charges category is skewed. Sellers shipping a 1 ounce widget for $3.00, most of which is handling, will be rated higher than those shipping a 5 pound widget and charging no handling fee.
4. It is subjective at best and does not encourage communication between a Buyer and Seller. By making it anonymous, it therefore discourages communication between Buyer and Seller. Ebay has since its inception based the Ebay community on open communication.
5. Those ranked lower in search results would most likely be charged the same fees than those ranked lower in search results due to their DSRs, thus causing those with lower DSRs to start a new user identity to get themselves ranked higher.
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Caroline
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amber
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posted on October 11, 2007 04:06:22 PM new
I don't stand a chance, shipping from Canada, mostly to the US. Shipping has taken up to 4 weeks in some cases in the last few weeks, and it is very unpredictible. Then the US dollar is now only worth 97 cents Canadian, so in effect that puts our postage up, so I am expecting lots of "downs" in my stars.
Has anyone worked out how many 5 star resposes it takes before the percentage goes up? In the last 150 feedbacks I have had, mine have not moved. It seems that if there is a less than 5 given, the percentage goes down right away.
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on October 11, 2007 04:29:36 PM new
If eBay doesn't back off on this, and there's no reason to believe they will, here's the only reasonable thing to do so that you get the Search priority you're paying for:
Start a new seller ID once the lousy star system knocks you out of the top ranking.
Look, once you get 100 or so in feedback no buyers care any more; they just want a good deal.
Number your selling IDs if you like, so people know it's you. neglus1, neglus2, etc.
Honestly guys, if you continue to play eBay's feedback game according to their rules, you're gonna get hurt.
fLufF
--
Are work at home opportunities legitimate? You decide at clearanceclarence.com
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otteropp
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posted on October 11, 2007 11:22:34 PM new
I am in the same boat as Amber, we have had to raise our shipping costs because of the rise in the Canadian dollar. The shipping still costs the same it is the exchange rate that causes the higher figure. I expect to start getting dinged on my stars.
I have been holding off on raising any starting prices and will maintain them as long as possible. If our $ goes up more as predicted then that will have to change too.
Of course this also means that PayPal are zapping us on their exchange rate too! Sorry that is totally another topic!
BACK ON TOPIC...I still maintain the same as I have from the start..those last two questions are so wrong as they are easily misunderstood by buyers.
They should be
a) Was the item packed well for shipping
b) Would you buy from this seller again?
I have said all along that the truest test of Seller performance would be my (b) above.
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CBlev65252
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posted on October 12, 2007 06:33:17 AM new
I'm afraid Fluffy is right. In a nutshell, eBay doesn't give a crap about you. You have to come up with an action plan to protect yourselves. I would watch these sellers (among others) once eBay implements this to see if they are indeed at the bottom of the search: bargainland (their stars are horrible, but they are a high volume eBay seller), sears, etc. Please add to the list so we all can watch. I have a feeling that eBay is going to implement some sort of "exemption" for the sellers that make them a ton of money. It wouldn't be the first time. Bargainland is a terrible seller and they are allowed to continue on despite the fact that eBay is suspending sellers right and left. eBay doesn't care if you stop selling. There will be someone right behind you to take your place. It's the nature of the beast. eBay has rarely listened to sellers in the past, I don't see them listening now.
I keep getting hit on my shipping charges star even though I only charge exact shipping in most cases. Occasionally, I do charge a handling fee, but never more than a $1.
Cheryl
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ebabestreasures
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posted on October 12, 2007 09:28:01 AM new
This is unfair but the only action that ebay will pay attention to is one that hurts their bottom line.
I wish there was a way that we could stage of boycott. Something like picking one day and all sellers who object to the star rating won't list anything at all that day. It would cost ebay a bundle in listing fees for that day.
If they still won't listen - do it again for 2 days.
[ edited by ebabestreasures on Oct 12, 2007 10:12 AM ]
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neglus
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posted on October 12, 2007 10:15:15 AM new
I was thinking that an effective measure would be for all store owners to "go on vacation" for a day (preferably on a day when ebay needs the numbers for Wall Street) - making millions of listings invisible to search...but efforts to organize anything amongst sellers never materialize.
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http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
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MAH645
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posted on October 12, 2007 07:44:07 PM new
I am lucky in the fact that a lot of people who buy don't leave any feedback which is better than running what you have into the dirt. You always have somebody who has to be hateful. My feedback on Amazon always did suck.
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pixiamom
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posted on October 12, 2007 09:43:46 PM new
Ironic that eBay holds its sellers hostage to feedback while providing %$^# customer service and few avenues for their customers to rate their services. After waiting >30 minutes earlier this week for Live help and >1 hour today on telephone support, I found that my inability to reconcile my eBay billing is due to a known bug - my paypal payment debited immediately but not being credited for 24 hours has been "happening to everybody" for a week. Sorry for any inconvenience your inability to list has caused.
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romantiques
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posted on October 20, 2007 09:53:14 AM new
Bumping this up. I don't think it should get lost in the shuffle. The link above posted in the thread by neglus takes you to a petition being signed in an ebay forum. It's gaining momentum and who knows...it just might get some attention from the powers that be if in fact they do want sellers back.
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romantiques
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posted on October 31, 2007 06:22:14 PM new
Bumping this again. The petition linked above by neglus is still gaining momentum. Now over 870 signatures (responses) and growing as more and more sellers are finally feeling the sting of these ridiculous stars. Just thought I'd bring it to the front here again in hoping that there might be some more support in this effort to get eBay to rethink this unfair system.
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ggardenour
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posted on November 1, 2007 06:20:40 AM new
I have signed the petiton. I feel it is unfair. I pay the same listing fees with 4.5 stars as a seller with 4.9 stars. Will ebay ever learn that if its not broke don't fix it! That old FB system worked just fine
Just a simple thought from a simple mind
ggardenour
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ST0NEC0LD613
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posted on November 4, 2007 07:10:15 PM new
There is another way to prove your point. That is to simply quit eBay.
Although my business plan still has eBay in it, eBay is only about 25% of my total online sales stradegy. And that figure is going to go down as my website plus other auction venues continue to grow.
I suspect that most of you have repeat customers. That means they are your customers. Build your websites and make sure to contact YOUR customers to let them now where to find your website. They will follow. And eBay will simply lose out.
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