posted on April 24, 2009 06:48:14 PM new
Just took a survey from eBay. They're planning a new seller category called eBay Preferred Seller. The questions were ratings from 1 to 10. Ten being the best. Well, like most buyers do with the DSRs, I didn't give any of the questions a 10. Then, to my surprise, one of the questions was asking me why I didn't give a particular question a 10 (I gave it a 9). Well, that was my opportunity to tell them that since eBay is telling buyers that a 4 is good, while punishing sellers for getting a 4, I thought a 9 was good and that I expect the proper punishment to follow.
posted on April 25, 2009 04:51:52 AM new
What all did they want to make a seller a Preferred Seller? Probably Power Seller, over 300 items a month, minimum $20.00 an item, 4.9 DSR, ect, ect. I am so glad you called them on their rating system!! It is time they got some of their own medicine!
posted on April 25, 2009 11:43:53 AM new
Fluffy - They called it "preferred" seller. Not certified. That looks like something entirely different. Preferred has to have stars at at least 4.6, sell 100 or more items per year and I forget what the other requirement was.
Cheryl
http://www.youravon.com/cherylblevins
Now you can buy Avon from me from anywhere in the world.
[ edited by cblev65252 on Apr 25, 2009 11:45 AM ]
posted on April 25, 2009 12:54:46 PM new
I received the opportunity to give them my opion today and I did. That was the most biased survey to date. Who ever put it together had only one idea in mind which was to promote their launch of the "eBay Seller Top Seller Rating" program. What a waste of resources.
I ranked most of there opinions very low. Not interested in a new logo by the seller's name. The Power Seller logo is already misleading enough.
In the comments section I wrote:
Ebay's DSR rating system is already a sham and does not accurately reflect the level of service a buyer can expect from a seller. I would not trust the Top Rated Seller program to be any different.
Good sellers are getting bad ratings and poor sellers with high volume look like they deliver an acceptable service.
Also, Ebay's rating systems to-date penalizes and discourage many good sellers. Ebay has not educated the buyers as to ebay's expectations of what those 5 stars really mean. Allowing the buyer to leave low ratings when they do not apply cost a seller real money and ebay is not listening.
Example, I lose money on my power seller discount almost every month because ebay allows a buyer to leave a rating on my shipping costs even though 99% of my items have free shipping. I ship same or next mailing day 99 % of the time and yet I am constantly penalized because the customer does not understand they should be rating my performance and not that of the carrier. I take the hit when an item is delayed in shipping.
I sincerely would not trust a "Top Seller Rating" logo on any account because the DSR program has been handled so poorly. The only dependable system ebay has to show seller performance is the Feedback system. Even that system has its drawback since sellers cannot protect themselves from uneducated buyers or vindictive competition who makes their purchases with the intent to leave poor feedback or DSRs.
I also would not trust a "Top Seller Rating" logo on any account because the Power Seller logo is already so misleading. Power Sellers may be moving inventory but that does not mean that they deliver service. I have elected to not display the Power Seller logo on my account because I think others feel the same way I do and expect less personalized service instead of more service from a Power Seller.
The fees I pay to Ebay would be better spent in educating the buyer on the DSR rating system or eliminating it altogether. Ask the buyers why they are leaving less than 5 on DSRs when the seller delivers good service. I have. A buyer already expects good service and when they get it they think it deserves a 3 (average) or 4 (better than average) and rarely deserves a 5.
If your interest is in improving Ebay's image then help your good sellers present a better image by rebuilding their morale, recognize their efforts to keep ebay alive and start listening to their suggestions.
Also fix this broken site. Clean up the user interfaces and SIMPLIFY them. Recognize that more is not better. Do not expect the user to adapt to all the "site improvements". Frustration in using the site does not add to buyer satisfaction. It is not the customer's job to adapt to all the new changes.It is Ebay's job to keep the shopping experience simple. We are losing buyers and eBay is losing sellers everyday because of software issues and interface changes.
posted on April 25, 2009 06:43:46 PM new
LtRay - Clapping!
All it takes is one 3 or 4 to ruin a low volume seller, while a high volume seller can withstand multiple 3's or 4's since the DSRs are based on a 30 day rolling period. It's a biased system that doesn't work.
posted on April 26, 2009 06:38:55 AM new
cblev and Ltray, you have hit the nail on the head. Since my sales have dropped precipitously, even one 4 on the DSRs can plunge my ratings. Usually I hover in the 4.87 to 5.0 range, but one day shipping dropped to 4.55. The "good" news is since my sales are in the toilet, the discount on FVFs (since there weren't many sales) didn't really make much of a difference between 5% and 20%!!
