It would be very hard on sellers I think. For instance I sell ski clothing and buy brand new zip lock bags which then go into plastic satchels for posting. When I sell fragile things like goggles, I wrap them in bubble wrap (often recycled), then put them into whatever appropriately-sized cardboard box (could be anything as long as I think it will protect the goods). Then the whole lot goes into a plastic satchel for posting.
Some sellers use all recycled packaging eg a plasic shopping bag, then wrapped in paper or a re-used packing envelope and I have no problems with that either - as long as the item arrives safe and sound in good condition.
Having said that, I have seen sellers roundly abused for recycled packaging, irrespective of how the item arrived. As shown in the stars for postage time and costs - sellers are often marked down for Aust Post's costs and delivery time, or because an e-cheque took a week to clear.
I live in Brisbane and am a seasonal seller. I recently had a buyer in country WA, who then paid by e-cheque. I emailed her immediately to advise that e-cheques were taking a week to clear, and that the item would then have to travel across the country. She responded that she "there's money in the account, I don't know what the problem is".
I emailed her again advising that the cheque had cleared and the item was posted (with tracking) on the same day. BINGO - 1 star out of 5 for postage time! This knocked my postage time rating from 5 to 4.5 in one go because my turnover in Summer is much lower. I don't know whether her anger was directed as Aust Post or Paypal, but it wasn't MY fault, yet I get dinged.The lowered rating stays for 12 months and there's nothing I can do about it even though I can prove the garment was posted on the day I received payment. I'd be spitting chips if somebody did the same because even though an item arrived safely, they objected to its arrival in a cat food box!
Items arriving damaged is a different story, but a seller is protected through Paypal's Item Significantly Not as Descrbed option for refund.
You'll forgive me if I'm not a huge fan of the DSR system, it affords the buyer the luxury of leaving a glowing comment in the feedback field while kicking the stuffing out of you with the stars. And given that the stars are supposed to be anonymous, if a buyer does this, how are you supposed to improved your service if you don't know what you did wrong or to whom?
I guess that explains how I feel about any more DSR categories.
Cheers,
Marina.
