DSR's - What A Load Of Garbage

[arb_games]

Once again I must vent about this absolutely stupid system of DSR's on Ebay that sellers cannot even defend themselves against.

I applied to increase my selling limits but have been knocked back by Ebay as my DSRs are apparently below standard, yet all 4 counts are well within the standard required.

Postage time DSRs - sellers are getting penalised for Australia Post inadequacy - these should be based on when an item is sent, not delivered!

Communication - I answer all messages politely and on the same day, yet I am getting some low DSRs - I think that buyers just mark everything low if they feel like it.

Postage costs - all my parcels are marked Postage Paid so any low DSRs I receive here are based on assumption and not on fact.  I do not overcharge on postage & handling costs and certainly don't make any profit on them, so really, what do buyers expect?  Free postage?

Item As Described - this is a no brainer, I describe all my items exactly as they are so how do I receive low DSRs here?  The only explanation I have is that buyers do not read the system requirements in the software descriptions and simply blame me if any software purchased is not compatible with their computer, even if it is due to them not reading the system requirements properly.

Add this to the absolutely unprofessional and disgusting practice of Ebay inserting sponsored ads at the bottom of each listing that is in direct competition to what you are selling, links to external sites yet sellers are not allowed to put a link to their own website on their listing.

Really Ebay, sellers are not the scumbags that you make them out to be, not all buyers are angels as Ebay seem to think they are and the entire Ebay system needs to be overhauled by some person who actually knows what they are doing!

Well that's it, I've vented my frustrations for another month!

[davewil1964]

ONE low DSR won't affect PS.

Look at your dashboard. You need at least 2, depending on the category for it to affect you.

[koalablue12]

My turn - sorry arb, posts just disappear all ova the place some days. In a few more day's no-one will be able to make head nor tail of the entrie thread.:-(

[collins-clothing-co]

agree with you fully arb. I believe that 98% of eBay buyers want to do the right thing. We lost our "Top Rated Seller" and page views dropped by 40% overnight. eBay is a fantastic selling platform but I belive that there isn't enough change. Take a look on eBay and there isn't even any news for July.

[drpeake]

What is the issue here about DSR.

I buy a lot. I leave positive feedback for the overall sale. For example cheap postage does not mean I am happy waiting for two months for an item. I read feedback comments more than feedback.

I have noticed some sellers will only fix a problem if you leave positive feedback.

Why do sellers usually leave feedback after the buyer leaves feedback. I pay straight away, yet i wait for my feedback.

Australia post takes 8 days on avrage from eastern states to Perth. I dont leave neg feedback, positive for seller and warning about delivery time. Free postage is not a good deal

[extra-keen]

Hello Dr Peake, You ask why sellers wait until +feedback received - not all do. For instance, I leave feedback 2 to 3 times a week, so I can leave a comment for each sale depending upon how it goes. That means that some buyers do get there feedback straight away or nearly so, some may have to wait a few days and some will get it after they have left feedback.

It is up to the individual seller how they organise their feedback. However, a successful transaction which would mean both parties give positive feedback isn't possible until the transaction is over. IE the customer has their item - I think this is why many sellers choose to give their voluntary feedback once a transaction is complete and in most cases a seller doesn't know this until feedback is left for them.

What do you mean you give a warning about postage time to Perth from the east? The star for postage time represents the time it took the seller to get your item to the post, not the time Australia Post took to deliver it.

[arb_games]

I always leave my feedback as I pack my orders.

I can understand why some sellers don't leave feedback until they receive feedback from the buyers.  Personally, if I chose to go down this path, it would be to ensure that I receive more feedback than I give out.

Currently, only about 50% of buyers return the favour of leaving feedback for me and I sometimes wonder why I waste so much valuable time with this aspect of every sale if about half the buyers do not bother to be courteous enough to return feedback.

Furthermore, I send out an email to every customer, direct to their email address once the sale is completed, advising them that their order as been despatched.  This email also includes approximate delivery times for not only Australia, but New Zealand, USA and Europe.

Yet I still receive low DSRs for communication, despite answering all inquiries and advising customers when orders are despatched.

Whilst I understand that you can't please everyone, I feel that I am being unfairly penalised by Ebay because of the DSRs system.

And then today, I receive an obvious cut and paste email from Ebay support advising me how to improve my listings etc, they obviously do not bother to look at my listings before sending this.  I find these sort of messages from Ebay support totally ignorant and arrogant, especially considering that I have been selling on Ebay for 12 years, yet I am still treated as someone who does not know what they are doing.

[motherbear2003]

drpeake - I'll tell you why.  Because some sellers have been hit by nasty buyers who threaten to leave negative feedback if you don't give in to their unreasonable demands!  I have one such buyer at the moment; she failed to read the listing and says it's my fault she's not happy with her item.  She already has her positive feedback (I leave feedback as soon as a buyer has paid), however buyers like the one I'm dealing with at the moment make me wonder if it's a wise thing to do.  If a seller has been bitten by a few of these buyers, then they simply don't leave feedback first.

Then you have the other side of the coin.  There's one seller who has been brought to my attention who hasn't left any feedback for her buyers since the 17th May, yet she has received glowing feedback from the buyers - these buyers have a right to feel aggrieved.

[sparkes9669]

Hopefully this is a constructive question to arb

Furthermore, I send out an email to every customer, direct to their email address once the sale is completed, advising them that their order as been despatched. This email also includes approximate delivery times for not only Australia, but New Zealand, USA and Europe

At what point do you consider the sale to be completed?

I ask this as based on the neutral feedback comments about postage times, it looks if this is 5 business days after the buyer has paid for the item. This may be why the feedback is low.

Five business days then add another 3-5 for AP would start to make a buyer wonder where their purchase is.

And if weekends are addedd to the "business" days then it starts to blow out longer.

I know I have recieved auto feedback from some sellers. I don't know what you would need to do to have that happen but it may help, after all a seller can only leave a green dot, and if needed respond to feed back left for them.

[arb_games]

Sparkes, 90% of my orders are sent out within 2-3 business days - I am changing all my listing details slowly to show this.

However, occasional delays do occur, especially when you are a sole trader, you have to allow for things that might go wrong as well.

Sure the sale is completed when the customer receives their product, but the sales administration is all completed once the product has been sent.

As long as the customer knows that their order has been sent and roughly when to expect it, then that is sufficient.  I can't be expected to know exactly where every single order is at any one time while it is in Australia Post's hands.

[Anonymous]

A smiling assassin strikes again.

F/B Very happy with item. Thank you !

DSR's ALL 1's

No communication from buyer at all.