Detailed seller feedback - too harsh even when you are 100% right???

[fp-777]

Why are buyers so quick to give you less than perfect seller feedback when you have fulfilled all of your obligations 100%? Do buyers expect you to ship items before they pay? I have received quite a few 'less than perfect' detailed seller feedback relating to shipping. I have never exceeded the 5 days handling time as clearly stated in all my adds. Are the buyers on eBay just too demanding and ready to be critical when things dont go the way they want them to? In that I mean, they must not have read the add entirely and they must feel that I as a seller have somehow been slow to react to their sale and my service level should be higher. Nothing could be further from the truth. In my opinion, detailed seller feedback is inaccurate and misleading to potential buyers. I would like to be able to respond to this feedback or at least have my say. What do you think, team?

[2106greencat]

On eBay, IMO, as nowhere else on the great world wide web, are buyers who expect the impossible. Feedback gives them that attitude and makes them feel they have the power when in actual fact they are being impatient and unreasonable. On the other hand, 5 days seems a long time. Not knowing your business or sales volume but could you manage to post more often, say 3 times a week,? that will see a marked improvement in fb from said buyers.

[phorum_junkie*]

You have far too few ratings for an overall average to have any meaning, you need to have over 50 before one individual rating has too much impact.

If you have a handling time of 5 days then you need to expect poor ratings especially as you do not stress the point in your listings.

I see too that you are quoting for express post, this increases buyer dissatisfaction if one or both of you are not in a next day delivery area. Unless you are using platinum express then you have no Paypal seller protection and max compo from AP is fifty bucks even if they will pay it which usually they won't since the advent of click & send.

[citychic4you]

If you send anything by regular post and its lost ect 

Australia post don't refund the $50 anymore only the postage and you need your receipt.they send buyer a letter for them to sign and send back and then you get your refund for postage.

Had 2 parcel recently go astray now i only send through c&s with signature.

[howie696]

Express post with a 5 day posting time is just wasting your buyer's money and I would be marking you down as well

[***super_nova***]

 I have never exceeded the 5 days handling time as clearly stated in all my adds.

Simple, buyers do not like to wait 5 days for item to be posted, and if they pay the extra for express, they do expect it to arrive next day, not in a week (if it takes you 5 days to post).  The rating should be for how fast you post after payment is cleared, not if you post within the sated period.  I would stop using the express, and in the TOS i would explain that I am not able to post every day, or what ever the situation is.  For instance I would say something like:

Please, note that due to work committments I am only able to post on Wednesdays & saturdays; to be posted that day payment has be cleared by the night before.  Thank you for your understanding.

[digital*ghost]

DSRs are (obviously) rated by other people who, by and large, don't know much about you other than what you sold, and you need to realise the standards by which you judge yourself are not the standards strangers use to assess the transaction. You can't control the ratings people leave, what criteria they use for 5 star service, who else they're comparing your service to etc etc, you can only somewhat influence their overall perception of the transaction. 

I would recommend, along with having a very clear statement in the listing about handling time as already mentioned, and if you don't do so already, contacting buyers as soon as possible after payment has been received to acknowledge their purchase and payment and (again if possible) give them a specific postage date. The reason being is that while it may be a few days later that you post and they receive the 'item posted' email, they get information about their purchase much sooner - informed buyers are generally fairer buyers, waiting and wondering buyers are left to make their own assumptions. 😉

[fixnwear]

fp,

I don't think 5 days is too long to post.

I shop online quite a bit, not so much on Ebay, and everyone else takes much longer (depends where they are as well).

Why should customers on Ebay expect it mucg faster - and it doesn't seem to get through their heads that sellers have other things to do as well.

A wouldn't be so arrogant to presume they will run with my item straight away to post, and if I was that desperate to have something I would go to the shops and come back home with it.

I can't be sure, but think the reason for all this carp can be squarely put down to f/back - a threatening weapon to compel sellers to do things that they would't normally do, to disrupt their routine in everyday lives just to accommodate the unreasonable demands.

Your site, your rules - stick to them.

If it's good enough for other well known online stores it 's good enough for the esteemd Ebay buyers.

The only difference is that they tolerate it everywhere else as they can't leave f/backs & stars.

[jean2579]

fp,

I don't think 5 days is too long to post.

I shop online quite a bit, not so much on Ebay, and everyone else takes much longer (depends where they are as well).

Why should customers on Ebay expect it mucg faster - and it doesn't seem to get through their heads that sellers have other things to do as well.

A wouldn't be so arrogant to presume they will run with my item straight away to post, and if I was that desperate to have something I would go to the shops and come back home with it.

I can't be sure, but think the reason for all this carp can be squarely put down to f/back - a threatening weapon to compel sellers to do things that they would't normally do, to disrupt their routine in everyday lives just to accommodate the unreasonable demands.

Your site, your rules - stick to them.

If it's good enough for other well known online stores it 's good enough for the esteemd Ebay buyers.

The only difference is that they tolerate it everywhere else as they can't leave f/backs & stars.

Firstly, it isn't your site and your rules. It is eBays site and rules.

5 days is far too long to post. If as a seller you have so many other things to do that posting your purchasers goods is an issue, then maybe selling on eBay is not suitable for you.

Feedback is the buyers reaction to their dealings with you or your company.

Other sellers don't have an issue with this. I recently bought an item and within 3 days of purchase it had been delivered and I am in a country area with poor postal delivery. Not long ago I purchased something from a seller on an island off the north coast of Scotland and she managed to get it posted the next day. It is not difficult.

Why should buyers have to tolerate poor service?

[austeam]

Detailed Seller Ratings and Feedback are most certainly a comparison of one seller's service to the average seller.

You could put in big bold red print at the top of each listing: UP TO 5 DAYS HANDLING TIME but if the buyer is used to sellers who ship out same or next day then they are likely to give a lower rating.  It might not be fair, but it is a reality.

It is a bit like Choice ratings. They take a number of items with very different features and then rank them.  Some of these items are going to get a lower score even though they work perfectly fine and as described. Unfortunately other items will perform better and that is what people want to know when they look at ratings.....how do they compare.