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?

[fixnwear]

jean,  glad to hear how fast you are receiving your goods, but not really relevant here.

There are millions of sellers on Ebay, they ALL have the right to organize their time & life around listing and posting, Ebay can't dictate to anyone when to post - nor are they breaking any rules by taking 5 days.

They say so in the listings - don't they?

OP isn't the only one doing it - and it's his given right to do whatever suits him, not Ebay, while still operating within their general guidelines.

How dishonest his buyers are, to read the terms, buy stuff and then punish him for not posting sooner!!

If they didn't like the terms it would have been more honest not to buy at all - that way, sellers would sink or swim, public would soon let him know if posting time is too long by not shopping there.

[the_great_she_elephant]

OP isn't the only one doing it - and it's his given right to do whatever suits him, not Ebay, while still operating within their general guidelines.

How dishonest his buyers are, to read the terms, buy stuff and then punish him for not posting sooner!!

Here lies the body of Mike O'Day,

Who died defending his right of way,

His way was right and his will was strong,

But he's just as dead as if he'd been wrong.

[austeam]

How dishonest his buyers are, to read the terms, buy stuff and then punish him for not posting sooner!!

If they didn't like the terms it would have been more honest not to buy at all - that way, sellers would sink or swim, public would soon let him know if posting time is too long by not shopping there.

When a buyer gives an honest rating they are NOT punishing the buyer, they are giving their opinion.  Most buyers would certainly prefer their item to be shipped sooner rather than later.

What is the point of the 4 star or 3 star rating if every seller deserved 5 stars just because they did what they are obliged to do by law.  It is absolutely absurd that so many sellers have nearly 5 star ratings across the board. There is no way for a buyer to know which seller gives better than average service and so there is no incentive for sellers to try. In the end it is the buyers who miss out. 

[the-kazbar]

I agree with others who have said that if you can only manage to get to the PO 5 days after receiving payment then you need to make it much clearer in your listings.

I would also remove the bit about expecting payment within 3 days cause it you want them to pay fast they are going to want you to send fast.

[fixnwear]

Hi austeam - you sell some fantastic stuff, will have to come for a visit soon.

And regarding the stars being fair and an accurate guide who is good and who isn't - they are neither - and we all know that, most likely you as well.

What would you have any seller improve and learn from his stars or indeed any general f/back if like OP and thousands of others that I have come across in my somewhat limited buying on Ebay, they offer postage times that suit their life the best?

Would they have to change things around, turn their work commitments upside down just because someone is in a hurry, knows already what the terms are, presumbly agreed with them at the time of purchase, but now, all of a sudden that is not good enough?  That is why we all have a choice, find someone with better postage times - easy.

Two faced is what I call it - in my books that seller is already doing everything he said he would, would't categize him as a lousy seller by any stretch of imagination, wouldn't be deluding myself about having all this "power" to crucify someone for doing exactly what they promised to do in the first place!

[peternt2001]

jean,  glad to hear how fast you are receiving your goods, but not really relevant here.

I think that sellers dont understand that lots of buyers rate sellers on comparisons with experience from other sellers.

I have just purchased 4 things fromall over  america and they are turning up on average 6 days from the time the auction finished 

so if i make a purchase from an australian seller and my item doesnt arrive for 10 to 14 days, ofcourse i am going to think i am not getting as good a service as from the other sellers i brought from in america.

and as someone else has already stated most buyers would like their payments as quick as possible, even though ebay allow up to 4 days ? to make payment.

I would like to bet that i would be put onto so many block lists if i had a disclaimer on my profile or somewhere visable saying that if i bid on your auction i will take up to 5 days to get the money to you. 

the seller has every right ( i think am not sure of the ebay rules ) to have a 5 day handling time. However the people who buy from them have every right not to give them 5 stars for speedy delivery or postage.

And yes we do live in an instant society where everyone wants everything now.

And we make comparisons about suppliers and sellers all the time in real life too, even if a supplier /seller / service provider stipulates time frames for their service, we compare it to other known services to us 

[austeam]

Hi fixnwear, you would be very welcome. 🙂 We always have at least one coffee machine turned on so if you drop by in the afternoon I might be able to stop and have a coffee with you (mornings are chaos).

The issue all sellers are going to have very soon is that eBay plan to reward sellers who have shorter handling times.  It is already in place for the Top Rated Seller program in the US and apparently in Australia they are going to raise the standard to qualify for TRS status in 2013 which here has a greater effect on search ranking (no discounts 😞 ).

From the US: Starting June 1, those listings from Top-rated sellers that include 1-day handling and a 14-day or longer return policy with a money-back option will get the greatest average boost in exposure and 20% final value fee discounts. Listings that don’t include these services will continue to get some boost in Best Match and the Top-rated seller badge, but not the 20% discount or greatest average boost.

Also, if you look at the guidelines for leavings DSRs in AU it states:

How quickly did the seller post the item?

Rate the seller on the time it took to mail the item, not the time it took you to receive the item.

It doesn't say: Did the seller post within the handling time stated.

I am not saying that the seller should rush out and post sooner or change the handling time.  No, the seller should do no more than the seller is comfortable with. 

I certainly won't conform as I refuse to build the price of postage into my items just so that I can claim "free postage".  I refuse to change to a 1 day handling time because some days we are just too busy to post.  I refuse to spend time uploading the tracking numbers when 9 times out of 10 the buyer is going to receive their item the next or following day.  I do what is best for my business and would rather lose my TRS status and my PS status than let other areas of my business suffer while I try to please eBay.

We all have a choice but we need to understand there are consequences for not meeting eBay and buyer preferences.