Does ANYONE actually think it's going to be possible to remain Top Rated Sellers?

[van_werkhoven]

I don't sell much, so I can only imagine how hard this will end up being for people selling 100 items a month. Already I have two undeserved defects, in one month, from people with unreasonable expectations.

First one was the sale of two TODDLER shirts, labeled 'very good used condition'. Now, you would expect a little wear on that right? I haven't said excellent or near new, and at size 0 one would expect a little bit of wear. But I got a neutural, so I actually contacted the seller asking if there was anything I could do to resolve the situation, as I'd be happy to refund if she was not pleased with the purchase. She replied that she didn't feel any resolution was needed, but there were a couple of 'loose threads' on the blue shirt. This was a shirt with the visible hemming style of finish, so my guess is that there was one or two little snapped threads, since I didn't notice anything during the 3 times I inspected it before listing (sorting, photo, listing details). And she doesn't want a refund. So what can I do except wear it?

The second one was from a book from the 50s, clearly labeled 'Acceptable - Well used, reading copies. All pages are there but Bimbo and Topsy has some spine damage' - And I get a defect for item not as described? Seriously?

I don't see how I can possibly avoid 3 more defects over the next 10 months, when buyers refuse to read descriptions properly and expect perfect items. How can it be done?

[englishrosegardens]

Yes, it used to be a lot harder to achieve powerseller status, but I used to run a mile when I saw the powerseller badge because it often meant sellers were too busy to pay attention to details, same as the really huge sellers at the moment. I think 98% is far too low to be allowed to be a powerseller/TRS!

[cmcoins2000]

Exactly.

The offer of all those things for a shiney TSR do not necessarily need to be adhered to - just offered for the 'stamp'.

The TSR offerings are on the whole unrealistic for most sellers.

Don't forget to tell your buyers the little star efforts are no longer anonymous.

[cmcoins2000]

Yes, but those days the playing field was more 'even'.

All 3 Feedbacks were available for both Buyer & Seller.

Perhaps people were more circumspect with the Feedback they left each other.

Today there is only one goal on the field.

The buyer is the only one scoring.

[chameleon54]

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@englishrosegardens wrote:
Yes, it used to be a lot harder to achieve powerseller status, but I used to run a mile when I saw the powerseller badge because it often meant sellers were too busy to pay attention to details, same as the really huge sellers at the moment. I think 98% is far too low to be allowed to be a powerseller/TRS!

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    Thanks for your comments, that is an interesting observation. Back in the period we are talking about, Top Rated Sellers had to have very high standards of star ratings, so if they where too busy to service their customers promptly, their stars soon got dinged and they lost TRS. I know when I first achieved TRS, I lost it a few times untill I achieved higher volumes of sales and dare I say it, worked harder to meet the standards. ( provided better service )

       I was just starting out with International sales and these certianly went better when I had the TRS badge. This was easy to quantify as International sales dropped away during the periods I lost TRS. I always suspected that local customers also valued the badge at the time, but havnt got any definate proof.

       If the new, more stringent standards for TRS are to have any use, the badge needs to be re-introduced to the listings etc. otherwise whats the point of it all ?

[digital*ghost]

Just a question I thought I'd put up for (related) discussion, or just for pondering...

Does anyone think the defect system is going to have any kind of impact on buyers? Leaving aside the issues raised in discussion during previous threads (eg once a transaction has a defect, there's no saving it unless ebay decide for themselves it warrants removal, which may in turn affect a seller's willingness to assist), at some point, there's going to be at least a few who will find themselves blocked from purchasing from a seller they've dealt with before and (let's just say) unwittingly gave a defect to... I'm curious to see if that is even going to cause a ripple, or change in the way (some, or any) buyers treat FB / DSRs.