Feedback percentage, does it really reflect seller peformance

[etb321]

I got my first red dot for the year recently. It knocked me down from a 100% to 99%.  

Normally I run with a no questions asked refund policy but when a red dot appears out of the blue, without the buyer contacting me first, I'm happy to make an exception.

I checked the calculation, it's correct according to the formula but does the percentage really reflect my business performance?

A long, long time ago, when sellers could leave feedback and before the free postage fairy cast her illusion, if I sold 10 items, eight to nine buyers would leave feedback. So the feedback percentage was meaningful.

Now, present day, if I sell 10 items, I'm lucky if one to two buyers leave feedback. The calculation of the feedback percentage doesn't take into account my total number of sales. It's based on the one to two sales out of ten where the buyers leaves feedback.

Perhaps a more accurate formula would be :

= Total sales for the year/(Total sales for the year + Negatives)

[davewil1964]

What is your question, and how do you think other members can change things?

[sugar249]

It would make me look closely at what the red dot was before before I purchased,  and I would also look closely at the grey dot you have,  not sure why they only gave you a neutral on that one, would have been red from me,  I dont like receiving smelly stuff.   

In the case of the red dot,  I would look at the ad that says in very good condition, so my assumption would be it should have being tested,  so how did a broken tape get thru.   So I would be thinking the QA by your QA team is a bit slack,  so I wont be buying based on that.  If it was some pedantic red dot,  I would buy.

So to me you have had 2 out of 100 dodgy sales,  yes you say that you have had more sales,  but it is not only happy customers who dont give feedback,  I know of people who are reluctant to also give negative feedback.   So my assumption is always based on what I can see.

[springyzone]

You're right in that lots of buyers don't bother to leave feedback but from all I can gather from reading the boards, a lot of buyers don't bother to check feedback either.

So how much a neg or neutral will affect you, I don't know. I think that as your feedback is still around 99% and your feedback is for the most part positive, it shouldn't affect you too much.

I'm one of your two out of ten sort of people in that I usually leave feedback and I always check feedback. Especially the negs. Your neg wouldn't necessarily stop me from buying but I would re-read your ad extra carefully and I would double check the photos and I would carefully examine the item when it arrived.

Sometimes sellers get negs for stuff outside their control but when it is for faulty items or things not as described, that does influence me.

[gutterpunkz05]

= Total sales for the year/(Total sales for the year + Negatives

------------------------------------------------------------------------

That assumes that all sales without FB are +

Which has no basis in fact.

[etb321]

Sorry for the tardy response, life tends to get in the way...

By zeroing in on just the two sales where I had problems you've reinforced my view that the feedback mechanism, due to only a small percentage of buyers now using it,  doesn't truely reflect seller performance. 

[gutterpunkz05]

I think your reply might have been meant for someone else,  I simply pointed out that your preferred method of calculation, is every bit flawed if not more so than the current method.

[springyzone]

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@etb321 wrote:

Sorry for the tardy response, life tends to get in the way...

By zeroing in on just the two sales where I had problems you've reinforced my view that the feedback mechanism, due to only a small percentage of buyers now using it,  doesn't truely reflect seller performance. 

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You  are right but then again, this is the case with every feedback or review platform.

I sometimes write on product review. That website is devoted to nothing but reviews about goods andd services and companies etc

But I would guess that the star ratings are based on a much smaller % of buyers than the ebay ratings.

You say you're lucky to get 2 out of 10 giving feedback.

But let's say someone gives a review on that other site about eg Australia Post. It has currently had just under 15,000 reviews. That's a lot.

But out of all the people who use Australia Post, it would not be a lot, well under the 1/5 you get.

It currently has a star rating of 1.7 out of 5, which reflects the fact that many people will be driven to a review out of frustration when they aren't happy.

When everything goes well, not so much. It's the nature of reviews or feedback.

I think feedback on ebay is still meaningful. It may not give the whole picture but I think what buyers are after if they even bother to look is just a quick snapshot of any major problem areas.

[cam-2793]

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@springyzone wrote:... I think what buyers are after if they even bother to look is just a quick snapshot of any major problem areas.

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Especially if it is a recurring problem.

Etb, try not to worry too much. I dont think one red dot will have that much effect unless you leave a horrible reply - which you haven't done.

[*casey*]

"By zeroing in on just the two sales where I had problems"

When a buyer or seller posts on the boards, they'll often be picked to pieces by some.

Forget the %.

Your good feedback speaks for itself.

I detest seeing negative communication through feedback and IMO, any sensible buyer  would concentrate on  ALL your positive feedback