How can 1 buyer ruin me on ebay?

[mr.glow]

just opened my store and received top rated seller and power seller this month, next month i will loose TRS and maybe PS?

the story is - buyer had bought stamps from me and left positive feedback. week or so latter asked about my combined postage rates. i replied basic post is $2 but for multies it is still $2 but i may charge an extra $1 for the extra packaging - he bought 6 lots of stamps and was charged $3

he left me 6 x low stars for postage costs.

rang ebay, at first all they wanted to know was what computer program i was using to know who had left them. Duh - had 8 buyers in those 4 days with one buying 6 - do the math.

anyway girl was very helpful for some time and then arranged for a "team leader" to ring me. again very helpful she told me i was a perfect seller according to my feedback etc, etc.

she kept me updated as she tried to ring buyer and eventually had to email the buyer asking him if he would agree to having feedback removed.

message today he declined, nothing ebay can do.

how can this be if in the message he only paid for 1 lot of postage and yet can leave me 6 low postage?

is there no common sense in ebay?

rang ebay before and the team leader will be ringing me in the morning.

any advise please or do i have to loose before i start?

[flotsam-jetsom]

I didn't think multiple purchases from same seller within 7 day period could attract multiple feedback?

[thesoulyearns]

Mr. Glow, you're fortunate enough to not have to worry about anyone ruining you as the percentage of "ruiners" will be (and currently is) so significant that not one person will even notice. Your conduct with the buyer, aswell as eBay (and theirs to you) should all but guarantee the feedback will either be removed or revised by eBay. The only way I can see that not happening is if the buyer (or eBay) was able to prove that your combined postage charge actually warranted such low stars. That's extremely doubtful.

[2106greencat]

I didn't think  you could see how many 'stars' were left from a particular buyer? Have they changed this while I have been away?

[davewil1964]

Your seller dashboard tells you how many 1 and 2 DSRs you have. If it suddenly went from 0 to 6, you would have a fair inkling of who was responsible and what they put in.

My understanding was that low DSRs for a single transaction (which this should show as, given you combined postage) only counted as one, but it seems the rules have changed.

[austeam]

Hi mr.glow,

Do you mind if I ask how much did the postage cost for the 6 lots of stamps? A large letter only costs $1.20 to post, and while I realise the envelope and packaging materials are not free, this is eBay where buyers would assume those sort of costs would come out of your profit.

Think of how buyers feel when Target ask if they would like to purchase a plastic carry bag vs other shopping experiences where they wrap in tissue, place in a quality bag with strong handles and charge nothing extra.  In some stores they gift wrap for free.

Feedback and DSRs are about the buyer experience.  It might seem unfair to you that a buyer is not happy to pay $3 for you to package and post .... but if that same buyer has purchased off other sellers who would post the same sort of items for half that price or maybe even free then the buyer has a right to mark your DSR low. That is why we have DSRs.

Take a look at what your competitors are charging for postage and see how you compare.

Best of luck with your store 🙂

[austeam]

I meant to mention that it is easy to set up postage discounts so that the buyer doesn't even have to ask.

Mine are set so that if two items are purchase only the higher postage cost applies, however if three or more items are purchased the postage is free.  It encourages my buyers to purchase at least three items at a time 🙂

However, there is no way you can please all buyers on eBay.  My postage charges DSR is the lowest overall percentage of my DSRs, but it is still higher than it was a few years back when I used to offer free postage on everything.

The good news is that your competitors face the same issues you do with buyer opinions and expectations, so as long as your services are equal to or better than your competitors you will continue to do well.

[annies_fancy_dress]

You're not alone.

I had a buyer buy three items, send a request for combined postage but not wait for the invoice.

They paid in full.

So I sent their (easily damaged items) in the most secure packaging, upgraded them to courier delivery, and sent it off ASAP.

They trashed my postage costs with three low ratings.

Guess I should be gratefull they left me positives.

My TRS is now under review.