Ratings for shipping charges

[ancarswa]

So I recently started selling on ebay having been a buyer for 10 plus years. I charge exact postage cost for shipping and even state this on my listings.

I mention on the listings that the stamp does not show any cost for registered service,packing materials, box,etc. I have reached over 10 positive feedback now and am disappointed to see that I have a score of 4.7 for shipping charges.

I actually lose money on shipping as I pack items very securely - all are bubbled wrapped(also mentioned in listing), most items are sent are boxed along with packing peanuts to stop the item moving around in the box. I do not charge anything extra for all this, I only charge what I pay at the post office to ship it.

 My score was 4.8 last week and with five positive feedbacks today it dropped to 4.7. Why would buyers not give 5 stars for exact post office cost to ship? I have no control over what the post office charges and I've never charged more than what was quoted in the listing. I even offer combined shipping at exact cost.

It seems that buyers are blaming me for Australia Post's prices.

Is it worth contacting ebay about this?

I'm thinking of doing future listings as free shipping with the starting price my lowest price plus shipping. That will mean a higher starting price so I'm not sure if it will put people off.

I'm interested in sellers opinions on what they find works best to maintain 5 Stars for shipping(without taking a loss of course).

Thanks.

[joz*garage]

lol, i finally got 10 feedbacks on my other ID for a star rating reading - 4.6 on every category :^O

even though i fully describe the condition of my items with mobs of pictures.

communication.. whaaa? i bet buyers give a poor rating even tho communication wasnt required or necessary

postage time? most of the times i posted them off the same day they paid lol

postage and handling charges? i even duped myself with the 500g satchels with tracking ($8.25) when some items sold for top dollar, postage were listed at $ 7.00 - $7.20

i think pj is right, the more FBs you recieve over time you'll get a more accurate average reading

[wishuponastarcelebrationsandgifts]

Don't take it to heart and don't change what you are doing for the sake of a couple of rating 4 dsrs for postage cost. I usually charge a handling charge of up to $1 on an order to partially cover the cost of packaging - boxes, bubble wrap, shipping labels, petrol etc. Sometimes I only charge the actual postage charge, and at times I have charged below the actual postage charge.

Most buyers are reasonable. You will have a small minority complain even if you charge postage at below cost, and they will rate you low on postage charges. This is based on their perception of what they think postage should be rather than what you are charging. They may buy regularly from overseas, or buy a lot of items with "free" postage.

My postage charge DSR is currently at 4.91 with 1 low DSR. I don't aim for 5 stars across the board as you can't please all of the people all of the time. My view is you give your buyers the best service you can and you sell, and charge postage, at fair and reasonable prices. If you believe you are doing this already why change? If you believe you will get more sales/higher bids for your items with free post or lower postage prices then make some changes but not because your dsr is below 5.

[mackkid]

And them Ebay gets a 10% slug from your postage cost

Not bad r they!!

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

mackkid, this thread was started in May of 2013.  eBay has changed/introduced many policies since then . . . including the fee on postage.  Much of the advice given in this thread over 17 months ago is no longer relevant to the policy/fee structure we have in 2015.  I notice that the opening post is about having just received DSR ratings having reached 10 feedbacks . . . . . and now the OP has . . . . well . . . take a look for yourself, almost 600 seller feedbacks