Some buyers are absolute grubs.

[cq_tech]

What is it with some buyers lately? It's reached the stage where I'd sooner they didn't leave me any feedback at all because you just never know what to expect any more. I received feedback today from a buyer whose item was posted the very same day it was ordered, and there was absolutely no communication between us either, yet my DSRs for Postage Time and Communications which were both sitting on 5.0 have now dropped to 4.9, and I'm pretty bloody angry about it.

I even make a point these days of letting the buyer know in my feedback to them exactly when I post their items, and he bought it on the morning of Tuesday, October 21, and as I stated in my feedback to him, it was posted on 21/10 as well. So what sort of mongrel would he be to then score me low on my postage DSRs? Same with Comms. In fact, I thought if there was no communication between parties, it was an automatic 5, but clearly that's not so because he hit those as well.

I really feel like leaving a follow-up to my original feedback, as well as a reply to his feedback, asking him why he'd do such a nasty thing, and naming him so that other sellers can decide whether or not to block him. Fortunately there were no defects recorded, but would it be worth contacting eBay and requesting them to change my DSRs back to 5 on the basis that I provided same-day postage and no communication, yet he marked both of them low regardless?

This has left a really nasty taste in my mouth and as I said in my opening paragraph, I'd sooner not receive any feedback at all because I simply don't trust my buyers any more. Maybe the time has come to pull the plug and find something a bit more enjoyable to do, as eBay has really gone downhill and there's simply no pleasure in selling here any more.

[robinsonmarineparts]

I feel for you, last week i felt like throwing it all in, i'd had a gut full of the buyers trying one one.

I settled down and i feel some what better this week, still having issues tho.

Sorry i haven't answered your question, i don't have the answers. Chin up.

[i-love-my-sheep]

I got a 4 star the other day for postage time and I also posted the same day they paid. I was pretty pished about it because I had been sitting on all 5 for quite awhile and I was quite proud of my 5's. Sadly, regardless of what it says next to the stars, most buyers see postage time as how long it took to arrive, not how quickly the seller posted it (even though it says that).

That's why when I have an interstate buyer, especially Tas, WA, NT and FNQ, I send a message saying it could take X weeks to arrive. It will probably arrive sooner, but I let them know it could take longer than what eBay estimate. I had never been marked down for that. I certainly wasn't 2 weeks ago when it took 3 weeks and 3 days to arrive to a suburb of Perth. Most buyers reply and thank me.

As for the automatic 5 stars for comms, to get that you have to have a same or 1 day handling time and I'm not sure if you need to upload a tracking numer too.

[cq_tech]

Well I do have 1-day handling time sheepie, but being a large letter how the hell am I supposed to upload tracking information? As you know, I take photos of the cancelled stamped envelopes in the PO before they're posted so I guess I could always send eBay a copy of those instead. Still, that's presumably why I don't get automatic 5s for communications.

As far as postage time is concerned though, you'd have to be a really nasty tosser to mark a seller's DSRs low because AP took their time delivering it, especially when you knew for a fact that your seller had posted it the very same day it was ordered. What makes it worse is that this mongrel is a seller as well so he really should know better.

Bugger it, I'm so pished off about this that I'm going to send eBay a pretty full-on email demanding that they restore my DSRs to their previous level of 5, something of which I was justifiably very proud. I doubt they'll do anything but at least I'll feel better for asking.

BTW, thanks to Robbo for your sympathies. I've been following your own problems this past week and I have to say that I don't blame you in the least for feeling the way you do. I dunno about you but I don't even need the miserable pittance I make on eBay anyway, but I do it because it used to be enjoyable. It's a long way from that right now, I don't mind telling you.

[lawnbowler46]

cq_tech I hear ya!!

I got marked down for postage costs yesterday on my selling account from a buyer.

I charged $5.00 postage on an item of which eBay take 50 cents .. it cost me $7.20 to post + $1.15 for the tough bag and $3.50 for registered post. I had all the proof to send to eBay to get the rating back.

eBay will not and do not educate "Buyers" on what the effects of being "grubs" can do to a seller and will do nothing about it except saying make your listings free postage. So good luck fighting to get yours restored.

So eBay have won once again, I have just spent (wasted) 3 hours changing all my items to free postage (postage included after jacking the prices up). I now feel sorry for the customers that miss out on combined postage discounts because of us needing to watch carefully everything that we do to please eBay.

[cq_tech]

I'm very sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience lawnbowler, and all I can suggest at this stage is to do what I've done, and leave followups to both feedback received and left for your ratbag buyer (as well as adding them to your BBL) so that other sellers also have the opportunity to block them if they wish.

I've sent a rather detailed email to ebay although i don't expect that anything will come of it, but nevertheless, I figure that the more people who complain about such injustices in eBay's appallingly unfair system, the more likelihood there is that it will one day be changed (hopefully to something a bit more equitable for all concerned).

I'll tell you one thing though; it'll be a cold day in hell before I change my listings to "free postage", not until eBay decide to call it something a little more honest, such as "postage included" because as far as I'm concerned, it's blatantly misleading to buyers to tell them that postage is free when it's not, and I flatly refuse to tell lies for anybody. Ebay may no longer have any ethics but I certainly still do.

[justajunk]

Just a word of advice, I'd personally recommend only posting a feedback follow-up comment to the feedback you left for him... not the feedback he left for you. I always find it looks better if all of one's feedback as a seller is all on one-line... whenever I see a follow-up comment on a seller's feedback page, it makes me stop and think. Also, if you reply to the feedback he left you, it gives him the opportunity to reply again and say something negative. If, however, he replies again on the feedback you left him, it only makes his feedback look more suspicious, not yours. Eh. It's late, and I'm not sure how much sense that makes, but that's just my two cents.

I was initially going to ask how you could be sure that it was him who lowered your star ratings [and not your second-last buyer], however, from the looks of things, it might be your first seller feedback in a while. Of course, we can't tell much since the dates vanished from feedback, but I digress. You do have my sympathies in any case; I'm still annoyed about my 3-stars for Item As Described from a few weeks ago...

[springyzone]

I understand everything you are saying and I feel for you, but the buyer may not be a bad person, may just be someone who isn't really up with how the star system works.

Until i came on this forum I had no idea it mattered all that much, except as a visual aid to other buyers.

The bald fact is that in any survey, most people don't choose the very top or bottom ratings or stars, they tend to go more towards the middle.

So someone awarding 4 stars probably feels they are giving a high rating.

I know that a couple of years ago, I would just sit there at the computer sometimes, thinking how do i rate communications if we haven't had any? The only thing I could think to judge it on was whether the seller had marked it as sent in the My ebay summary section. If they had, they got 5 stars, if they hadn't, then I gave them only 2 or 3 stars.

I wouldn't do that these days, but I am guessing some buyers still think 5 stars is for exceptional dealings only, not necessarily what they would give for everyday, good transactions.

[agoraagogo]

hi all..

just a quick comment ...

etsy let both parties revise their feedback after their tempers have cooled.

much friendlier place.

[cq_tech]

I get where you're coming from justajunk and I think in retrospect I agree with you, but I was a bit blinded by my anger at the injustice of this rotten DSR system and didn't really stop to think before acting. As far as being certain it was him, there is no doubt whatsoever as October was a pretty lean month and his was the only feedback I've received in almost 2 weeks.

November seems to be much better and I've already sold more items this month than I did in the entire previous month, and we're barely a week into November so perhaps it's people doing their Xmas shopping a bit early. I don't really care, just as long as they keep it up.

Don't blame you about being annoyed with a 3-star Item Description DSR, especially as there's no indication to the buyer that it gives you a defect. I copped one a few weeks ago and wasn't real impressed either, especially as I felt it was completely unjustified at the time (and still do).