The postage rating should have two components to it. 1.time taken to recieve item. 2.postage charges.

Well luckily, the system already does have EXACTLY that...

I thought the postage time component was based on how long the seller took to post the package, not how long it took to be delivered.

I always give 5 stars across the board anyway, I know what the postage charge is before I bid, if I didn't like it I wouldn't bid..

thats supoosed to be the postage time should have two components time taken to post and time taken to recieve.

um........yeah?:|

yes patchoo but buyers tend to consider how long it took to get the item. this is why the system needs to have two elements in that rating. it may make it fairer to sellers that do dispatch quickly

And your comment on 5 stars across the board is why I take little notice of the DSR's of a seller.

The postage cost rating is a tricky one as in most cases you do know the cost. It only upsets me as a buyer when I have paid for registered mail express etc only to find the seller to a fair cheaper option than I paid for.

thats supoosed to be the postage time should have two components time taken to post and time taken to recieve. um........yeah?:|

I am sorry but I disagree...time taken to post...fair enough.

Time taken to receive is entirely out of the sellers hands and it would be very unfair to mark them down because of the tardiness of AP etc.

I received a parcel from Ireland on Tuesday..non ebay..which was posted on the previous Thursday...5 days in total including a weekend.

The previous parcel I received from the same person took over three weeks to arrive.

Unfortunately enough buyers read "Time taken to post" as "How long was it before I got it". Enough to take away that TRS.

I have had items sent within Australia take over a month to get across the city (even though posted same day as item paid for). This isn't often, but happens often enough to destroy a sellers TRS.

As regarding who leaves these lows - If it is genuine, the comment comes with the positive feedback - something like "nice item, but took ages to get here".

I think there are a few buyers out there who accidentally press the 1 star instead of the 5 stars. Once it is done it seems it is impossible to change.

My other thoughts regard "item as described". How on earth do we address this issue if we are unable to tell who was unhappy.

It is a an imperfect system, but the question is - Can it be improved and how? - there is a suggestion box, I think under customer support somewhere. If you think the system needs fine turning/changing, let ebay know. I've done it, but that won't happen unless more of us do something about it.:-D

I only said I give 5 stars because that's my honest opinion of how the transaction went.. I have never bought from a seller with unreasonable postage, I just shop somewhere else..  I am quite reasonable, I accept that the postage section is for how long it takes for the seller to deliver the item and also that sellers charge a handling fee.

I have always received my items, and the one time I didn't, the seller gave me a refund on the proviso that I would pay again if they showed up, which I did..

If I ever did come across a seller that wasn't as helpful as previous sellers had been, then obviously I would rate them accordingly.. Fortunately that has not happened yet

Hi Koalablue, I never saw that apology and cannot understand why it would have been removed.

Sparkesy - sorry if I sounded harsh and your apology would have been happily received had I seen it.  I haven't had any private contact from you either - maybe Ebay deleted your message to me also?

As I stated before, all my software descriptions do have the system requirements in the item listing in bright red, as I always want to make purchasing online pretty much the same as in person, so that the customer can make ( or should make ) an informed decision when purchasing any software.

Thanks guys

it's dead right that one bad DSR can wreck one's status, Before Christmas one person gave me the lowest possible DSR for postage time, I always post within 24 hours of payment without fail. I contacted ebay with the usual unhelpful response. I'm now close to the PS stage but will fail to get the TRS badge, due to one illiterate cretin who can't read a postage label.