It certainly is absurd. The eBay discussion boards are full of criticism the flaws in eBay's DSR rating system. There have been reports of sellers who offer free shipping who have received low ratings for postage costs. Basically, if you drop below a certain level your listings will be lowered in searches so you may as well not list.
I dont think buyers should be allowed to rate sellers on postage costs. In many cases they dont even know what the actual cost of postage is so how can they leave an informed rating? There is more on the way. Soon you will have to specify a return policy in your listings. Apparently, sellers will be "encouraged" to offer a full return policy including paying for shipping both ways. If you do this your listing will be "raised" in searches ie if you dont your listings will be buried. Many of us already have this policy but it is open to abuse and there have been some complaints already about the new policy on the eBay discussion boards. Regards John Sign up for my regular newsletter on movie memorabilia: http://www.moviemem.com/pages/page.php?mod=account&go=register Visit my Website: www.moviemem.com All About Australian posters: http://search.reviews.ebay.com/members/johnwr_W0QQuqtZg My eBay Store and Lisitngs: http://myworld.ebay.com/johnwr/ Exhibitions: http://www.moviemem.com/pages/page.php?page=15 JOHN REID VINTAGE MOVIE MEMORABILIA PO Box 92 Palm Beach Qld 4221 Australia ----- Original Message ----- From: Sean Linkenback To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 1:55 PM Subject: Re: [MOPO] This Is Patently Absurd Same thing has happened to me Freeman. Since I moved to exact shipping charges (not even counting the cost of tubes or masonite), my shipping has dropped below 4.7 instead of the 4.9 that it was. And my shipping time has taken a hit from overseas customers - I guess they all want priority for regular airmail prices or something, as they keep lowering my rating even though I usually ship within 48 hours. The eBay system is designed to pretty much give 4 stars on average - look at what the ratings say when you rate someone next time you buy something. Description: 4 stars - accurate 5 stars - very accurate Communication 4 stars - satisfied 5 stars - very satisfied Shipping Time 4 stars - quickly 5 stars - very quickly Shipping Charges 4 stars - reasonable 5 stars - very reasonable So if someone thinks exact postage is reasonable, they will leave 4 stars - get enough 4 stars and you will get thrown off eBay now. You send an email saying an order is shipping (maybe automated) - ok, I think that's satisfactory communication so I leave 4 stars and again I'm helping you get thrown off eBay. Someone gets a package from you in a week, that seems quickly right? Ok check the 4 stars again and you're another step closer to not being able to sell anymore. eBay needs to take better steps to inform buyers that 4 stars is a BAD rating and could result in sellers not being allowed to sell, they are basically saying if you describe your items accurately, communicate satisfactorily, ship quickly and charge a reasonable amount for shipping they don't want you as a seller because that is the definition of 4 star behavior. Sean ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: MoPo List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 01, 2008 7:02 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [MOPO] This Is Patently Absurd Mopoers, I just checked on my seller status or whatever the hell its called on Ebay as its the first of the month. I now have a lowered listing status due to my shipping in the last 30 days coming in with a 4.5 average rating and not 4.6. I went back to my feedback and at least the first 10 or 20 praise me for fast and expert shipping. 80% of my sales in August were overseas but the bulk of those have hardly left feed back. 100% of those shipping charges were short a couple of dollars what I charged to as high as $10 short. Is it possible if people just leave feedback and don't trouble with the number ratings that its being averaged as zero? Plus its completely false. This is so screwed. My user ID is flixspix if you can find something I am not seeing. Oh and my one negative is a retaliatory posting after filing a negative against a seller after sending a money order for $500 that he cashed before I could reverse and not receiving my poster. And that seller has gotten 3 more negs since mine and he is still on Ebay. Khafka had a word for this bullsh*t. freeman freeman fisher 8601 west knoll drive #7 west hollywood, ca 90069 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. 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