DSR How are they fair?

angelic84

Hi guys, I have been selling on ebay for a while now and have got quite good at it. When the new DSRs came in i though i would try and earn some brownie points and offer free P&P and post all items first class recorded. I have since been sent a message by Ebay saying that my standards have fallen and I am at risk of not being allowed to sell anymore. I checked it out and have received 1 and 2 stars for P&P. How is this fair for buyers to leave this feedback when I send 1st class recorded for free and items were sent out the same day as purchased? Are other people finding this? How are you supposed to keep high DSRs when buyers can leave what i think is unfair rating?! sorry for the waffling!

Ames

I think there should be more guidance for buyers as to what the ratings mean, and a guideline for marking down - for instance on P&P to mark down if the postage price is significantly lower than paid, or if the item came very late. I remember when they first came in I thought it was just to help sellers, so used to mark very low on some criteria, just so the seller would see it and pull their socks up. I never dreamed that it would affect their account. I imagine a lot of buyers don't realise how important they are.

mrcol1000

The problem is that its all anon. People will quite happily leave 1 or 2 stars safe in the knowledge you can not know who did it. At least with negative feedback you know who has left it and if its justified you can find out what item and maybe what mistakes you made. With this you can not learn from it.
I really think as Ebay has made it so important you should not be allowed to hide behind it as really whats to stop a competitor buying some items and giving 1 star to try and ruin their competitors placing?

angelic84

I agree, I have recently had someone buying a few items from me and on further inspection it seems that they sell in the same area as me, they have left + feedback but i guess can still leave low DSRs just to damage your account as they are selling similar items. I get the feeling Ebay is trying to phase out independent sellers in favour of turning it into a superstore. Anyone got anywhere with any other auction sites?

kalaika

angelic84 wrote: »

...I checked it out and have received 1 and 2 stars for P&P. How is this fair for buyers to leave this feedback when I send 1st class recorded for free and items were sent out the same day as purchased?...

Just trying to think of what might annoy the buyer to cause this:
- Could it be that your buyers are unhappy at the quality of your packing, rather than the speed of delivery? (i.e. are your packages protected enough? Do you use suitable bubble wrap, etc?)
- If your buyers are not at home when the postman comes (like a lot of people these days), could it be that your buyers get annoyed at having to go to the post office to sign for it when it would otherwise be small enough to go through their letter box? Do you warn your buyers that you'll be sending it recorded?

angelic84

Hi Kalaika, Good points...

I always use brand new packaging and items are professionally and well packaged (I think) and I have had many good comments on this so I hope it is not this.

I always check every code the next day to see what has happened and i have never had one that has said it has not been signed for.

i warn buyers that it is recorded delivery as i like to protect myself and given them the option to have it sent normal 1st class instead. I have had one buyer request this for the reason you state cos they were likely to be at work and it was something that could fit through the letter box.

I am still scratching my head.... maybe if there was some way ebay would let us defend ourselves when we get low DSRs.

trrk

I think a lot of people have had a few people leave unreasonable DSRs and it seems to affect small sellers more than business sellers as it doesn't take many bad ratings to put your account in the red. I've also had someone leave me a 1 or 2 * rating for dispatch time over a period when I sent everything the next day. People are also a lot more fussy about postage cost since the stars came in and expect your postage to be exacty what it cost (not even taking into account packaging costs etc).

StaffsSW

It is not impossible to work out excatly which sale resulted in the low scores, using the DSR reports that ebay provide, daily exception reports can be run which will track down the specific sale.

If you have access to the ebay helpline, it is worth giving them a call to discuss this. I've had two low scores removed recently as the buyer left me a glowing positive comment, but 1 star on each category. This was deemed as a misuse of the feedback process by the buyer.
I also know of somebody who had a few removed as they proved to ebay that they were delivered the day after the sale was completed - but this all depends on the person you get to speak to at the other end.

Overall, the DSR system is relatively accurate, but like any measurement system there will always be the anomolies, such as a low volume seller having one rogue sale which totally skews their overall score.

masterbrown

stevew8975 wrote: »

It is not impossible to work out excatly which sale resulted in the low scores, using the DSR reports that ebay provide, daily exception reports can be run which will track down the specific sale.

Its against ebays rules though:

Not allowed:

• Exchanging Feedback for the sole purpose of increasing your Feedback score, getting website privileges, or enhancing your reputation
  
• Including the word “Feedback” or any reference to eBay Feedback in a listing title (except when that word is used to describe the item for sale)
  
• Manipulating another member’s detailed seller ratings (DSRs) through a combination of repeat purchases and low DSRs to reduce another user’s Feedback scores, or showing a pattern of leaving positive Feedback with consistently low DSRs
  
• Offering to pay members for their user ID
  
• Offering to sell, buy, barter, or give away Feedback
  
• Taking actions or using tools to figure out the detailed seller ratings that a buyer left for a specific transaction (DSRs are meant to be anonymous)
  
• Working with other members or registering multiple accounts to artificially increase your Feedback score

Yep another stupid ebay policy :rolleyes: I don't think they'd be able to tell though

cyberbob

angelic84 wrote: »

when I send 1st class recorded for free

No you don't its included in the price. If its fair or not you have to live with them. If you are sending low price items (under £39) recorded your buyers may think that the cost of this (which is in the price) is too much as most sellers do not send low value items recorded as you can claim with proof of posting for lost items up to £39

StaffsSW

masterbrown wrote: »

Its against ebays rules though:

[/LIST]Yep another stupid ebay policy :rolleyes: I don't think they'd be able to tell though

I know - which is why I had to be cautious how I approached it with eBay PS Support - they say they wouldn't take action unless I could prove which buyer it was, but when I pointed that part of the T&C's out to them it was a bit of an awkward silence... In the end, it was agreed that although though could not tell me outright who the buyer was, they would confirm or deny what I suggested to them.

I think the idea behind the policy is more to prevent sellers harassing buyers who may have had a legitimate concern. I've not approached my buyer about it, nor do I plan to - I just added her to the block list, and won't engage any conversation if she ever asks why - she was a regular purchaser as well!