What does leaving negative feedback and low stars for a seller do to their account

burtons

I know a seller a don't like negative feedback as it puts buyers off if they have loads of negative feedback, so i was wondering what does leaving low stars for a seller do to there account as i have seen posts where people have had problems and they say leave a positive and mark them down on there stars. Now if i have a problem and the seller don't sort it out i will leave a negative to warn others as i don't really look at there stars as i look at the feedback to see what they are really like.

alfiesmum

It may not do very much to the visible status of the seller, but it can cost in fees. Every seller has a rating top rated seller, power seller, above standard and so on. There are a limit to the number of low ratings an account can have, before eBay take the top rated seller from them. This means they will no longer get reductions on seller fees in most (if not all) cases.

Crowqueen

Sellers are only allowed a certain percentage of very low scores (1 or 2) before they get restrictions or fall "below standard". For small sellers below a certain volume of sales, the limit before sanctions are applied is 3 low ratings (can't remember in how long a period that is because it's not something I need to worry about on the volume of stuff I don't sell ).

If there's something that you are considering leaving a 1 or 2 star rating for, then I would contact the seller. If something isn't up to what I consider appropriate standard but is not bad enough to contact the seller over, I usually leave 3 or 4 stars. Those don't have as much impact on an account as 1 or 2 star ratings do.

However, please don't let that stop you from being honest. Buyers depend on honest feedback to tell them about the seller and their items before they buy. If a seller disappoints too many people, then they shouldn't be selling. Power-seller and TRS status are only applicable to business sellers.

burtons

Thanks for your replys. So does it count for leaving low stars for communication as i never know what to leave. If i ask the seller a question and i get a good reply then thats full stars, or if i don't ask a question and they send a email so say they posted my item then thats full stars, I don't know what stars to leave when i don't ask a question or they don't say when my item was posted. So if it cost the seller more fees it's only going to cost the buyers in the end.

Crowqueen

burtons wrote: »

Thanks for your replys. So does it count for leaving low stars for communication as i never know what to leave. If i ask the seller a question and i get a good reply then thats full stars, or if i don't ask a question and they send a email so say they posted my item then thats full stars, I don't know what stars to leave when i don't ask a question or they don't say when my item was posted. So if it cost the seller more fees it's only going to cost the buyers in the end.

Don't tie yourself in knots. If someone has been rude, that's a bad score. If someone responds well, then go by what your gut reaction is.

I wouldn't leave anything damaging to comms unless they were really rude or took a long time to respond to questions or something like that. If you want to express mild displeasure then leave a 3 or 4. There's no point giving 5 stars to someone who is too belligerent to be selling online in the first place.

Stop worrying about sellers. Yes, if it uneconomical for them to sell something, they won't sell it or it will be more expensive. But there are a lot of other considerations that go into pricing their items other than their discounts (for example, inflation, petrol prices, other overheads and purchase prices of the goods to sell), and if they deserve bad stars, then they deserve bad stars. You are not penalising eBay, you are just penalising the one seller who couldn't be bothered to maintain polite communication to someone who bought their item, and that doesn't deserve being able to keep their TRS discounts as they are no longer particularly top-rated. By giving sellers who don't deserve it top marks, you are penalising other buyers who aren't warned about the seller and get screwed over by them because the feedback is inaccurate, and that to me, as a buyer and a seller who always strives to maintain good standards and habits, is much more important.

mobile48

You have the option to leave stars blank if it helps.

mrstaypuft

Crowqueen wrote: »

Sellers are only allowed a certain percentage of very low scores (1 or 2) before they get restrictions or fall "below standard". For small sellers below a certain volume of sales, the limit before sanctions are applied is 3 low ratings (can't remember in how long a period that is because it's not something I need to worry about on the volume of stuff I don't sell ).

If there's something that you are considering leaving a 1 or 2 star rating for, then I would contact the seller. If something isn't up to what I consider appropriate standard but is not bad enough to contact the seller over, I usually leave 3 or 4 stars. Those don't have as much impact on an account as 1 or 2 star ratings do.

However, please don't let that stop you from being honest. Buyers depend on honest feedback to tell them about the seller and their items before they buy. If a seller disappoints too many people, then they shouldn't be selling. Power-seller and TRS status are only applicable to business sellers.

The star system is a complete joke there is nothing stopping you from leaving positive feedback then leaving low star ratings and remaining anonymous.

Myyrrddyn

If you have a problem it is better to contact the seller 1st before leaving feedback to se if they can resolve the problem for oy.

soolin

mrstaypuft wrote: »

The star system is a complete joke there is nothing stopping you from leaving positive feedback then leaving low star ratings and remaining anonymous.

Luckily buyers like that are very rare, however it is entirely possible that the overall experience can be positive but the postage excessive and therefore require poor stars. Or for the item to be great and postage cheap but seller not bother to despatch for a week, again that would result in low stars.

Myyrrddyn

soolin wrote: »

Luckily buyers like that are very rare, however it is entirely possible that the overall experience can be positive but the postage excessive and therefore require poor stars. Or for the item to be great and postage cheap but seller not bother to despatch for a week, again that would result in low stars.

But before leaving feedback it is always better to get in touch with the seller don't you agree?

soolin

Myyrrddyn wrote: »

But before leaving feedback it is always better to get in touch with the seller don't you agree?

Usually yes, but if someone took a week or more to despatch then there is hardly any point in contacting them really, they can't do anything about it?