Thinking aloud about stars

soolin

Hi comic-sans and welcome to MSE

I'm not sure that ebay do give less weight to stars than buyers, I believe it is the other way round. Ebay themselves treat sellers with 4.4 or less stars as 'poor' which implies they believe most buyers should be giving 5*

comic_sans

soolin wrote: »

Hi comic-sans and welcome to MSE

I'm not sure that ebay do give less weight to stars than buyers, I believe it is the other way round. Ebay themselves treat sellers with 4.4 or less stars as 'poor' which implies they believe most buyers should be giving 5*

hi, thanks:)

yes, sorry that's what i meant, that eBay give too much weight to them in fact! as like you say, a 4.4 should generally be considered good performance

soolin

comic_sans wrote: »

hi, thanks:)

yes, sorry that's what i meant, that eBay give too much weight to them in fact! as like you say, a 4.4 should generally be considered good performance

Sorry, I misunderstood your point.

I'm buying at the moment and virtually every seller I see has 100% feedback and 4.7 stars or above. When I do come across a seller with 4.6 or less stars or less than around 99.7% feedback it really does stand out. Yet in an ideal world 99.7 overall feedback and 4.6 stars should still be considered exceptionally good.

comic_sans

yes, exactly, when i buy i am very careful from whom i do so, and as you say, anything less then 100% and a 4.7ish rating does set alarm bells ringing, but of course it shouldn't!! because again, it should be considered exceptional as you say.

As a seller i have managed to maintain 100% and averages of 4.9, on everything except p&p, and that is not because i overcharge, but down to how the buyer feels about paying p&p in general i think!

But for eBay to change their DSR policy is obviously not going to happen, but if any newer sellers happen to read this, it may explain a low average when in fact their service has been exemplary

pitkin2020

comic_sans wrote: »

yes, exactly, when i buy i am very careful from whom i do so, and as you say, anything less then 100% and a 4.7ish rating does set alarm bells ringing, but of course it shouldn't!! because again, it should be considered exceptional as you say.

As a seller i have managed to maintain 100% and averages of 4.9, on everything except p&p, and that is not because i overcharge, but down to how the buyer feels about paying p&p in general i think!

But for eBay to change their DSR policy is obviously not going to happen, but if any newer sellers happen to read this, it may explain a low average when in fact their service has been exemplary

You have to look at how many transaction that percentage and star rating relates to though. A seller who is doing a 100 items a month but has 99% FB doesn't bother me one bit but the seller who has only done 10 items in that month and has 99% FB needs look at closer.

Just to add like you said ebay put far more weight on the stars than buyers do, especially buyers who never sell. FB is far more important in the decision of whether or not to use the seller than if they have 3 stars or 5

soolin

Still thinking aloud I wonder if it is intentional and is designed to show up some differences in sellers? If ebay selelrs all had 100% and 5* then there would be no point to stars or feedbac, but by having these artificially made differences it makes it look like sellers vary.

Going back to the psychology again, one of the sellers I am buying from has now dropped to 4.4 stars for despatch. I have therefore ceased buying from that seller (my own goods have not yet arrived) and I am already mentally preparing for problems ..yet until I checked the currect stars I was quite happy. So stars have made me see a potential problem where perhaps there is none.

comic_sans

pitkin2020 wrote: »

You have to look at how many transaction that percentage and star rating relates to though. A seller who is doing a 100 items a month but has 99% FB doesn't bother me one bit but the seller who has only done 10 items in that month and has 99% FB needs look at closer.

Just to add like you said ebay put far more weight on the stars than buyers do, especially buyers who never sell. FB is far more important in the decision of whether or not to use the seller than if they have 3 stars or 5

yeah, very true, it comes down to the law of averages in these cases i guess, a quick look at some high street outlet stores on ebay show a huge amount of neg FB, but that is due to the sheer volume.

I generally think i have a good feeling for eBay, and like to think i can spot a potential transaction that could go wrong and tend to avoid it as such. reading posts on here about transactions that have gone awry often include details that would have had me running a mile in the first place!

comic_sans

soolin wrote: »

Still thinking aloud I wonder if it is intentional and is designed to show up some differences in sellers? If ebay selelrs all had 100% and 5* then there would be no point to stars or feedbac, but by having these artificially made differences it makes it look like sellers vary.

Going back to the psychology again, one of the sellers I am buying from has now dropped to 4.4 stars for despatch. I have therefore ceased buying from that seller (my own goods have not yet arrived) and I am already mentally preparing for problems ..yet until I checked the currect stars I was quite happy. So stars have made me see a potential problem where perhaps there is none.

Yeah, true, they may have lost your business due to a buyer misunderstanding the star rating!!

I cant quite recall when the DSRs came into play, but it has put the power in the hands of the buyer in many ways. of course the buyer must be protected, but due to the rating system not being fully understood it can put a good seller out of business.

feedback seems a more fairer way to do it, an the DSRs can make some sellers lazy. my listings always do well due to clear and accurate descriptions, good photographs and good communication, however i can be seen to be a poor seller at the drop of a hat by a buyer who isnt happy with the cost of p&p for example

Crowqueen

comic_sans wrote: »

yeah, very true, it comes down to the law of averages in these cases i guess, a quick look at some high street outlet stores on ebay show a huge amount of neg FB, but that is due to the sheer volume.

I generally think i have a good feeling for eBay, and like to think i can spot a potential transaction that could go wrong and tend to avoid it as such. reading posts on here about transactions that have gone awry often include details that would have had me running a mile in the first place!

Same here. I've given up whole categories of items on eBay because of poor experiences - in fact it is more accurate to say there are certain things I will buy on eBay, not certain things I will not buy.

soolin

comic_sans wrote: »

Yeah, true, they may have lost your business due to a buyer misunderstanding the star rating!!

The seller I was looking at are huge, thousands of transactions so to have fallen from 4.8 when i started buying to 4.4 in a matter of 7 or 8 days they must be deteriorating.

Slightly off topic I am just researching a seller I haven't used before and have been checking completed prices (all auctions no BINs). They list the same things twice, once as a 1p start with postage at say £1.89 (which appears fair) but they also list with free postage but a start price of £1.99 - guess which one sells for the best price?

Time after time the free post ones make at least £1 more than the ones with postage charged...I cannot figure that one out at all.