Ebay New Feedback System Discussion Thread (Merged)

pinkgem

i have received 14 ratings with the new feedback system

5/5 item as described
5/5 communication
5/5 dispatch time
5/5 p&p charges

:j :j :j :j :j

TKPeters

apprentice_tycoon wrote: »

The 'retracted bids' number seems to have gone?

Feedback as a buyer shows Bid retractions

TKPeters

Lilaclily wrote: »

I have stars in all my boxes but none in communication !
My ebay item finishes in the evening, if it is paid immediately it is sent the next day, do I really have to email and say your item has been posted ?

If I was to order from a catalogue etc they wouldn't contact me to tell me they have posted my order.

Does anyone have any ideas or comments that I can add to my listings, or ways to change my ebay set up so an automatic communication is sent from within ebay.

Any ideas would be a great help, thank you.

We use Selling Manager Pro, so we use the automated emails & send them when the item is purchased/won, when payment is received & send one when its dispatched with the tracking number.

Shame eBay still haven't set up a proper box to enter tracking numbers into even though the automated text commands allow for it

TKPeters

pinkgem wrote: »

i have received 14 ratings with the new feedback system

5/5 item as described
5/5 communication
5/5 dispatch time
5/5 p&p charges

:j :j :j :j :j

Well Done, sure your not shilling ?

pinkgem

TKPeters wrote: »

Well Done, sure your not shilling ?

absolutely certain, most of my auctions are buy it now or are started at the minimum price i am willing to sell for

i just described my items accurately (item as described)

send invoice, winning buyer, payment received and dispatch notification emails and reply to all emails received promptly (communication)

dispatch same or next working day by 1st class (dispatch time)

charge actual postage costs plus a maximum of £1 extra for packaging and handling (p&p charges)

so there isn't much for anyone to mark down on unless royal mail or courier lose or delay my items

TKPeters

pinkgem wrote: »

absolutely certain, most of my auctions are buy it now or are started at the minimum price i am willing to sell for

i just described my items accurately (item as described)

send invoice, winning buyer, payment received and dispatch notification emails and reply to all emails received promptly (communication)

dispatch same or next working day by 1st class (dispatch time)

charge actual postage costs plus a maximum of £1 extra for packaging and handling (p&p charges)

so there isn't much for anyone to mark down on unless royal mail or courier lose or delay my items

Exactly the same as us, I guess it all comes down to the buyer's frame of mind when leaving feedback as we always get 'Excellent Service, Great Item, VERY Fast Delivery, Will Use Again, How Ebay Should Be' but the detailed rating not so

Contains_Mild_Peril

becky004 wrote: »

I got my stars! 5 out of 5 for description, communication , dispatch and 4.5 stars for P&P. Am not going to stress about postage though as I have yet to see a 5 out of 5 for P&P, and I feel my charges are fair.
At the end of the day when I bid on an item I take into account the price of P&P and factor that into the maximum amount I'm prepared to bid. I presume most other buyers do this.
I think the only way to get round the P&P would be to offer free postage, which would result in higher FV Fees on ebay, so higher starting price on auctions in order to make a profit not a loss (as I only sell low value items it wouldn't be worth it). If and when I hit 4 stars I may think about it!

A higher starting price would involve paying more listing fees (unless you were to list only on cheap listing days), as well as more FVFs for postage included in item price. More eBay fees... hmm... do you think that could possibly be anything to do with their reasons for the new system?
Ratings on dispatch time are also likely to encourage some sellers to have Paypal as their preferred payment option, so they won't lose stars for waiting for cheques to arrive in the post then clear through the bank - so Paypal (owned by eBay) are likely to rake in more money.
I also don't like the new system because it seems to be giving us so much extra work. There's a rating for Communication, which I don't usually bother with unless there's a query. As someone mentioned, one wouldn't generally expect to be informed when a mail-order item has been dispatched. Those companies which do send an e-mail on dispatch probably have software which does it automatically, but we poor eBay sellers would have to send messages manually to all our customers - it won't just happen when we click "mark as dispatched".
We also risk losing points for p&p if we charge based on estimated weight (and size in some cases) rather than going to the trouble of weighing each item and checking the exact postage cost. Those without access to used bubble wrap will be at a disadvantage if they have to charge for buying the stuff. Similarly, occasional sellers who buy an individual Jiffy bag at the PO might be marked down for charging more for packing than regular sellers who buy their Jiffy bags in bulk.
I'm not sure how anonymous the star ratings actually are: once you reach 10 and the ratings are displayed, are subsequent start ratings added on immediately? If so, if you've only sold 1 item in the previous few days, you're going to be able to make a pretty good guess who left the latest star rating.
It will look bad if one TSFE twit leaves bad ratings which take the average down a lot.
I'm very uncomfortable with the item titles and prices for recent transactions being displayed for all to see on my profile page. I'm currently selling an item I bought from eBay recently, and now everyone can see how much I paid for it, when it probably wouldn't otherwise have occurred to them to search. I also don't especially want to publicise things like my bra size (this issue was discussed in another thread).
I'll be using my other account for buying in future.

jasmineswhiskers

patchwork_cat wrote: »

Hi
Thought I would give you a laugh at the TSFE out there. I offer free P+P it is included in purchase price. Under the new scheme I have 4.5 stars out of 5 for p+p charges - someone wasn't happy with free P+P, go figure!

rare_stuff wrote: »

They could have been very happy with the postage charge but possibly feel you could have packed better hence why you were marked down.

jasmineswhiskers wrote: »

But the category is postage and packaging charges.

frivolous_fay wrote: »

If you didn't think the packaging was reasonable considering what you were CHARGED, you could legitimately mark someone down...

This was regards to the FREE postage& packaging post. So if you're charged nothing for P&P how can you give marks about charges that don't exist?!?...

becky004

pinkgem wrote: »

charge actual postage costs plus a maximum of £1 extra for packaging and handling (p&p charges)

so there isn't much for anyone to mark down on unless royal mail or courier lose or delay my items

I got a comment for "postage a little excessive" when I had charged 8p over the actual postage cost! So I guess you could be marked down on it.

jasmineswhiskers

Just goes to show that half these star ratings will have been selected without much thought to them. Doesn't make much difference to the buyer, but to sellers wishing (and deserving) to maintain good ratings it's a losing battle.