4.8

caroline78

All my stars are 4.8 which isn't bad but I am annoyed at the postal one. I charge exact postal cost plus 10p for packaging. I say this in the listings and yet I am still getting marked down.

Any ideas ?

Crowqueen

Postal DSRs are usually slightly lower on average than other scores and I take that into account when setting my targets. Buyers perhaps think prices are too high overall, and so that feeds into how they mark sellers - I'd simply expect this as we all have the same pool of buyers and consequently eBay take their own benchmarks from the scores they have established in the past. Lows are really what count towards seller performance so make sure you don't have any and just try to keep the scores at or around that level by giving as good a service as possible.

However, I'd be more worried if your item description is 4.8 - most I've seen are 4.9 even if the other stars are poor and your buyer relies on how your items are described when buying at a distance. I would be focusing on your descriptions than on shaving off postal costs - though perhaps if you want to try something to bump it up, try integrating packaging into start price or going inclusive.

caroline78

My items aren't really things I can describe. They are things like PS3 games which are in excellent condition, gift sets which have never been opened, things that have no damage to explain...

caroline78

And dispatch...I say that I post within one working day. Time my listings to finish on a Sunday and post on the Monday if they have paid, if not I post the same day they pay.

Communication, I send a message thanking them for their purchase once I have posted.

lindseykim13

Always under promice and over deliver.
I have my dispatch set to 2 days with 2nd class postage so buyer aren't expecting their item very quickly-estimates are generally 6-8 days from payment according to ebay.
I then send my items the same day or next day still mostly using 2nd class. They then arrive 3-5days after payment, buyers are then happier to leave a better star imo.

techspec

How many low stars?

I put 3 days dispatch, and post next day. Better to surprise than disappoint.

1 day dispatch raises their expectations - and leaves little room for manoeuvre if something crops up. They also blame you if royal mail drag their feet.

As for postage - i add 15p to 50p - and all my stars are above 4.9

Are you using the cheapest post available? I suppose if someone uses parcel force and charges £10 at cost price - they might still mark down if you could have used collect plus at £5.

Crowqueen

lindseykim13 wrote: »

Always under promice and over deliver.
I have my dispatch set to 2 days with 2nd class postage so buyer aren't expecting their item very quickly-estimates are generally 6-8 days from payment according to ebay.
I then send my items the same day or next day still mostly using 2nd class. They then arrive 3-5days after payment, buyers are then happier to leave a better star imo.

Same here - that's a good way to go about it - I quote two days but usually dispatch either same day or the day after. It does mean that I sacrifice the auto-5* for comms but I'm confident enough in my communication skills not to worry about this. On Amazon there are targets so I use the same rule of thumb for eBay.

As for descriptions, make sure you have a photo of the actual item (a scanner is good for flat items like game boxes) rather than stock photos and note any damage to the box. You say your items don't need descriptions, but some things actually need more than you might think, particularly if they are used.

Your stars aren't bad - they are on eBay's targets and as long as you have no lows I would concentrate on giving good service rather than worrying about buyers marking you low - that is, what you have control over is the important part. If you begin to stress, you lose trust in your buyers and you lose the incentive/will to treat them well. If you don't do anything wrong and don't have any lows, make some adjustments but don't start to descend into ranting on listings or admonishing the people who are paying you.

That will definitely see you losing ground.

purple321

My p&p is on 4.8 too and I charge 30p over stamp price. One person bought 6 items off me so I combined cheapest I could and it was only 5p over stamp price, they left 3's! It did go down to 4.6 just after they did this even though I had no lows it looked bad!