Ebays’ feedback system is at the heart of the way that the site works. Without it there would be absolutely no way of knowing who you could trust and who you should avoid which is why it is crucial that buyers leave honest feedback for sellers that they’ve dealt with.
This was highlighted for me recently when a seller suggested that I rate them highly to avoid them losing their Top-Rated Seller status rather than rating them on their service.
For those of you that don’t know Top Rated Seller status is automatically applied by eBay for sellers who meet the following criteria:
- they consistently earn 4 or 5 star ratings
- must seller an average of £750 (in the UK) or $3000 (in the US) worth of sales per month , and have at least 100 sales each year
Ebay regularly updates these figures and can take away a sellers Top-Rated Seller status just as easily as they can give it. Now I’m pretty sure that having Top-Rated Seller status translates into more sales so it’s something to work towards and to protect once you have got it.
So what happened to me ?
On Wednesday February 24th I bought a book from a UK-based Top-Rated Seller. As I am in the UK I was expecting it to arrive quickly. In fact I was counting on it because it was a gift. The listing was showing that they had at least ten in stock so I was expecting it to arrive within a few days perhaps even by the weekend.
The following day (Thursday Febraury 25th) I got an automatically generated email confirming my order so I assumed that the book was on its way.
Not until a week later on Thursday March 4th did I get an email telling me that the book was being despatched. Now to qualify for Top-Rated Seller status sellers need to despatch an item quickly. I’ve scoured the eBay site to find a defination for ‘despatch an item quickly’ but didn’t find one but I’m pretty sure that five working days is not quickly !
Had the book not been in stock couldn’t they have sent me an email just to let me know ?
Annoyingly the book didn’t arrive until the beginning of this week (Monday 8th March) a full 10 working days after I ordered it.
Ok, so I might have let it go had I not received an email from the seller containing the following:
If a seller receives more than a few Detailed Seller Ratings (DSR) of less than five eBay feedback stars, then they will be significantly penalized. You may think that you are leaving a reasonable rating by giving a seller DSR’s of 4, but eBay’s feedback system treats anything less than a 5 eBay feedback stars as sub-standard and penalizes sellers for DSR ratings that average under 4.60.
Oh right, so they are asking me, no, virtually blackmailing me into giving them a five star rating so that they don’t lose their Top-Seller Rating !? What happened to the idea of earning a top rating ?
As you can imagine I didn’t leave them five star ratings, at least not for their communication and speed of despatch.
In fact when I went back to look at their listings I noticed that they lost their Top-Rated Seller status. Something that doesn’t surprise me. Perhaps I’m being too hard on them.
Maybe there was a valid reason why they took so long to ship the book out. Maybe they were over-run with orders. Maybe the owners were away for a few days. Whatever the reason though, what’s wrong with communicating with the buyer ?
Have you had any similar experiences ? If so, leave a comment and let us know.
Filed under: Selling
Trackback Uri
Heh Phil
Just to let you know i am a power seller on ebay .Nothin big ,but maybe 1 day . Anyhow ,unfortunately people run their ebay business like they run there lives . Some offer great service , outstanding communication and quick shipping. While others ,well kinda miss the mark here ! Mistakes ,like in any business, are sometimes made. The real test is when that happens,how the seller handles this opportunity. They can either make a customer for life /or never see them again.
Communication is the key . an extra email detailing the problem and the attempt to fix it goes a long way in the customers eyes.
Great site and keep up the good work.
Frank
Phil,
I do agree, a simple email explaining what the issue is does go a long way. I am also a top rated powerseller on ebay and my feedback score is only 158 right now.
It is safe to say that when you are selling you should put yourself in the buyers shoes. I do this and it helps alot when dealing with any problems.
Love your sites !
After I finish this post and catch up on the day’s emails, I’m going to go to eBay and file a complaint and request a refund for a similar situation. Paid for my goods 3 weeks ago, have not heard anything from the seller, and have not received replies to my two emails requesting shipping information. This is a highly-rated Australian seller, and I will be giving them a very bad rating. And it’s so unnecessary, all they had to do is reply to one of my emails and say we’re out of stock and will be shipping in a couple of weeks. I don’t understand why people with internet businesses don’t understand that it IS a business and they MUST use good business practices. Which means reply when a customer asks for information.
Good customer service, is nothing other than kindness.
Yes, it’s good business practice too. But anyone who has a developed sense of kindness, will automatically provide good customer service. Why? Because they care.
Putting yourself into your customer’s situation and pretending that YOU are that customer, should always prompt one to respond quickly and with sincere interest.
Mark
Customer service or lack of is big problem for some eBay Business. I think eBay Businesses fail because they don’t get back to customer to ease their concerns or solve their issues.
I am a power seller on ebay, 2 days away from being top rated. First of all I do understand there are many sellers on eBay who are dishonest, but I do not think alot of people shopping on eBay realize how difficult it is to sell and to keep your ratings high. I have about 1500 listings going at a time, if not more, and it is a 9-6 job for me. I put out so much product that no it is not always sent out the day that you pay for it and many people want it to be. It is clearly stated what the prices are, what shipping time is, and where you can contact me with any questions or concerns. I answer messages all day M-F the hours that I mentioned, I take extra pictures, give extra information, give deals, inform customers if their item is in no condition to ship or has been misplaced promptly AND still have customers give me negatives and low DSRs. Us sellers will always mess up somewhere, we just hope it is not with the wrong person.
I do think there are sellers who give all sellers a bad name, leaving ebay and their customers just as fast as they got on, but the sellers who are honest in their listings and message their customers back should not be penalized because of the bad eggs!
I would just like all eBay customers to remember to communicate with your seller to allow them to provide you with the best customer service they can. Do not put it all on the seller, and the seller should not put it all on the buyer. I will leave you all with this: 3 to eBay does NOT mean average, 4 does NOT mean satisfactory!!