This is a follow up to My Guide: Understanding eBay's Star Rating : If you hover over the stars will see eBay has tried to give you some idea how to rate.  However, I think a little more detail could be used in each area of those stars as well as the performance area being ranked, because what exactly does it mean to be inaccurate, unsatisfied, very slow, or unreasonable?  How does one determine and is my ranking the same as the next guy?

The Rubrics below have been broken into each of eBay’s four categories with some additional detail about each area.  Hopefully it helps make it easier to give stars to your seller.  Sellers this can help you too.  If you are already doing all these things, then hopefully people will start rating you better.  If you are not then you know what areas you can improve if you so desire.

I have modified the rubrics outside of a table, because eBay's guides do not allow for larger pictures, and who can read this size rubric?


Item Description
How accurately did the seller describe his/her item, did s/he make an attempt to make sure you could make an informed decision, did he tell you about the flaws as well as the good-points?

Give 1 star for:
Very inaccurate - was the seller even looking at this item when deciding to list it?  It’s not what was described.  It is misrepresented.

Give 2 Stars for:
Inaccurate - seller could have been more clear about the flaws; I couldn’t tell from picture or description what I was really getting; not what I expected based on description; seller tried to make it sound better than it actually is when I have it in hand.

Give 3 Stars for:
Neither inaccurate nor accurate - more details would have helped make me a better decision between seller A and seller B, but acceptable.  I *might* have found this somewhere else cheaper for this quality

Give 4 Stars for:
Accurate - great description; I knew what I was getting and I did indeed receive what I expected

Give 5 Stars for:
Very accurate - wow, even better than expected; acknowledge flaws in description if there were any to note.


Communication
Did the seller attempt to answer your questions, make you aware of the transaction and when your item would arrive?

Give 1 Star for:
Very unsatisfied – never responded to my question(s), no response at all

Give 2 Stars for:
Unsatisfied – response time very slow; didn’t respond in time for me to make a decision before auction ended; canned reply not related to question

Give 3 Stars for:
Neither satisfied nor unsatisfied: Did not answer question in manner that helped make an informed decision, but at least responded

Give 4 stars for:
Satisfied – responded quickly to request, answered questions needed in timely manner

Give 5 stars for:
Very satisfied – communication even though none initiated on my part, seller sent a thank you for my purchase, made me feel like I were important, gave me important information about my purchase (i.e. tracking number or how to find it)


Shipping
This means how quickly the seller moved the product from his/her location to you, not the time in transit via the shipping service, that is out of the seller’s control, unless of course seller chose to ship via a different means than he or she charged you.  Was your item received in time if it was an event or holiday item?  Did the seller ship as quickly as he stated in his auction?

Give 1 Star for:
Very slowly – left me thinking where is my item for a lonnnng time; arrival of item weeks later with a postal date only a couple days from receive date, showing the shipper did not ship when stated; used a slower shipping method than auction stated

Give 2 Stars for:
Slowly –Auction stated ship within 24 hours and shipping date on package shows 3 days later with no explanation for delay; if the package dated shows any number of days after auction stated ship time with no explanation for delay or if lacking turn around time – give 3 days for ship date (not delivery).

Give 3 Stars for:
Neither slowly or quickly – shipped within a day of expected ship time; had an extended delay, but seller alerted me of expected delay

Give 4 Stars for:
Reasonable – seller shipped when stated, or alerted of me of any unusual delay within reason

Give 5 Stars for:
Very reasonable – upgraded your shipping at no cost to you to ensure you received you item on time (holidays, special events), shipped quicker than stated, shipped same day, shipped less than 24 hours, FREE shipping (see shipping and handling for more on this)


Shipping & Handling
These are the fees the seller charges to make sure you receive your item within the time period stated; he can pass on his fees for boxes, shipping materials and cost of shipping as well as insurance costs.  Sometimes insurance costs will bring the price of shipping up – the seller is just trying to make sure your item arrives whole and safe at its location; not make extra money.  If you paid for insurance or it says insurance included, it will show on the package that it is “insured”  - the USPS charges extra for insurance no matter the cost of the package; with the UPS it’s included up to a certain amount.  Some sellers include incidentals like the paper they print their invoices on and ink or whatever operating costs.  Even though it’s not a brick a motor place, they still have operating costs associated with managing inventory.  Not every seller does this; I think it’s mainly the bigger sellers or people who really depend on eBay for the main source of income not as a part-time income.

eBay is trying to crack down on over-charges in the shipping area so hopefully you see less and less 1 cent items with $11.00 shipping.  Be careful and watch the wording of items that seem very cheap.  I once thought I was buying one book for full shipping price (which was outrageous at $8.00 for a thin paperback, LOL) and additional books at 50 cents extra per book.  This 50 cent incentive is why I chose this seller over another.  I thought I was getting a good deal.  The seller then sent me an invoice for $72.00 for the 6 books – I was expecting an invoice for $34.50 (a huge difference).  The books were all paperbacks (10 pages) and only $4.00 a piece.  When I wrote to request the discount for additional books paid for at the same time per their own auction terms I was told – I had to buy the SAME book, not that I could pay at the same time.  That is not what the auction terms stated – so be VERY careful. Who want to have 6 of the same book?  Ask questions first.

Give 1 Star for:
Very unreasonable – Ummm, hello? I could have bought 2, 3, 10 of these items for the shipping cost, what’s this?  Discounts stated for multiple items purchased at the same time – but you don’t get the discount because suddenly the seller decides you have to buy the exact same item a number of times.  Charging for insurance, but no insurance submitted, charging considerably more than others shipping the same item

Give 2 Stars for:
Unreasonable – wow, sticker shock, the shipping cost more than the item; the shipping made the item cost more than new, the shipping would have been acceptable if the seller actually used the level of shipping I paid for instead of charging me higher and shipping slower; shipping cost too high to bother returning item not as described after seller states won’t refund shipping

Give 3 Stars for:
Neither unreasonable nor reasonable – seller probably made a buck or two off shipping, but it’s tolerable, item was hard to find or rare and worth the additional expense to make sure I was able to get it; a little higher than others but not so much so that I felt the sting, found the same item with free shipping and see that shipping didn’t cost what seller said, but still reasonable charges

Give 4 Stars for:
Reasonable – within a few dollars of cost to ship; item is still less with included shipping than you would have found somewhere else; shipping doesn’t matter to you as long as you have the item, LOL

Give 5 Stars for:
Very reasonable – at cost, no additional fees for packaging or other mailing materials; less than you would ship for if you were shipping the same item to the same location; FREE, seriously, how can you rate FREE as less than 5 stars?  It doesn’t matter how long it took in the end (unless it was a specific event on a specific day, then you should pay for expedited anyway) FREE is worth of 5 stars in the Shipping and handling area.  If you pay for an item that has an expiration date (like an event) – make sure the shipping method to your area will be sufficient for it to arrive on time – it not CHANGE your shipping method and pay the extra, contact the seller and let him know right away.


If my guide has helped you please be sure to vote and send your friends to vote, so we can all be rating sellers based on their actual performances.