ABOUT LEAVING FEEDBACK FOR YOUR SELLER!

You, Dear Buyer, are the customer, the very reason we sellers are in business. Without you, we are nothing.  We appreciate and need you. To continue to have choice and variety, you also need us. EBay has made it the buyer's responsibility to keep us seller's here! How's that, you say? Through your feeback ratings, of course!

Feedback is now even more important for your seller!  EBay's new policy allows buyers to leave seller feedback ratings on 4 categories, each based on a 1-5 rating scale, with 5 being the best, 4 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and so on.

The average person thinks, WOW, a 5, they'd have to blow me out of the water to get that! But hey, 4 is GOOD, right? And nothing's wrong with satisfactory, right?

WRONG!!!!  A 4 is NOT GOOD for your seller!!  It's BAD! And satisfactory? Just kill me now! It's really BAD!!  Satisfactory is NOT acceptable on EBay for a seller!  And this is why:

Your seller gets DSR's (Detailed Seller Ratings) from EBay through buyer feedback ratings input in 4 categories:

• Item as Described
• Communication
• Shipping Time
• Shipping Cost

If a seller does not carry and maintain a 4.3 DSR in each category, they can no longer sell!  And there goes lots of good buys for EBay's buyers just like you!!

Here's the problem:

A Buyer rates a seller a 5, next buyer rates the seller a 4.  Now we have a total of nine (5+4), but divide that by 2 (# of buyers) and seller DSR = 4.5 (still ok).  If the next buyer rates the seller a 4 also, we have a total of 13 (5+4+4) divided by 3 and the seller DSR = 4.3 (still ok, but barely).  But if the next buyer rates the seller a 4 (which is supposed to be good, right?), then we have a total of 17 (5+4+4+4) divided by 4 and the seller DSR drops to 4.2.

If EBay was school, and the grading scale was a 5 point scale, then 5=A, 4=B, 3=C, 2=D and 1=F.  By this scale, all "B" students (anyone with less than 4.3, and a B is only 4.0 on this scale) would flunk out or be expelled! ONLY "A" students would get to stay in school or be considered acceptable students!

Take a look at this:  One buyer loves seller, rates a 5, next buyer says seller's ok, nothing to shout about but I was satisfied, rates a 3. Now 5+3 = 8, divide by 2 = 4.0! Can you hear the funeral derge? Death of a more than satisfactory seller!

Now take a gander at this one: Power Seller with 5000 ratings, 1 of which is a negative feedback. 1/3 rated 5, 1/3 rated 4, 1/3 rated 3 and 1 person gives negative feedback with a 1 rating = 1667 x 5, 1666 x 4, 1666 x 3, 1 x 1 = 8335 + 6664 + 4998 + 1 = 19998 divided by 5001 (5000 + 1 negative) = 3.9!!  Granted one buyer was very unhappy, but at least 2/3 of this seller's buyers liked, or really liked, the product and service, and the remaining 1/3 was satisfied, yet the seller is GONE!

The seller, any seller whose DSR drops below 4.3, loses the right to sell, even though his buyers ratings were overall GOOD or SATISFACTORY, and the buyer, all buyers, lose great buys from a GOOD seller!

And consider this:  a NEW seller must have 10 ratings before the seller DSR goes into effect.  If this seller gets less than 3 buyers to give a 5 rating that seller is DONE, SUSPENDED, CAN NOT SELL (2 buyers x 5 + 8 buyers x 4 = 10 + 32 = 42 divided by 10 = 4.2!)

So please Buyers, be fair in your ratings and feedback!  And if I may suggest a guideline or questions to ask yourself as you leave feedback for your seller:

Item as Described:  IS the item:

1. what was described or pictured in the ad?
2. in the condition that was stated?
3. described by the seller honestly & forthrightly, was the description accurate?

Did you get what you think you were getting. If not, is it the sellers description or your anticipation of what the item would be. Did you go back and read the ad, look at the picture?  IS it accurate?

Communication:  DID the Seller:

1. answer your emails (personally or through eBay / PayPal notifications)?
2. send you an invoice; if not, was it even needed, did you pay immediately?
3. refuse to communicate, or need to communicate with you?

Did you need to hear personally from the seller? Did you have quesitons the seller refused to answer?  Did you give the seller enough time to answer? Was there no communication needed, and therefore you don't need to leave a rating at all on this item?

Shipping Time:  DID the Seller:

1. ship the item within the time limit stated in the ad?
2. provide you with a shipping notification from eBay or PayPal or another venue?
3. ship with the standard or expedited (rush) shipping method you chose?

     Please remember that once the seller delivers your item to the shipper (USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc.) the seller has NO CONTROL OVER THE TIME IT TAKES TO ARRIVE! Ever have a payment get lost in the mail yourself, take a week to get across town, or never show up at all? Was that your fault or the shippers?

Shipping Costs: DID the Seller:

1. state the shipping costs in the ad?
2. mislead you in any way about what the charges would be before you purchased?
3. NOT state the costs in the ad?  And if so, did YOU inquire BEFORE you purchased?

     Again, please remember that "Shipping Costs" is not just postage, it's handling charges also, things like:

• Packaging Material - boxes, stuffing, tape, labels
• Selling Expenses - paper, ink, time to package
• Other Expenses - gathering supplies (time & gas), transportation time, gas to deliver your item to the shipper, and a ton of things that are item specific