The detailed Seller Ratings on eBay are confusing to many buyers and sellers.  Why?  Because the new detailed ratings are not clear on what it means to be a 5-star-seller versus a 1-star-seller, or on how one should be rating the sellers with which one deals.  My goal is that by the end of this guide and the next one (Giving the Stars your Seller Deserves) you will have a better understanding of the eBay star system and will be able to use the eBay rubric to help guide you in leaving stars for your seller, or if you are a seller, working towards earning those stars.

While eBay is trying to find ways to help buyers know which sellers are performing, and which are not, they have not clearly stated what it means to be getting these stars and what one needs to be doing to get them, and it can be overwhelming for those new to eBay.  The new system has potential, but is sadly just as weak as the old system with a new set of issues at hand.  Now a seller can get a bad star rating just because of misunderstanding, and in the confusion sellers who are still not performing can receive great stars.  What eBay has done with this new system is essentially asked people to make judgments without giving them the right tools to make those judgments.

Some people have no idea how they should rate a seller or what to do with this whole star thing – so they don’t leave any stars.  Some buyers even think - why does it matter if I leave stars? This lack of input hurts both buyers and sellers. When a buyer leaves no stars, future buyers have no idea if the seller is doing a good job or not, so they are making a less informed decision than they could otherwise.  On the flip side, no stars left, means sellers who are doing a good job can’t show it any more than sellers who are not doing a good job.  Then you have some people, who feel that giving all 3’s is a good starting place because it is neither good or bad, while others don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings so they give all 5’s, even if the seller doesn’t deserve it.

This is an arbitrary system because asking buyers to assess sellers without giving them knowledge in how to do so is like giving a driver’s license to a teenager without ever teaching him first about the rules of the road and how to drive.  Do you really want this person on the road with you? Seriously, there will be some teens who get it right away, and that’s awesome, but for the most part, driver beware, just as buyer/seller beware of the lost and misguided star-ratings.  This is especially so for a FIRST time buyer.  To what do they have to compare their experience with the eBay seller? Can he make a valid assessment when he is unfamiliar with the way eBay works?  People who are both buyers and sellers often have a different set of standards they use to make their decision than those who are just buyers.  All of these discrepancies make for an invalid system of assessment.

So, how can we take a system that is supposed to help buyers and sellers and make it more valid?  What did eBay miss?  They missed informing what the stars really mean – for that you need what is called a rubric.  A rubric, for those not familiar, is a device to help you ‘see’ what it means to earn one star versus earning five of them.  A rubric means everyone is looking at the same set of information in the same way, using the same criteria – they are basing their opinion on something that has a specific outcome.

What this means is that, if Joe Jr. ordered an item from Seller B he is forming his opinions based on the same criteria as Joe Sr. ordering from the same seller, even though they are two completely different people with their own feelings. NOTE: It doesn’t mean they will get the same answer – it means they judge the same item the same way no matter who is selling the item.  It means that if the item is broken Joe Jr. doesn’t say well, I don’t want to hurt his feelings so he still gets a 5, and Joe Sr. says well the seller should have known better so he gets a 1, it means they both look at HOW the item was packaged.  What should the seller really get?  First, the seller should really get an email and a chance to work out the issue, and from there the star-rating can be better determined.  Okay, now how would you rate this one – A seller who packaged the item poorly, but by some fortune the item shows up at your house not broken?  You got it – why should they get a 5 star for luck? On the other hand if that’s the case, make sure you communicate, because how will they know to correct the problem unless they know what it is that they need to fix.

Some sellers are asking people to give them 5 stars, but I haven’t seen 5 star performances in many of those sellers.  Are they trying to cheat the system?  No.  Have they gone the extra mile?  No.  Well how can both answers be no?  Easy, they have no idea of what it means to be a 5-star-seller and the buyer has yet a different idea.  Are you starting to see a pattern?  Everyone has his own idea of what it means to be good or great.  What we need to do is make sure everyone is “grading” based on the same information.  That way our opinions and feelings don’t interfere with actualities.  

What does it mean to be a 5-star-seller?   If you are doing the basics, the necessary to keep in business, that does not constitute a 5-star rating (nor does it mean you are a 3 either), on the other hand, someone who takes the time to respond to each request, and who lets you know where your package is, and when its ship date is should be recognized for putting forth a little extra effort.  These things will let other buyers know how the seller is performing in your view, still it’s a judgment call, but at least it’s consistent if you use a rubric to rate everyone based on the same values.  Not everyone feels the same level of performance deserves the same stars.  This is where the new system is weak.  eBay forgot to be clear and specific what the stars mean, they give a one word description, but everyone has their own ideas about those – so they can be interpreted very differently by multiple people. This does not make for a valid system.

Another thing I have seen occur: people are confusing shipping time with the amount of time it takes the postal system to deliver the product.  This is essentially out of the seller’s ability, the part of shipping he is in control of - is how quickly it is shipped from his location, not how long it takes the post office, UPS or others to deliver the product once it leaves the seller’s hands.  However, the stars I’ve seen on some sellers profiles are reflecting the postal time.  I like to look at when the item is shipped; it’s not fair to judge the seller by how long the post office takes.  Now if I paid for priority and I receive a lesser shipping route, then yes, I do take that into consideration.  One more thing, FREE shipping always gets a 5 even if it takes a long time to get the package – I mean come-on people, how many sellers are doing FREE shipping? They deserve the 5 for effort.

I have given lots of 5 star ratings, but I have also had the disappointment at having to give a lesser star.   I always try to buy again from the 5-star sellers, they truly deserve my hard earned buck.

See my Giving the Stars Your Seller Deserves for a rubric on what to look for when giving out stars.  It's not as scary as it might seem. :)