eBay to launch new feedback system in 8 markets

[Guest]

[kbmum]

This is going to be interesting.

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200703070938342.html

[HPfamily]

Hmmm! Yes it will be!!

[tialessa]

Oh wow!  That should help though!

"Detailed Seller Ratings – In addition to the current positive, negative or neutral comment, buyers rate their sellers on specific transaction aspects -- Item Description, Communication, Shipping time and Shipping & Handling Charges. Scores are based on a conventional 1 to 5 scale, with 1 being the lowest and 5 the being the highest rating. The average score for each rating is displayed on the seller's Feedback Profile page."

[kbmum]

That sounds great, but I'm concerned about the shipping time category.  A seller has control over when a package is shipped, but not over the amount of time it takes for delivery.  I had a problem a couple of weeks ago with this.  I sold two autographed baseballs to two buyers on the West Coast.  One was in California and the other in Washington.  Both packages were mailed the same day (within hours of receiving payment), using the same shipping method (Parcel Post).  The one that went to Washington arrived in five days, but the one to California took 26 days!   Fortunately, the buyer was understanding (I had delivery confirmation and paid for insurance out of my own pocket because the buyer didn't) and even left me positive feedback.

If the new system had been in place, would the buyer have given me a 1 for shipping time?

[HPfamily]

We'll have to start posting in our auctions that items will be shipped, with
tracking, within XX(24 for example) hrs of payment received but the seller is
not responsible for any delays of delivery caused by the post.  Or something
like that. 

[erevine]

Another point to keep in mind with this proposed new system is the shipping and handling charges. As we have seen eBay fees continue to spiral upward. I know that it is with the shipping and handling fees that many sellers try to recoup these fees. If there is a subcategory for rating shipping and handling, will that not put many sellers at a disadvantage while trying to recoup some of these fees. It seems that eBay is working steadily to squeezing the occasional seller out, in favor of eBay stores and eBay express. eBay was started with the part time seller having a major impact on this companies good fortune and some areas prehaps should not be rated, so everyone that has contributed to eBays success, does not get squeezed out.

[beatles99]

Another thing I'm not thrilled about this system is that NOT every postal times and rates are the same for every country..since I've been selling I have found that shipping from Canada is a hell of allot more expensive than America...we have a postal system serving 25 million, they have a system serving 250 million...and we have more ground to cover...So my question is......you should have a low rating because Sam in Buffalo NY got an package from California..and also got an exact package from me and got charged more than double the cost.....and the kicker is that Buffalo is 34 miles across a lake from me, California is about 2500 miles, so he's going to think price fixing and give you a low score ??

[bush360]

Yeah i have no problem with the changes apart from the Shipping category as each persons expectations are different some people think because it is the internet it should be dispatched the next day I try to dispatch my goods within 48 hours of recieving payment and international packages normally are dispatched within 5 days of payment as i have to take them to the post office myself. I will be concerned as smaller sellers such as me who do it part time will suffer as I dont have the time to adopt to my hobby as a full time dealer.

[Galea]

Definitely not looking forward to this. Im afraid the ones getting a 5 for S&H will be those charging $.80 for S&H and sending their items by express mail .

[mcgonagall]

that would be so true i think i already hate the idea it is not that i charge alot for postage and if i do overcharge i send the differance back to them. but i think this is there way of getting more negs

[Sharon]

Well I have just left my first feedback under the new system.  I gave the seller 5 stars for everything because I was completely happy with the transaction - the postage wasn't outrageously cheap but was totally fair.  At the risk of offending some people (which I don't mean to do) if a seller is upping the postage to include their Ebay/Paypal fees then they deserve to get poor ratings.  I agree that Ebay charges are getting out of hand but then you should start your auction at a price that reflects the minimum amount you want for the item plus the charges you will incur.

One thing I absolutely hate is that the item you have bought now appears on the Feedback Profile.  I know you could always click on the item number and see what was bought but you now have the item title for all to see.  I often taunt Boggy with the fact that I have more feedbacks than him ( ) but as a lot of the stuff is surprise presents I can't do that anymore 

[Morningangel-Iola]

I personally like it, and it may stop nuteual feed back if there was one part of the prosses you weren't happy with. Also its a average so anyone thats means you average out with those that aren't. It was all a bit vague before, some times I would look to see if they were fast with delivery or not, not because I wouldn't be if they were slow, but it would give me an idea when to expect it, now this should help me.

[blackcat20]

I often add an extra doller to postage costs, to go towards fees, but they far from cover it, and I dont think that makes me a bad person. The number of Aussies that insist on paying by paypal, despite the fact I clearly state that I dont accept it, and where bank deposit is free for everyone, really irks me, and that extra doller goes towards covering me for those idiots...

Havent tried the new feedback system yet; seems like a good idea on paper, but Ill be pretty peeved if I get a low rating based on something like transit time...

[Sharon]

Kate adding an extra dollar is, in my opinion, totally OK but when some sellers are adding an extra $10 then that deserves poor scores.

[blackcat20]

definately! Ive paid outrageous amounts, only to recieve an envelope with a $2 postage stamp on the front, which I find really irritating. I did complain once; I requested priority mailing with insurance, and the card arrived in a standard envelope with standard postage....I insisted on a refund of the difference, and I got it.

[erevine]

Since eBay will not allow sellers to request fee reimbursement in there listings and shipping and handling is the only way to try to recoup these fees, it is not unreasonable to add this to the shipping and handling. As Sharon stated one can always start there auctions at the price they will accept or with a reserve price, but both of these only increase the fees that eBay charges and makes those fee harder to afford.  The difference in the U.S. between listing an item to start at .99 cents and starting one at $50.00 is approximately $2.00 extra in the listing fee. There is also no guarantee that you will even get any bids on a $50.00 item. Which means you could lose all the listing fees without any result. I am dead set against any evaluation for shipping and handling costs. In most cases people list there shipping and handling fees up front with their auction listings. If a person has trouble with these fees then let them bid or not bid accordingly.
eBay is trying to fee itself out of business, first are the listing fees, that have increased, then the ending value fees, and if you accept PayPal there are also those fees, and is not the effort to post listings and package and deliver those packages to be mailed worth anything.

[Sharon]

eBay is trying to fee itself out of business, first are the listing fees, that have increased, then the ending value fees, and if you accept PayPal there are also those fees, and is not the effort to post listings and package and deliver those packages to be mailed worth anything.

I couldn't agree more.  It is a case of now they are so well known they think they can cash in.  I can't wait until someone starts up another big auction site, one that goes back to how Ebay was at the beginning.  Don't get me wrong, I buy tons of stuff on Ebay and if it wasn't for them there is lots of things I could never get hold of.  They just seem to be pricing the casual seller out of the market.

The only thing I would say is that quite often the postage and packing isn't listed in the item, it is by request only.  Luckily many of the cards I buy from the US do show the UK postage but some of the other bits I buy, even from the UK, won't state the P&P up front.  As you say on these auction it is just a choice of whether to bid or not.

[kbmum]

If a seller doesn't state the shipping price in the auction, I'll send an email asking for the exact cost.  I won't bid if the seller doesn't respond.  I hate it when a seller says they'll quote shipping after the end of the auction, because then you know that they'll charge more if the item doesn't sell for much.

[beatles99]

that happened to me once....bought an item for 99 cents and the seller wanted $21.00 to ship after the auction.....paid $8.50 for shipping which I thought was very generous and they said no way...so I told him to put where the sun doesn't shine....out come......minus my $9.49 and bad feedback left against me and bloody Ebay wouldn't do anything about such robbery

[kbmum]

I thought there was some recourse for excessive shipping fees, but maybe that policy became effective after your bad experience?