Newbie on ebay to watch out for - will leave low star ratings

[fingerpaints]

I just had a transaction with mursulandia that I am pretty upset over. I actually messaged her letting ehr know her items were on the way, and to please leave nothing less than 5 star positive unless she had contacted me to resolve the issue first.
 
No contact, and she left me lower star ratings for postage, which I charged ACTUAL COST, nothing more. I really don't see what the problem is with reading the bloody stamp at the top corner of your parcel to check costs before leaving feedback. It's not my fault that you a) purchased an item from overseas b) didn't ask for a postage quote first and c) didn't give me any chance to explain this to you because you are obviously not intelligent enough to put two and two together.
 
Anyone purchasing from overseas should understand its not overcharging, simply what the post office is charging for the parcel to reach you >.<

[hilamb]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Anyone buying something overseas should know that postage will be way more that buying from your own country. Thanks for letting us know.

[hathorcat]

Sorry you have had that sweetie!! [[[hugs]]]

Can ebay do anything about unfairly left DSRs? They are so unfair on a seller...I have had a couple in the past because of shipping with international buyers - unfortunately some people dont realise international post takes longer and is more expensive than domestic shipping...its so unfair.

[fingerpaints]

Thanks ladies for the replies - I don't think ebay really cares about it's sellers enough, last time I contacted them about this sort of thing I was hung up on which didn't please me at all. I am more just ranting really, it did effect my star rating a little, but its overall pretty good and I do think most reasonable people would see I work hard to keep my customers happy (a little too hard I think)

Ebay needs to get rid of the DSR star thing, it is a logistical nightmare for most honest sellers, and isn't being used correctly by customers.

If they wish to keep it, as a seller we should be able to leave DSR's for buyers as well or bring back the neg / neutral thing for sellers. I have promptly blocked her from buying from me again & sent her a detailed message stating I am not happy about it and the reasons why, and also asking why I wasn't contacted first.

I do know postage was insane for the particular parcel, but once it goes over 500g from Australia to anywhere, it is insane charges, unfortunately, it went over 500g - nothing I can do to control that.

[ponylady]

Sorry to hear that Paints
 
I blame ebay for this sort of thing.  They push free shipping down sellers throats and make the buyer believe that this is how it should be.  So when they get there item they feel cheated that they were charged.
 
I will be more than happy to offer free shipping when ebay starts footing the bill for it.  I just did my taxes and I realized I paid out over $3,000 just in shipping.  Granted I charge for shipping but think about it?

[Maniah]

The only way I can see to offer free shipping, is to add it in to the items starting cost.. But then you have an item that starts priced super high just so you can profit, and it looks horrible when compared to others with low prices.

[hathorcat]

I dont understand ebays desperation to force sellers to offer free shipping...sometimes I think the next thing they will do away with is auctions so that everything is a buy it now...like a marketplace Amazon.

Free shipping is an interesting idea domestically but when you are selling a common G3 and get 99p to £2 for it...free shipping becomes silly and if you build shipping into the basic starting price then you wont get any buyers because it makes the pony too expensive for what it is...

The problem in a community like ours is so much is international - lets face it unless you specifically avoid international sales/purchases if you look at how much you buy/sell domestically and internationally I would guess most people will have a 50/50 split or maybe more international than domestic. And free international shipping is unreasonable and unfair on some people who live in countries with excessively high postage prices [sorry Aus, NZ and Canada!!!]

[fingerpaints]

And free international shipping is unreasonable and unfair on some people who live in countries with excessively high postage prices [sorry Aus, NZ and Canada!!!]

Thankyou lol - this is exactly why I state in all my auctions right up the top in big red lettering -

"BEFORE PLACING A BID: Please ask for a postage quote, costs are my costs to post the item to you alone, I do not charge for packaging or handling fees, postage only, however, I do send everything registered, within Australia this is an extra charge of $3.05AU, overseas it varies depending on the weight & where it is going to. Please be aware overseas postage can be pricey, and this is something I can not do anything about. I do offer combined postage and am more than happy to let you know how much to send one or multiple items before you place a bid. Please be aware that the price shown for postage in the listing may not be correct."

That is a direct copy & paste out of the finished auction. There is one small line of text above it. I don't know how much more straight up front I can be for people, including newbies.

I am just glad most people are good about it and are leaving me good feedback as well as 5 star positives



Post Merge: March 08, 2012, 05:46:43 PM

I got a message back from her stating that it was a mistake and that she would try to be more careful when leaving feedback next time, I am glad that my rating is up, it just upsets me when I strive so hard to try to keep a good rating, and try to educate people about what the star system is as ebay doesn't care, but you still have lower star ratings left.

I just hope it will be a lesson for her with other purchases she makes in the future, and that hopefully unless the seller actually deserves the rating, that she will leave a higher rating or at least contact the seller first.

[Ringlets]

Lets hope she does learn from this experience. I'm sorry you had to deal with another ebay pain though Paints   I know what you mean about the DSR and international buyers *sigh* some people expect international parcels to be as quick and as cheap as if they bought something locally, and when it doesnt happen that way they are super fast to lower the star ratings    Ebay really needs to make some changes

[fingerpaints]

Just another update, I had another seller leave a comment stating they didn't recieve everything as pictured, when in fact they just didn't check the box propery, or contact me first. This one should have known better as they had a rating in the 70+ area. Username - christophers2469

I've also promptly blocked and left a reply to the feedback left, even though it was positive, it had a negative tone to it. I personally think that its just common courtousy to message first THEN leave the crappy feedback if the seller doesn't do anything to help or explain the situation.

[Maniah]

And free international shipping is unreasonable and unfair on some people who live in countries with excessively high postage prices [sorry Aus, NZ

Thankyou lol - this is exactly why I state in all my auctions right up the top in big red lettering -

"BEFORE PLACING A BID: Please ask for a postage quote, costs are my costs to post the item to you alone, I do not charge for packaging or handling fees, postage only, however, I do send everything registered, within Australia this is an extra charge of $3.05AU, overseas it varies depending on the weight & where it is going to. Please be aware overseas postage can be pricey, and this is something I can not do anything about. I do offer combined postage and am more than happy to let you know how much to send one or multiple items before you place a bid. Please be aware that the price shown for postage in the listing may not be correct."

That is a direct copy & paste out of the finished auction. There is one small line of text above it. I don't know how much more straight up front I can be for people, including newbies.

I am just glad most people are good about it and are leaving me good feedback as well as 5 star positives



Post Merge: March 08, 2012, 05:46:43 PM

I got a message back from her stating that it was a mistake and that she would try to be more careful when leaving feedback next time, I am glad that my rating is up, it just upsets me when I strive so hard to try to keep a good rating, and try to educate people about what the star system is as ebay doesn't care, but you still have lower star ratings left.

I just hope it will be a lesson for her with other purchases she makes in the future, and that hopefully unless the seller actually deserves the rating, that she will leave a higher rating or at least contact the seller first.

There is a way you can request a feedback review. This sends the buyer an option to redo the feedback they left you. This can only be done once though. I had someone do it with me because I left neutral feedback after not hearing from them in two weeks. I'm just not sure how to actually get to the page where you can do it.

[tootie_tails]

I dont understand ebays desperation to force sellers to offer free shipping...sometimes I think the next thing they will do away with is auctions so that everything is a buy it now...like a marketplace Amazon.

What is this ebay pushing for free shipping some of you are talking about? This is the first I hear about it. (I don't sell on ebay)

Free shipping is an interesting idea domestically but when you are selling a common G3 and get 99p to £2 for it...free shipping becomes silly and if you build shipping into the basic starting price then you wont get any buyers because it makes the pony too expensive for what it is...

I think the auction sites are trying to discourage people from selling low value items. I have noticed this on tradera as well. They charge (proportionally) higher fees for auctions that end low. For low value items the fees can be like 60% of the amount... in fact you can even lose out, as in item selling for x, fees being more than x.
As a result people tend to sell items in lots more often than before. Which in turn brings less money than when selling individually - at least with ponies.
I guess for the auction sites it's more convenient and cheaper this way, as fewer auctions means less work for them.

[ThriftyPony]

I know how you feel. I get people messaging me on etsy all the time asking if I can lower the shipping - I charge actual price plus $0.70 for delivery confirmation. I often even lose money on shipping. :/ There's no way around shipping costs. And they keep getting more expensive all the time.