Monday, May 19th, 2008

Knowing Where You Stand

In an AB Post today regarding changes in eBay Marketplace policies, John McDonald, Sr. Director of US Trust & Safety said the top-line reasoning behind these changes is to “create more choice and selection for buyers and make it easier for them to find what they’re looking for. Second, these policy changes add flexibility, convenience and cost-savings for our sellers.”

And there is some great news here. For instance, the Choice Policy (good name for a policy that actually limited choice), is being eliminated so that sellers can now list items in different sizes, color, etc. in a single listing. This helps buyers with a more convenient shopping experience and provides sellers with relief on insertion fees.

But what I want to focus on here at Ink is the expansion of the Seller Dashboard and Best Match rankings because they are intertwined and very relevant to the issue of transparency. I would go so far as to say that a lack of transparency in the recent past has both pulled us away from our roots and hindered our relationship with the community. However, I’ve been encouraged, since joining the company in January, that the concept of transparency is being so widely embraced. It’s definitely something everyone is trying to get better at doing (how else would we have got this blog up and running with comments to begin with?).

The Dashboard is a significant step forward in making eBay a more transparent company with which to do business. And in the interests of transparency, it seems that we are disclosing some issues with Best Match ranking that were perhaps not made abundantly clear:

Since launch, we’ve been monitoring and making adjustments. Some of our adjustments will result in a larger number of sellers with below average performance scores being lowered in Best Match search results. If either of the following conditions apply to you, the visibility of your listings may be reduced:
- Your shipping cost DSR is 4.5 and below
- Your buyer satisfaction rate (shown on the dashboard) appears as “needs improvement,” “poor” or “unacceptable.”

The good? Sellers with 4.7 and above (on all DSRs) should start to see an additional boost in their search standing in Best Match (yes, the announcement is another outbound communication from eBay hammering home the message that sellers are being rewarded for providing the best possible buying experience at the expense of those sellers that are simply “good” rather than “great”).

What I’m interested in hearing about from you though, when the Seller Dashboard is unveiled later this week, is whether or not it is providing you with the information and transparency you need in order to make your business decisions? Is it really letting you know where you stand in the marketplace?

Here are links to some key docs associated with the news today:
Policy Changes FAQ
Seller Non-Performance Policy
Circumventing Fees
Chance Policy
Links Policy
Tips for Improving DSRs

Cheers,
RBH

Tagged: buyers, dsr, ebay, ecommerce, feedback, john+mcdonald, policy+changes, seller+dashboard, sellers, transparency

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370 Responses on this post. Click to add yours.

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MistyOn 05.22.2008 at 12:28 pm Said:

No have not listed anything in almost a year due to personal issues just returned a little over a month ago when all these changes were just taking place so have not listed anything more yet.

kimbersOn 05.22.2008 at 12:30 pm Said:

Richard,

I find it ironic that you titled this article Knowing Where You Stand.

I knew exactly where I stood before eBay decided to implement a retro-active policy that punished me (and others) for something that was handled when it happened, in the middle of all the other changes they are implementing.

The sad thing is that I am pretty confident that had my customer known that his neutral was anything other than a neutral, he would not have bothered to leave it at least without contacting me first.

Had eBay said that from this day forward, all neutrals are going to have a negative implication, I would not have liked it but I would accepted it.

All the bells and whistles, even potentially useful ones (like dashboard for example) cannot change the fact that eBay has blown a hole in my selling reputation. Even as a small seller, I worked hard to earn the trust of my buyers because I was always aware that their satisfaction reflected not just on me but on the eBay brand too.

Feel free to look up my ID if you want to see what I mean. It’s skylab2.

JJHOn 05.22.2008 at 12:48 pm Said:

The dashboard provides interesting, but not very useful information that was already available elsewhere. In fact, the dashboard has some serious bugs. On the main screen it won’t show me any DSR “30 day averages” because it says I need 10 or more DSR’s, yet I have 60. It will only show “12 month yours/12 month eBay”, and all of those are way above the minimum accceptable. If I go to the Buyer Satisfaction page, then it shows me 30 day average DSR’s. So which is it? A moment ago I had the policy bar (that said “Good”), and now it’s gone. I had a listing taken down last month for unintentional “keyword spamming” and was assured by customer service that this would not be held against me. (how many of you know you can no longer use the phrase “like new” in a item title? show of hands please.) Not held against me eh?? There is was showing on the policy violation page (when I was able to get at it) slapping me on the wrist.

I have “Standard” search standing (and I don’t understand how they calculate that - been through all the pages). I don’t understand how one gets “raised”.

I have “Good” buyer satisfaction, I have “Good” account standing, and I had “Good” policy adherence, but that icon has gone away as I said and I can’t find it again.

The Powerseller section is interesting, showing you where you stand in real time against each class.

Opinion: Not sure if this is all that useful or not. It’s really just eye candy.

SharonOn 05.22.2008 at 12:58 pm Said:

A few posts back I stated what my dashboard shows. Anyone have any idea why I would be lowered in search and it would say my customer service needs work?

Unfortunately, I don’t have anyone to call.

I had one neutral but it was mutually withdrawn. I have not listed since January and no complaints against me. I wrote to customer service but who knows how long that will take.

thanks!

MistyOn 05.22.2008 at 1:04 pm Said:

Richard, Apparently I am not to know where I stand because I have not sold in almost a year. I did not know that having to inform eBay that I was taking a leave of absence (due to the deaths of my mother and father, the deployment of my son to Iraq and to top that off a divorce of my 25 year marriage) was part of retaining my seller status, since when was this a requirement?… they have no problem showing my monthly statements and payment arrangements for any fees from listings I may owe in the future. If this is not a slap in the face I don’t know what is!

LisaOn 05.22.2008 at 1:10 pm Said:

The top executives at Ebay believe they are brilliant and savvy and are going to dominate the world wide web. And maybe they will. What Ebay exec’s have forgotten is Ebay is made up of people who breathe, bleed, cry, and fear, especially during a time in history when problems galore are gripping the economy. So many sellers want to believe Ebay will have a change a heart and hopefully someday they will.

Personally, I’m trying to liquidate all my inventory-on Ebay-as quickly as possible. I don’t wish to be part of a company that is run by so many lower consciousness mentalities. This is a company who may be monetarily rich, but are morally bankrupt. These exec’s have forgotten we are all one. When we harm our brothers and sisters we are actually harming ourselves. MBA’s are great, but if you use your intelligence to degrade and destroy, can you really be proud of yourself? Does it bring joy into your heart to do so?

I think Crunchy has Ebay’s number. I enjoy your analysis of what Ebay is doing. You should start your own blog. And Patricia, I checked out your website-you’re an awesome artist. I plan to buy something from you. I so much wish you all well. I feel your heartbreak and frustation. I will continue to watch this blog and participate as I terminate my little company.

Done preaching for the day. Thanks!

MechelleOn 05.22.2008 at 1:28 pm Said:

Well, right now the dashboards presence kind of freaks me out, because it is a new element on the page.

My dashboard reads
raised
15%
Silver
Good
Current

I don’t have anything to complain about other than right now my 30 day DSRs are 4.9, 4.9, 4.9, 4.7 and I am really annoyed about the 4.7, because either eBay has an error or regardless of highlighting the postage cost on the packages demonstrating that I do not charge one cent above postage and frequently pay partial postage my customers still don’t think I deserve a 5 on shipping cost. If this is a result of my customers who as reflected by the rest of my scores don’t have an issue with giving 5’s they simply are not rating me fairly on the shipping cost. They are punishing me because USPS is out of their minds in their shipping fees. Apparently that is my fault.

This isn’t due to packing supply issues either - I spoil my customers in packaging appearance- all of my packaging is themed with my store I line the box with pink and chocolate polka dot tissue paper - use pink shred (which they like) pack their item in a pink satin bag tied closed with pink & chocolate organza ribbon, and a pink with chocolate polka dot satin ribbon. I have ecb beauty buck coupons that are themed with my store professionally printed that are earned 1 for every 10 dollar increment spent for a dollar off for each earned on future purchases including sales and auctions. I send gifts- pens with my store logo and a thank you message, perfume samples, white barn candles for example. I send themed fliers with a thank you message and expression of my gratitude for their shopping at my store and any up coming sales or new arriving products.

Really what more can I possibly do to make my customers 100% satisfied- I have 99.9% rating I guess I should be pleased with that, but the 4.9’s, the 4.7 and the 99.9% I have actually hurts my feelings and makes me feel defeated any more with all the new consequences. I even ship all cosmetics for one flat $4.60 no matter how much they buy. I am just at a loss for what I can do - how I can improve. I really feel that I am doing the absolute best that I possibly can

SharonOn 05.22.2008 at 1:28 pm Said:

Richard, could you find out whether these discrepancies we are seeing in our seller dashboard are glitches or what?

There is no reason for mine to say I am lowered in search and my buyer satisfaction needs work. 100% feedback, 4.8, 4.9, 4.8, 4.7 stars. (just haven’t sold since January)

Would appreciate any help you can give.

TheBrewsNewsOn 05.22.2008 at 1:44 pm Said:

@Sharon

Perhaps there is something quirky in the system that is reading incorrectly for folks who have no statistics for the last 30 days (again perhaps eBay is assuming no news is bad news). Is there anyone else on the blog who has not sold in 30+ days? If so, does your dashboard show the same readings (Lowered search and Customer service needs improvement) as Sharon’s?

@Crunchy

Regarding your search standing being STANDARD, are you a Powerseller? (Please don’t shoot me for asking the question, just trying to understand the metrics and if you are not a Powerseller that might be an explanation for the rating)

SharonOn 05.22.2008 at 1:57 pm Said:

@Thebrewsnews

Only thing I can think of is I had one neutral but it was mutually withdrawn and it was my understanding that when feedback is mutually withdrawn, any stars left are withdrawn also. The buyer and I worked it out. Maybe she left me low stars before the mutual? and they didn’t drop off?

Otherwise, with 100% feedback and stars 4.8,4.9,4.8, and 4.7, it’s just a slap in the face to be told my search is lowered and my buyer satisfaction needs work.

I had tried to convince myself to just go ahead and list some things and see how it goes. This may be the last straw to finally push me out the Ebay door which is what they want anyway.

Thanks!

SandiOn 05.22.2008 at 1:58 pm Said:

I have not sold since the Feb boycott. My DSRs are:

4.9, 4.9, 4.9, 5 (that’s for shipping costs no less).

I have 100%, no negatives or neutrals. No red marks for policy voilations, etc.

My dahsboard tells me I get standard search listings (middle options). It tells me:

Thank you for providing buyers with a positive shopping experience
Buyers have been satisfied with your service. Please continue to focus on exceeding your customers’ expectations.

I find it amusing ebay keeps using the term “good” for my customer service, you know the defintion for 4’s.

SandiOn 05.22.2008 at 2:04 pm Said:

had one neutral but it was mutually withdrawn

I had a negative mutually withdrawn. The buyer was from Italy, he left it 6 hours after the auction ended, 5 hours after he paid it.

He had emailed me a question 3 hrs after the auction - that I never got - it was during that week ebay’s messaging system was not sending emails so I never got. I emailed him when I saw the negative (thank goodness I know a little Italian and knew why. He did not get my email for the same reason I did not get his.

Since ebay did not announce the email issue until AFTER it was fixed, neither of us knew the other was not getting emails. We resolved the issue and he did the mutual withdrawal thing.

That did not impact my dashboard.

A small point - how many sellers get penalized due to issues directly relating to ebay? Take the shipping charge being wrong on invoices a couple of months ago?

Patricia1On 05.22.2008 at 2:06 pm Said:

Richard

Well, I just got a look at my dashboard and I’m very disappointed. It shows me at only “standard” in search. I sure would like an explanation because right now I’m at 100 percent with 5.0 stars across the board. I’ve had over 400 feedbacks in the past 12 months.

Is there any way we can get someone here to explain this? You can’t get any better then 100 percent and all 5.0 stars

TheBrewsNewsOn 05.22.2008 at 2:07 pm Said:

@Sharon

My understanding is that anytime a negative feedback was withdrawn (mutual feedback withdrawal process), the associated DSRs were removed as well. However, if a neutral or positive rating were removed through the MFW process, the stars were NOT removed. I was verbally told that by an eBay rep but I have nothing in writing to support that.

But if what the rep said is true, then the neutral is probably what is causing you to have the problems (especially given the info from Sandi would most likely confirm that it is not a 30-days zero sales issue) On the bright side… it should only take one good sale to get the rating back up since you have no sales in the last 30 days. I would suggest you list a few items and then see if your Dashboard ratings improve after 1 or 2 sales.