Here are 3 things I think eBay might be getting right on their new rollout of changes:
(The following are excerpts from eBay’s site/messages to sellers)
1. Update your listings in a snap
In late September, you’ll be able to edit most fields and the descriptions of up to 200 Fixed Price and Store Inventory Format listings simultaneously. Records of all sales before your edits will still be available to you for future viewing.

2. Get it resolved quicker
eBay is improving the resolution process for both item not received and item not as described disputes and moving it to eBay from PayPal. The new process will cover disputes for transactions paid through any payment method–not just PayPal. The resolution process has also been streamlined to resolve disputes faster. In addition, eBay’s and PayPal’s user agreements were updated recently for the new process.

3. Manage buyer emails easier
Spend less time answering emails and more time focusing on delivering great service. eBay is making it faster and easier for you to respond to buyer questions and manage your emails with buyers. You’ll be able to reply to buyer emails in your email or in My Messages, see the entire thread from the first communication, customize post-transaction emails, ensure emails you send aren’t duplicating emails sent by eBay and more.

4. New way to look at DSRs Underlying all these changes is a shift in the way we look at detailed seller ratings (DSRs). Our research shows that low DSRs are a more accurate measure of the quality of buyer experiences provided by sellers on eBay. That’s why we are evolving the way we measure quality, focusing more on how many low DSRs—1s and 2s—a seller receives than on a seller’s DSR averages.
(This one’s a maybe, we’ll watch and see)

Check out the complete list of changes here:
Seller update: September 2009

Until next time…

When I looked more closely at my information to see if I qualified for the top-rated seller plan in Oct, I knew I wouldn’t qualify as a powerseller, as I am not a powerseller at the moment. But in all 4 DSR catagories, you have to have no more than 2 or .50% higher than their guidelines. Here is what the page says:
Your current seller standing won’t meet the requirements for the eBay Top-rated seller program. To qualify in October, please improve your seller standing.

Here is how you qualify:
Seller standing Qualifying status Your status
PowerSeller level Bronze and above None

DSR Allowable low ratings* [By %][By count] Your ratings 12 mo.
(not to exceed both)

Item as described 0.50%or(2) 0.27% (1)
Communication 0.50%or(2) 0.00% (0)
Shipping time 0.50%or(2) 0.82% (3)
Shipping & handling charges 0.50%or(2) 0.27% (1)

Seller activity Min transactions Your transactions
(last 12 months) 12 months
No. of transactions 100 365

So I don’t qualify on the bottom part because 3 of 365 transactions said the shipping was slow. Customers aren’t willing to pay for Priority Mail services, so how does the seller have ANY control over the shipping company once the product leaves the seller. We ship within 2 business days, always.

Again, my opinion on DSRs. They suck.
I suppose I should just ignore them, just like the sellers should ignore feedback to buyers anymore. We leave feedback because the good buyers deserve it, but you can’t do anything about a bad buyer, so what’s the use? I really wish other auction sites would catch on, but I’ve tried on some others and so far NO results.

Please give us your opinion on this – good or bad.

Have an awesome day!

Ebays DSRs are unfair. I absolutely despise Ebay’s DSRs. Ebay tells the buyer that 4 stars is good service, yet 4 stars will lower your listings rank – yep, go from raised to lowered in one fell swoop! And the buyer may not even be aware that they did.

If the DSR is going to effect your listings, (higher or lower), then the seller should be able to see which buyer left what ‘stars’, to enable the seller to know what to improve upon their services or they would know what they are doing correctly. If you could see the buyer id that left the lower rating, you might at least be able to figure out what happened. Without knowing what happened or what they weren’t happy with, it’s hard to improve service. My rant for the day…