[pyweed]

It's estimated that the prevalence of schizophrenia is about 0.8% - 1% of the general population. It's a very serious illness and people with schizophrenia can be quite heroic in dealing with their symptoms.

The prevalence of whackjobs and morons, on the other hand, is much, much higher. These people are exhausting, and are responsible for most of the pain and suffering experienced by employees in the customer service sector. I'd say maybe 5% of the population are jerks or hopelessly incompetent. We deal with them with a smile, perhaps gritting teeth, and move on, knowing that they are outnumbered by honest, kind, reliable people who we enjoy and respect. The good people provide a buffer. We don't allow the boneheads and buttheads to rule our life or control our decision making.

So why does eBay?

I've been a Top Seller on eBay as long as the program has existed. It's not so hard, really. Don't deceive anyone, keep S&H very near actual cost, and ship well protected the very next day. I have 4.9 and 5.0 on all DSRs. Occasionally I screw up because I'm human and I deserve a low rating on a transaction, but that's what averages are for. Or so I thought.

Apparently, to maintain Top Seller status, one must now not only have high average DSRs, but also must not get more than 0.5% ratings of 1 or 2 in any category. 0.5%. I submit to you that there is no way to control that rate of low ratings. The prevalence of SCHIZOPHRENIA is higher than that. The prevalence of IDIOCY is probably ten times that. How often am I going to get a 1 or 2 from someone who's just messing with me, or who believes I'm sending them secret messages through the radio, or who mistakenly thinks 1 is the top rating?

So I sold about $4000 worth of cards this month. S&H was $2.50 on each lot, with 50 cents each additional item. Somehow I got 4 people who rated me a 2 or a 1 on shipping costs. Out of my 847 seller transactions in the last 12 months, I am now over the 0.5% threshold for low ratings, so I am no longer a Top Seller.

Fine, I don't need a fancy title for the sake of my self-esteem. I no longer get preferential search results, but I can live with that too. Buyers can see that all my DSRs average 4.9 or 5.0, and that I have 100% positive feedback, so I'm not worried about my reputation. But that 20% discount on FVF? Goodbye. This month the discount accounts for a difference of about $74, a decision that eBay believes belongs in the hands not of the 95% in the world with sound judgment, but in the hands of 0.67% of the buyers. My $74 rebate was vetoed by a couple of people (literally) who thought that my $2.50 S&H was just freaking outrageous.

eBay, listen: you're raising your rates again. Maybe you have to, I don't know, but I'll probably deal with it. But your incentive programs need to be better thought out. Don't dangle a carrot in front of us that can only be obtained by luck of the draw and the whims of boneheads and whackjobs. Let *everyone* in on the decision-making, not just the most extreme.

[/today's eBay rant]

[wickedcurve]

I agree 100% I personally don't think eBay should allow buyers to rate on shipping charges. I mean if I buy something and see that the person is charging $x.xx for shipping and I still bid or click buy it now than I must agree to that it is a reasonable rate.

[akalepos]

wow..

I charge 3.65 postage and I send it with tracking. I do that with everything not just cards and I have had no complaints yet.

I would characterize ebay policy as schizo, as I would for most corporations these days. Someone from ebay called me the other day and tried to talk me into a store.

When I used their little fee comparrison thing, it wouldn't work for my normal sales. I juat happen to have a lot of sports cards that I have dugout that I have had for years to try to get rid of.

It doesn't matter that I explain to those people that I have no steady supply of anything and that I am selling off stuff that I have collected over the years. They still try to sell me.

I AM tired of their gimmicks... but where can we go? I mean where can we REALLY go? All the others suffer from lack of sales because of fleabay's popularity.

I had this "power seller" junk gong on a few months ago, then it disappeared, and now its back... like a disease.

Customers are a different animal. Some of them are pretty schizo too. The moment I get that "feeling" from the content, context, or grammer in messages I receive, I just block them.

They DO NOT need to raise their rates.

Meg's BILLIONS attest to that. I am uninterested in making someone else a millionaire or billionare while they get the FREE MONEY SCOOP handed to them. If they raise rates its because they want lilac scented TP instead of Charmin.

Don't you even believe for a moment that she no longer has anything to do with it. Don't you believe for a moment that "I made this money with investments."... they always lie about the money scoop, while you and I and everyone I know has to really put in some effort.

so then there's all that..

and we have to put up with the other stuff too.

I told that guy on the phone that I wanted there to be an end to this, and once I sell off my stuff in this garage... I am done.

[ricelynnevans75]

I have a problem with them taking a percentage of s/h costs from buyers. That's just sad. For sellers like myself, and apparently you as well, we keep our s/h cost right around exact cost. Yet, now that they want to take a percentage, I'm actually losing money on my s/h. Granted, I guess we can thank the sellers who try to do the $.01 listing with $95 s/h to escape fees.

In regards to the ratings? Worst thing ever. I don't know what it is but you give some people even the slightest bit of responsibility and they go wacko. It's like people voting for the all star game. They have no idea what they are actually doing or why. I've taken to the habit of looking at people who bid on my stuff and check their feedback. If they are truly awful buyers, I cancel their bid and block them. I'm not talking 1-2 bad feedbacks given, I'm talking 5-10 in the past couple of months. That's not the sellers, that's the buyer. Yeah, I may lose money on that but it's worth it to avoid the headaches.

Luckily, I've never had a problem selling on ebay, although someone did give me a 1 or 2 on shipping about a year ago. No idea who it was as nothing was out of whack and they didn't communicate any issues with me. How do I do it?

-Front/back scans of all cards along with a description of any flaws that I know exist since a scan does not show everything.
-Darn close to as possible s/h to actual cost. All cards I sell are placed in new penny sleeves/top loaders/team bags and wrapped in the invoice with a note handwritten thanking them for bidding and that I hope to see them again soon. The card is then placed in a bubble mailer, edges sealed with tape, and delivery confirmation on everything is placed on the mailer. If an item sells for more than I expected, I give free s/h. Typically, anything over $20 I end up giving free s/h anyway.
-I leave feedback as soon as the buyer pays. If they want to leave it fine. I'm not going to be a feedback hostage taker.
-Ship the very next day after they pay, sometimes the same day. Life does happen occasionally though and I will communicate this if something comes up. I notate 3 days handling time just in case though I've never run into that on ebay.
-I offer a refund on my auctions. Why not? If you can't stand behind your product, as a buyer it tells me something is wrong with it. In the end, even if you say no refunds, paypal will refund the buyer anyway. The only time I've ever given a refund was on two occasions where the s/h ended up being more than I anticipated (baseball card lots) and I voluntarily sent them the refund right after returning from the post office.
-Number one thing, communication. Communicate everything. Go overboard on it if need be even if it's the same message you just copy/paste for every auction. Show you care that they bid and give good customer service. Describe in the auction what they will get, to include the item description and s/h terms, if they buy/win your item. I typically send 3-4 PMs for each auction won.

Probably others but I'm forgetting right now. There are lots of bad buyers/sellers out there. Protect yourself and do everything right by not giving the scammers an opening.

[akalepos]

(03-29-2011 11:53 AM)wickedcurve Wrote:  I agree 100% I personally don't think eBay should allow buyers to rate on shipping charges. I mean if I buy something and see that the person is charging $x.xx for shipping and I still bid or click buy it now than I must agree to that it is a reasonable rate.

You're playing it right, I think. You see what you want. You make a decision. You either buy or you don't.

I think some people buy with extra motives of "getting" even with some one who was the only one who had that card they wanted. That sort of shows the ethics of a donkey in that person.

I charge what I charge because of all those who came before you. I lost lots of cards in the late 90's to the "Uh... I didn't get it." crowd or the ripoffs that switch your card out, telling you how YOU tried to to rip Them off..

Forget that stuff.

Nothing leave here that isn't tracked. This has been helpful several times. And I do not accept returns.

But in exchange for this, I have a committment to NOT send anyone any bummer cards that I wouldn't want. I stick to that too. I have cards for sale that I was sticking away to send to Beckett for grading. But I never did. I don't send them off any more because no one really respects that. They only pretend to. They want graded cards, but don't want to pay for the grading. I guess they are Martians or something.

I think you sort of know what I am talking about.

Add to that bad treatment by Ebay "policy", and it really feels bad.

[benner73]

I agree with everyone. If there was another alternative I would be gone in a second.

[jmilitano]

Everytime I think I might sell some stuff on ebay, I see posts like this and it steers me away from it. I know some people make their living off it, so they have to put up with a little more flak from ebay.

I always figure in the cost of the sellers shipping when I make my bid. If I want the card bad enough, I will pay higher shipping costs if thats what it takes to get it. That being said, I would never complain about the cost of shipping if I actually bid on the item, because its plain to see how much shipping is.

The only time I ever complained was when I won a Nomar Jersey/bat card and the seller charged me 2.99 shipping. Not a problem there, but it came in a PWE with a stamp on it. No protection inside except for a card sleeve (not even in hard plastic). Luckily the card was not damaged, and I did win it for .99. So, I was more upset about the lack of protection than the shipping price.

[thelegendjerryrice]

(03-29-2011 11:38 AM)pyweed Wrote:  It's estimated that the prevalence of schizophrenia is about 0.8% - 1% of the general population. It's a very serious illness and people with schizophrenia can be quite heroic in dealing with their symptoms.

The prevalence of whackjobs and morons, on the other hand, is much, much higher. These people are exhausting, and are responsible for most of the pain and suffering experienced by employees in the customer service sector. I'd say maybe 5% of the population are jerks or hopelessly incompetent. We deal with them with a smile, perhaps gritting teeth, and move on, knowing that they are outnumbered by honest, kind, reliable people who we enjoy and respect. The good people provide a buffer. We don't allow the boneheads and buttheads to rule our life or control our decision making.

So why does eBay?

I've been a Top Seller on eBay as long as the program has existed. It's not so hard, really. Don't deceive anyone, keep S&H very near actual cost, and ship well protected the very next day. I have 4.9 and 5.0 on all DSRs. Occasionally I screw up because I'm human and I deserve a low rating on a transaction, but that's what averages are for. Or so I thought.

Apparently, to maintain Top Seller status, one must now not only have high average DSRs, but also must not get more than 0.5% ratings of 1 or 2 in any category. 0.5%. I submit to you that there is no way to control that rate of low ratings. The prevalence of SCHIZOPHRENIA is higher than that. The prevalence of IDIOCY is probably ten times that. How often am I going to get a 1 or 2 from someone who's just messing with me, or who believes I'm sending them secret messages through the radio, or who mistakenly thinks 1 is the top rating?

So I sold about $4000 worth of cards this month. S&H was $2.50 on each lot, with 50 cents each additional item. Somehow I got 4 people who rated me a 2 or a 1 on shipping costs. Out of my 847 seller transactions in the last 12 months, I am now over the 0.5% threshold for low ratings, so I am no longer a Top Seller.

Fine, I don't need a fancy title for the sake of my self-esteem. I no longer get preferential search results, but I can live with that too. Buyers can see that all my DSRs average 4.9 or 5.0, and that I have 100% positive feedback, so I'm not worried about my reputation. But that 20% discount on FVF? Goodbye. This month the discount accounts for a difference of about $74, a decision that eBay believes belongs in the hands not of the 95% in the world with sound judgment, but in the hands of 0.67% of the buyers. My $74 rebate was vetoed by a couple of people (literally) who thought that my $2.50 S&H was just freaking outrageous.

eBay, listen: you're raising your rates again. Maybe you have to, I don't know, but I'll probably deal with it. But your incentive programs need to be better thought out. Don't dangle a carrot in front of us that can only be obtained by luck of the draw and the whims of boneheads and whackjobs. Let *everyone* in on the decision-making, not just the most extreme.

[/today's eBay rant]

Didnt ebay make some sort of change on that Shipping DSR. If you use DC, I thought they couldnt leave the shipping rate one. Because ebay tracks it anyways.

[akalepos]

That taking a percentage of S/H is bad too. Probably is legal some how. You'd have to check with the Department of Commerce. I'm sure that at least one person has contacted IRS about that.

What's worse is that Ebay fosters mail fraud, in the form of fee gouging. If a seller is using ripoff postage and he's using those ebay mail things you can buy, I have noticed from my purchases that when the postage coincides with what the post office would charge, then it is denoted on the shipping slip. But when it doesn't fit right, it does not. Check that out to see if I might be wrong here. Many times when I had to pay too much postage, it has been that way.

---

I'm not blind. I look at the postage too when I go to buy something. It's tough deciding to pay 2.50 on a 1.50 card. If I need it bad enough, I will go ahead and do that.

I look at my own postage, and the 2.50 gives me chills.

I use padded envelopes that usually cost around a dollar, depending on the source. I try to send it 1st class and have to add stuffing (bubblepop or peanuts and tape) to the in side of the envelope to make it 3/4 inch thick to please the post office. Delivery confimation is another 80 cents. Plus I have to account somehow for the gas as my post office isn't just across the street.
Plus there are all those times when the item turns out to have some weight, and I have to pay the difference. Sometimes the postage is around 4.00 and rarely more.

So while I feel comfortable charging 3.65, it turns out that it is more of a break even sort of thing. And yes, I freak out too when I see it on something I need, but then I realize that its just a psyche block when I remember the costs. I don't want to lose money making sales any more.

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(03-29-2011 12:00 PM)ricelynnevans75 Wrote:  -Number one thing, communication. Communicate everything. Go overboard on it if need be even if it's the same message you just copy/paste for every auction. Show you care that they bid and give good customer service. Describe in the auction what they will get, to include the item description and s/h terms, if they buy/win your item. I typically send 3-4 PMs for each auction won.

I've done this. Some of those nice people out there don't appreciate it and even get insulting.

---

(03-29-2011 12:00 PM)ricelynnevans75 Wrote:  -Number one thing, communication. Communicate everything. Go overboard on it if need be even if it's the same message you just copy/paste for every auction. Show you care that they bid and give good customer service. Describe in the auction what they will get, to include the item description and s/h terms, if they buy/win your item. I typically send 3-4 PMs for each auction won.

I've done this. Some of those nice people out there don't appreciate it and even get insulting.

[pyweed]

(03-29-2011 12:26 PM)thelegendjerryrice Wrote:  Didnt ebay make some sort of change on that Shipping DSR. If you use DC, I thought they couldnt leave the shipping rate one. Because ebay tracks it anyways.

If you offer free shipping, shipping is not rated. I believe that's the only ratings restriction.

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[quote='akalepos' pid='1482577' dateline='1301366107']

What's worse is that Ebay fosters mail fraud, in the form of fee gouging. If a seller is using ripoff postage and he's using those ebay mail things you can buy, I have noticed from my purchases that when the postage coincides with what the post office would charge, then it is denoted on the shipping slip. But when it doesn't fit right, it does not. Check that out to see if I might be wrong here. Many times when I had to pay too much postage, it has been that way.

---

The option to print costs of shipping on the label is available when paying for the label. It wouldn't surprise me if the cost is sometimes suppressed by the shipper when charges are high and costs are low.