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The title of the notifying emails from Ebay are, "Spring Seller Update: New performance standards designed to bring you more potential sales." Yeah, right. The fact of the matter is - these new algorithms, as it were, to judge your Ebay performance, are in some ways stricter, and in other ways less rigid than before.
These new performance standards will commence April 16, 2014. Prior to that date, it has been all about DSRs - detailed seller ratings. Basically, prior to this "Spring update," in order to become or remain a Top Rated Seller, you needed to avoid 1s and 2s in DSRs (which are awarded on a scale of 1 - 5). Now, Modee tech support gives you some proactive techniques to BLOCK Ebay from considering even the 1s and 2s that some ungrateful customers leave you, but those sophisticated methods aside - getting 1s and 2s in any category (Item as Described, Communication, Shipping Time and Shipping and Handling charges) meant TROUBLE.
For many Ebayers - other than those who sell lightweight items with no shipping charge - the S&H charges category was especially problematic. Cheapskate customers who felt that paying anything at all for shipping or insurance was unwarranted would often leave retaliatory 1s and 2s for otherwise hardworking, good sellers.
Also, prior to April 16, 2014, all that matters are buyer disputes that are closed in the buyer's favor. Prior to April 16, 2014, merely opened disputes or disputes that are closed in seller's favor do not count against the seller.
This is changing slightly after April 16, 2014. Ebayers are now receiving two different versions of an email. If you are currently a Top Rated Seller and will be all right via the new standards, you will receive the following "not to worry" type email:
BUT, if Ebay anticipates that you will fall short of the performance standards, you will receive an email like this:
The new performance standards are detailed here:
eBay Seller Information Center: 2014 Spring Seller Update: Seller standards update
Basically, things have changed as follows:
* DSRs matter only for two categories: Item as Described (1s, 2s AND 3s count against you here!)
and
Shipping Time (1s only count against you)
(No longer need to worry about shipping and handling costs. You DO need to ship quickly and make sure the item is as described.)
The following also will count against you:
* Negative or neutral feedback
* Return initiated for a reason that indicates the item was not as described
* eBay Money Back Guarantee (previously known as eBay Buyer Protection) or PayPal Purchase Protection case opened for an item not received or an item not as described
* Seller-cancelled transactions
How buyer disputes are counted is somewhat contradictory. While one portion of the new standards rules states that a case that is merely OPENED will count against you, in other section the rules state:
* Cases found in your favor don't count. Any case that escalates to eBay or PayPal for review and is found in your favor, or found to be no fault of the buyer or seller, won't count against your performance rating. It won't be counted as a defect and it won't count toward your percentage of cases closed without seller resolution.
Also, and this is something I never do anyway, do not offer to cancel transactions. If a buyer won't pay - hit him with an unpaid buyer dispute. Do not give in to his begging to merely cancel the transaction.
Basically, if you stay under 5% maximum transactions with one or more defects, you'll remain on Ebay. (Higher than 5% - you'll get the boot off Ebay - at least until you get some Modee tech support to get back on.
You'll need to stay at 2% or better to be a Top Rated Seller.
There are some other complicated factors to the algorithm, such as:
* Only transactions with US buyers count.
* Stronger protection from the actions of just one or two buyers. The defect rate won't affect your status until you have transactions with defects with at least 8 different buyers (at least 5 different buyers to impact Top Rated status) within your evaluation period.
* Just as today, sellers can have a maximum of 0.3% of eBay Money Back Guarantee or PayPal Purchase Protection closed cases without seller resolution over the most recent evaluation period. That means the buyer opened the case, you weren't able to resolve it, the buyer reached out to eBay or PayPal to review it, and eBay found you responsible.
* Just as today, sellers with 400 or more transactions over the past 3 months will be evaluated based on the past 3 months and sellers with fewer than 400 transactions will be evaluated based on the past 12 months.
* One measure instead of four. One measure, the defect rate, will replace the current four more stringent detailed seller rating thresholds that allow just 2% low ratings for all sellers and just a half percent for Top Rated Sellers. That means it will be easier for you to keep track of where you stand and you'll have a wider tolerance margin to reduce the chance that you'll be impacted by a single event.
* Shipping cost and communication detailed seller ratings will no longer count toward your performance rating. This will protect you from low ratings for shipping cost even though the shipping charges are shown to the buyer right up front when they purchase an item.
* Each transaction is counted only once toward your defect rate, regardless of the number of defects associated with it. For example, if a buyer leaves you a 3-star rating for item as described and a 1-star rating for shipping time for the same item, that transaction still only counts once toward your defect rate. That gives you more leeway and will allow you to focus on fine-tuning your overall service instead of individual buyer actions.
But basically, what you need to concentrate on is:
ITEM AS DESCRIBED - this is the number one factor that leads to disputes, and SHIPPING TIME - ship quickly - because this, too, leads to disputes for non-receipt.
In essence, what has changed is that Ebay is no longer punishing you merely for what you have DONE, but based on what they are worried that you MIGHT DO. In other words, Ebay's new performance standards algorithm is based on a PREDICTIVE INDEX that penalizes you for anticipated bad behavior.
This being penalized for what you MIGHT do not just what you HAVE done, is in line with Ebay Trust & Safety's longstanding policy of suspending Ebayers because they fit into some "fraud profile" - suspended Ebayers by shooting first and asking questions later because they fit the profile of someone who will rip off buyers, even before they have a chance to do it!
In any case, my inside contacts at Ebay tell me that these new policies will be strictly enforced, and that whole slews of Ebayers will be suspended or at least demoted from Top Rated Status come this late summer / fall 2014. Be vigilant.
These new performance standards will commence April 16, 2014. Prior to that date, it has been all about DSRs - detailed seller ratings. Basically, prior to this "Spring update," in order to become or remain a Top Rated Seller, you needed to avoid 1s and 2s in DSRs (which are awarded on a scale of 1 - 5). Now, Modee tech support gives you some proactive techniques to BLOCK Ebay from considering even the 1s and 2s that some ungrateful customers leave you, but those sophisticated methods aside - getting 1s and 2s in any category (Item as Described, Communication, Shipping Time and Shipping and Handling charges) meant TROUBLE.
For many Ebayers - other than those who sell lightweight items with no shipping charge - the S&H charges category was especially problematic. Cheapskate customers who felt that paying anything at all for shipping or insurance was unwarranted would often leave retaliatory 1s and 2s for otherwise hardworking, good sellers.
Also, prior to April 16, 2014, all that matters are buyer disputes that are closed in the buyer's favor. Prior to April 16, 2014, merely opened disputes or disputes that are closed in seller's favor do not count against the seller.
This is changing slightly after April 16, 2014. Ebayers are now receiving two different versions of an email. If you are currently a Top Rated Seller and will be all right via the new standards, you will receive the following "not to worry" type email:
BUT, if Ebay anticipates that you will fall short of the performance standards, you will receive an email like this:
The new performance standards are detailed here:
eBay Seller Information Center: 2014 Spring Seller Update: Seller standards update
Basically, things have changed as follows:
* DSRs matter only for two categories: Item as Described (1s, 2s AND 3s count against you here!)
and
Shipping Time (1s only count against you)
(No longer need to worry about shipping and handling costs. You DO need to ship quickly and make sure the item is as described.)
The following also will count against you:
* Negative or neutral feedback
* Return initiated for a reason that indicates the item was not as described
* eBay Money Back Guarantee (previously known as eBay Buyer Protection) or PayPal Purchase Protection case opened for an item not received or an item not as described
* Seller-cancelled transactions
How buyer disputes are counted is somewhat contradictory. While one portion of the new standards rules states that a case that is merely OPENED will count against you, in other section the rules state:
* Cases found in your favor don't count. Any case that escalates to eBay or PayPal for review and is found in your favor, or found to be no fault of the buyer or seller, won't count against your performance rating. It won't be counted as a defect and it won't count toward your percentage of cases closed without seller resolution.
Also, and this is something I never do anyway, do not offer to cancel transactions. If a buyer won't pay - hit him with an unpaid buyer dispute. Do not give in to his begging to merely cancel the transaction.
Basically, if you stay under 5% maximum transactions with one or more defects, you'll remain on Ebay. (Higher than 5% - you'll get the boot off Ebay - at least until you get some Modee tech support to get back on.
You'll need to stay at 2% or better to be a Top Rated Seller.There are some other complicated factors to the algorithm, such as:
* Only transactions with US buyers count.
* Stronger protection from the actions of just one or two buyers. The defect rate won't affect your status until you have transactions with defects with at least 8 different buyers (at least 5 different buyers to impact Top Rated status) within your evaluation period.
* Just as today, sellers can have a maximum of 0.3% of eBay Money Back Guarantee or PayPal Purchase Protection closed cases without seller resolution over the most recent evaluation period. That means the buyer opened the case, you weren't able to resolve it, the buyer reached out to eBay or PayPal to review it, and eBay found you responsible.
* Just as today, sellers with 400 or more transactions over the past 3 months will be evaluated based on the past 3 months and sellers with fewer than 400 transactions will be evaluated based on the past 12 months.
* One measure instead of four. One measure, the defect rate, will replace the current four more stringent detailed seller rating thresholds that allow just 2% low ratings for all sellers and just a half percent for Top Rated Sellers. That means it will be easier for you to keep track of where you stand and you'll have a wider tolerance margin to reduce the chance that you'll be impacted by a single event.
* Shipping cost and communication detailed seller ratings will no longer count toward your performance rating. This will protect you from low ratings for shipping cost even though the shipping charges are shown to the buyer right up front when they purchase an item.
* Each transaction is counted only once toward your defect rate, regardless of the number of defects associated with it. For example, if a buyer leaves you a 3-star rating for item as described and a 1-star rating for shipping time for the same item, that transaction still only counts once toward your defect rate. That gives you more leeway and will allow you to focus on fine-tuning your overall service instead of individual buyer actions.
But basically, what you need to concentrate on is:
ITEM AS DESCRIBED - this is the number one factor that leads to disputes, and SHIPPING TIME - ship quickly - because this, too, leads to disputes for non-receipt.
In essence, what has changed is that Ebay is no longer punishing you merely for what you have DONE, but based on what they are worried that you MIGHT DO. In other words, Ebay's new performance standards algorithm is based on a PREDICTIVE INDEX that penalizes you for anticipated bad behavior.
This being penalized for what you MIGHT do not just what you HAVE done, is in line with Ebay Trust & Safety's longstanding policy of suspending Ebayers because they fit into some "fraud profile" - suspended Ebayers by shooting first and asking questions later because they fit the profile of someone who will rip off buyers, even before they have a chance to do it!
In any case, my inside contacts at Ebay tell me that these new policies will be strictly enforced, and that whole slews of Ebayers will be suspended or at least demoted from Top Rated Status come this late summer / fall 2014. Be vigilant.
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