More On eBay's 2008 Changes. . .
During February I sent out a series of articles about
dealing with eBay's changes. In this issue I'll look at the
results of the changes I made to my auctions
If you don't have the earlier articles they are available
in a single PDF here.
Remember, eBay is now offering PowerSellers fee discounts if they
have high ratings, and using the ratings to improve search
results. So this is a big thing, and one of the earlier
articles was about detailed seller ratings. Specifically
how to improve DSR numbers.
Lets look at the effects of my recommendations to my
detailed seller ratings since I started the program
outlined in the eBay changes report.
I started with 4.8 rating for item description, and 4.7 for
communication. Neither of these numbers have changed in the
past month.
It was the two shipping related ratings that concerned me.
I had shipping and handling time rating of 4.7 when I
started the month, this is now at 4.9.
The shipping cost also jumped a bit. It started at 4.6, and
went up to 4.8.
These two changes are surely a direct result of the insert
explained in the earlier article. I know this because I
haven't made any other changes.
The insert gets buyers to look at the postage on the
outside of the box. They see the date the item was mailed
and consider that rather than at the date they received it.
Buyers also see the shipping charge on the box and can
easily do the math to see the cost I passed on to them is
fair. Remember I tell them I'll refund any excess shipping
I collected if it's above a dollar.
Last month I refunded one buyer $3.00 for shipping.
An interesting note about shipping time is last month I
shipped the wrong box to a buyer. He had to send the box
back so I could send it to the right buyer.(I refunded the
return shipping.)
This error meant both buyers had to wait an extra week to
get their items. Neither dinged me for it when they left
feedback.
My initial goal was to keep my DSR numbers above 4.6 so I
could qualify for the 5% discount. I'll have to work on my
communication so I can get the 15% discount.
Maybe I'll start calling all my buyers when I ship. I bet I
have a better chance of reaching them if I call in the
middle of the night.
Seriously, I have no idea how to improve the communication
number. I already send emails within an hour of the auction
ending, and then send emails when the labels are printed
saying their packages will be shipped later that day.
Actually my communication should have gone up. In the batch
of buyers I had last month I had three different buyers who
I now email frequently about trains and projects. We share
advice and knowledge.
I love to talk about my trains and I'll talk to anyone who
can capture my attention.
I think one buyer gave me really poor ranking because he
wanted a series of emails every day. He also wanted me to
call him and talk to him about his trains. I didn't do
either. His poor ranking could have negated the results of
my higher ratings from other buyers.
I'll see what happens during the second month and adjust my
efforts. I'll let you know if I have any new ideas.
At least once a week, a new article about Antiques, Collectibles, or eBay is placed in this section of the site. You can see previous articles in the column on the left. This is not a replacement for my regular emailed newsletter. The newsletter is usually two to three times as long and focuses on making money on eBay and/or achieving success in the antiques and collectibles business. Only about a third of the articles sent out as newsletters are posted on the site, so to avoid missing an issue sign up now using the blue box in the upper right hand corner of this web page.
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Terry Gibbs has taught over 7,000 people how to make a good living on eBay. Terry's most recent eBay instruction manual is The Auction Revolution . The Auction Revolution is your guide to eBay and beyond. Here on Iwantcollectibles.com, you will learn about buying and selling antiques and collectibles, and about eBay.
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