It’s a numbers game

by Sue Bailey

Roulette wheel
Creative Commons License photo credit: Phil Romans

eBay have made a huge number of changes recently to the rules for everything from PS status, to ability to sell on the site at all. Remembering what criteria apply to what area is, frankly, starting to be a nightmare, so I thought a summary of what you need to achieve to get which benefits might be useful for more sellers than just me.

Headline feedback percentage
Calculated on pos/(pos+neut+neg) from last 12 months’ feedbacks. Repeat feedbacks from the same bidder in different weeks are counted; repeat feedbacks from the same bidder for items bought as one transaction do not count.
PowerSeller FVF discounts
Calculated on DSR scores over last 30 days.
eBay UK: 4.6 minimum for each criterion to qualify for FVF discounts based on PS level.
eBay US: 4.6 minimum for each criterion to qualify for 5% FVF discount; 4.8 minimum for each criterion to qualify for 15% FVF discount.
Best Match
Calculated on DSRs. Sellers must have 4.3 or more on all four criteria, otherwise they are ‘disadvantaged’ in search results.
Seller non-performance
Calculated on Buyer Dissatisfaction Rate over last 30 days: negative and neutral feedbacks, and PayPal non-receipt and significantly not as described claims. If BDR is 5% or more, sellers may be sanctioned with listing restrictions, and temporary or permanent suspensions.

It’s this last that’s proving to be particularly problematic for sellers, as eBay are not being particularly communicative about the exact levels required. Their argument for this is that if they told sellers what the requirements were, they would “game the system”; from where I’m standing, that actually looks like “trying to keep your account open”, and is not only understandable, but desirable. Despite previous assurances that neutral feedback would not lead to sanctions against sellers, it seems that now, neutral feedback has done just that.


Author: Sue Bailey
Posted at: Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Filed Under Selling Tips
 

Comments

13 Responses to “It’s a numbers game”

  1. freddy on May 21st, 2008 5:52 pm

    putting more time into “trying to keep your account open”, than sales!

  2. Ed on May 21st, 2008 5:55 pm

    Thanks for that Sue, I had just been thinking we could do with a summary and lo and behold, it’s done. :grin:

  3. Ed on May 21st, 2008 5:58 pm

    My impression is that only low volume sellers are likely to become drowned dolphin’s.

  4. Sue Bailey on May 21st, 2008 6:03 pm

    Ed #3 - that’s my impression too. If you have volume to make up for it, you can afford the odd neg, even now.

  5. John on May 21st, 2008 6:18 pm

    You need 4.6, not 4.5, to get the 5% discount in the US just fYI

  6. Dave on May 21st, 2008 6:19 pm

    Re Best Match is it 4.3, in the US its 4.7
    Good news for our top performing sellers Starting this week, sellers with 4.7 and above on all 4 DSRs over the last 30 days may start to see an additional boost in their search standing in Best Match

  7. Sue Bailey on May 21st, 2008 6:27 pm

    Thanks John, corrected.

    Dave: in the UK it is definitely 4.3; here is the announcment:
    http://www2.ebay.com/aw/uk/200802261417472.html

    As far as US BM goes, it’s actually 4.2 to be disadvantaged,
    and 4.6 or higher to be given extra exposure.
    http://pages.ebay.com/sell/update08/rewardsfaq/#6

  8. Dave on May 21st, 2008 6:52 pm

    Hi
    Looks like in the US they are giving a boost to “top sellers” see last part of
    http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200805191328272.html

  9. Chris on May 21st, 2008 7:50 pm

    Ebay is just making itself look silly with its fear of sellers ‘gaming the system’ on SNP rules. After all the furore you would expect them to want everyone to know exactly where they stand. It’s like the Inland Revenue saying some people fiddle their tax, so we’re not telling you how it’s worked out this year! The scammers will find a way to get the information, so why make life even harder for everyone else?

  10. TC on May 21st, 2008 8:04 pm

    Ebay is just making itself look silly with its fear of sellers ‘gaming the system’
    My thoughts exactly and rather too little too late.

  11. Steve H on May 22nd, 2008 6:42 pm

    I read that DSR scores of 1 or 2 are also used in the SNP calculations.

  12. Nate M on May 22nd, 2008 10:17 pm

    Just FYI, here in the US you need a 4.6 or above on S&H DSR otherwise you will be demoted in best match. The old FAQ is already outdated. Here is the new policy accounced this week:

    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 30-day shipping cost DSR is 4.5 and below
    * Your buyer satisfaction rate (shown on the dashboard) appears as “needs improvement,” “poor” or “unacceptable.”

  13. LS on May 22nd, 2008 10:35 pm

    I can’t STAND the best match system. Not only as a seller, but as a buyer it sucks. I think most buyers liked the default setting that came before. I’d like to know about what’s ending soonest, not which ones have sellers that conform to an arbitrary percentage point.

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