Buyer Cannot Leave Shipping DSR Score For Non-Free Shipping Items?

[winning.deals]

I'm trying to leave feedback for a seller.  I bought three items with paid shipping and the seller came up with a combined rate which was less than the sum of the individual rates but still very high compared to the norm for a parcel with the dimensions, weight and distance applicable in this case.

I do not get any option to leave a Shipping DSR set of stars.  I know that free shipping is scored at * * * * * automatically but that is not the case here.

The item was delivered on time so they also get an automatic five stars for shipping time, which is fine.

Anyone know if this is a change in policy?  The Feedback info page doesn't say anything specific on this.

As a seller I would like to know what trick I can use to get a five star score even if I charge an inflated rate.

Thanks

[mudshark61369]

@winning.deals,

Offering combined shipping discounts is not a requirement for sellers. So if a seller does give a discount, ebay may feel that deserves a 5 star rating automatically.  If you are not happy with the amount charged for combined shipping, you can express your displeasure, by leaving appropriate feedback.

[winning.deals]

Agreed - Yes I could hit them in the comments and overall score but that most likely puts me on their BBL which would damage me more than them and I prefer the anonymity of handling it through the scoring process.  It's something of a moot point as DSRs don't have any impact on search ranking, but I feel that I'm entitled to express my opinion on that aspect - everything else was fine.

[pburn]

So, let me see if I'm clear on this: you want to "damage" the seller for giving you a discount on shipping because. from your perspective, it wasn't enough of a discount, but you want to do it anonymously so you don't suffer any repercussions? You want to express your opinion, but you don't want to own it?

That being said, I've always thought the eBay process for requesting an invoice for combined shipping was flawed. Requesting an invoice commits a buyer to the purchase, no matter how the shipping discount plays out. If a buyer is dissatisfied with the shipping discount, tough luck--s/he has to go through with the transaction anyway.

On Etsy, a buyer sees the shipping discount applied immediately each time an item from the same seller is added to the cart. No commitment, no guesswork, no surprises if the discount is less than one had hoped for. And a buyer does not have to complete the transaction if they're not satisfied with the shipping discount from that seller. (There are exceptions to this process. Sometimes, because of the diverse items a seller may offer, a buyer may connect them via the Etsy messaging system to ask for a combined shipping total. The buyer is still not obligated to proceed with the transaction.)

[missjen831]

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@mudshark61369 wrote:

@winning.deals,

Offering combined shipping discounts is not a requirement for sellers. So if a seller does give a discount, ebay may feel that deserves a 5 star rating automatically.  If you are not happy with the amount charged for combined shipping, you can express your displeasure, by leaving appropriate feedback.

---

That’s not true at all. eBay doesn’t feel that and giving a combined discount does not give the seller an automatic 5

stars.

[thatsallfolks]

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@mudshark61369 wrote:

@winning.deals,

Offering combined shipping discounts is not a requirement for sellers. So if a seller does give a discount, ebay may feel that deserves a 5 star rating automatically.

---

Please don't guess. Any shipping cost greater than zero is supposed to allow the buyer to rate shipping cost. There has been no announced change to that policy.

[pburn]

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@mudshark61369 wrote:

So if a seller does give a discount, ebay may feel that deserves a 5 star rating automatically.  

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and @thatsallfolks

From eBay's "Seller Ratings" page:

"For a more detailed view of a seller's performance, you can also view their detailed seller rating. This is a breakdown of how buyers have rated that seller in the following areas:

Item description – How accurately it was described
Communication – Did the seller communicate well with their buyer?
Shipping time – How quickly the seller shipped the item
Shipping and handling charges – Were the costs reasonable?

[pburn]

(Sorry--out of time to edit previous post.)

Item description – How accurately it was described
Communication – Did the seller communicate well with their buyer?
Shipping time – How quickly the seller shipped the item
Shipping and handling charges – Were the costs reasonable?

Nothing really addresses the issue of "combined shipping;" however, I suppose a buyer could consider that a lesser discount than hoped for is "unreasonable" and rate the seller accordingly.

[thatsallfolks]

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@pburn wrote:

(Sorry--out of time to edit previous post.)

Item description – How accurately it was described
Communication – Did the seller communicate well with their buyer?
Shipping time – How quickly the seller shipped the item
Shipping and handling charges – Were the costs reasonable?

Nothing really addresses the issue of "combined shipping;" however, I suppose a buyer could consider that a lesser discount than hoped for is "unreasonable" and rate the seller accordingly.

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How is this relevant to my comment, the comment I was responding to, or to the OP's question, which was why he/she couldn't select a DSR grade when shipping wasn't free?

According to eBay's documentation, automatic 5-stars for shipping cost is awarded ONLY if shipping is free.

[pburn]

I tagged you in my comment in order to call your attention to the eBay page on the shipping DSR. Nothing more, nothing less. I was agreeing with you.

[mspirit57]

Seller gave you a discount on the shipping. (Which by the way—they were not required to do!)

AND....

You want penalize them for this?

Shaking my head. 

[kim_y_buran]

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@winning.deals wrote:

I feel that I'm entitled to express my opinion on that aspect

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You agreed to the price.  You.  No one forced you.

[winning.deals]

Thanks for the comments.

The seller stated in the listing that they would quote for combined shipping for purchases made within 7 days of eachother.  They did not say how that figure would be computed.

Yes, I'm sure that we could have agreed to cancel the order if I chose.  Again there's the risk of being placed on the BBL.

Yes I would have gone through with the purchases at the original pricing - but I would have been even less happy that I was with the inflated combined rate.

The question wasn't really about the morality of my expressing my opinion via a less than five star rating, but was more about the fact that I was blocked from leaving a score, which seemed at variance to the normal position that non-free shipping gives you the right to post a DSR on the shipping cost.  Most folks seem to agree with me that the situation I'm in is unusual - and maybe a change of eBay policy or a bug that has the same effect?

[monster-deals]

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@mudshark61369 wrote:

@winning.deals,

Offering combined shipping discounts is not a requirement for sellers. So if a seller does give a discount, ebay may feel that deserves a 5 star rating automatically.  If you are not happy with the amount charged for combined shipping, you can express your displeasure, by leaving appropriate feedback.

---

That feedback could only be positive since the buyer agreed to the shipping and then paid it.

[winning.deals]

I don't think that it is a case of the buyer being deemed to be 100% happy just because they sent payment in the requested amount.  If that were the case I would almost never be asked to give a DSR for paid shipping items.

It's the fact that a combined rate was used, I think.

eBay changed the DSR posting workflow to include a statement of the amount charged for shipping so that the buyer could decide their score based on the actual figure, not what they maybe incorrectly remembered.

Combined shipping means that eBay doesn't have a shipping cost number for each item in the lot and that "breaks" the process and no opportunity is given to leave a DSR.  It could be designed that way to err on the side of the seller, or be an unintentional consequence of not having a validated figure to populate the field with?