Sniper buyers lowering stats for competition sellers
Summary: nicenvintage expressed frustration about experiencing negative effects on their eBay stats, believing that buyers intentionally purchase items to leave poor ratings. They received responses from multiple participants questioning the validity of this claim, with some explaining that the concept of 'sniping' is misunderstood here. Others suggested that low ratings may result from buyer confusion about shipping speed responsibility. Generally, the consensus was that such ratings aren't impactful and competitors wouldn't target smaller sellers. Despite various explanations offered, nicenvintage remained unconvinced by these viewpoints.
I have same day shipping why can a sniper lower my stat like that so unfair. Is that eBay now? I'm killer fast shipping..now what's next? Too many "buyer remorse" type questions offered to buyers after a sale...I'm fuming over this. NOT EBAYS FAULT!!
pantlandia
·1 month agoDidn't even know that sellers still cared about that antiquated rating system.
gurlcat
·1 month agoI bet everyone's rating for shipping cost has gone down, because of recent label price hikes that most buyers are completely unaware of. Granted, most buyers also don't bother leaving star ratings.
ruby_c_took
·1 month agoOkay, so if i understand you, you're upset that one lower DSR on shipping speed can lower your overall number fractionally. Correct?
The problem with the idea of the shipping speed DSR is that eBay doesn't have a helpful tooltip or guideline to let buyers know that the rating should be used for the portion of the shipping the seller is responsible for--the time they take to ship it out. So many people assume that they should use that to indicate their experience with the total shipping time instead. If a carrier takes longer than normal with your package, therefore, your shipping speed DSR can go down even though it was out of your control.
All that said, I don't think DSRs are overly visible to buyers like they used to be so they are likely less important.
Even if the AI search summary told you toxic buying and then subsequent low rating is a thing, that doesn't mean that it is. I am very dubious that this is the case. If there were a sudden uptick in this behavior I'd think these boards would be mentioning it, for one thing, and all I hear there is crickets.
inhawaii
·1 month agoNobody cares about star ratings, especially your competitors. Nobody is going to buy from you just to "mess" with your star rating. If they do, they're pretty stupid.
steve_stuff
·1 month agoYou're talking about getting a 'bad' star for shipping speed?
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned this but I'm pretty sure that ebay doesn't use the DSR to rate anything, and they still exist basically to appease the buyers and fill that space on the page.
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoThanks everyone for you kind comments and consideration, Happy belated Labour Day!
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoBTW:
ruby_c_took
·1 month agoWhat you shared is an AI response tailored to tell you that you're correct (and to sympathize with you) so it's not particularly useful to back up any argument, fyi.
mr_lincoln
·1 month ago@nicenvintage
Now I understand what you are referring to. Those star stats are subjective and completely inaccurate and as far as I know have little to no effect on your items and how they are placed in search results. The reason I say that is i have sold in round numbers 9,800 items over a 10-11 year period and the highest star rating I have is like 343 ... that equates to about 3.5% of all transactions. Your account is like 1,300 round number sales and highest star rating is 62 ... so that math comes out to about 4.8% ... so for you what happened to the other 95.2% and for me 96.5%? I don't know nor do I care. While I don't buy much on eBay I can say that when I do I check a Seller's Feedback but ignore those star ratings ...
gurlcat
·1 month ago · EditedIf your world is so rocked by star ratings like this
I am seriously concerned about what will happen when you get a negative feedback and your percent positive goes to 99.6% (which would show at the very top of every listing, unlike star ratings which buyers would have to go digging for).
If other sellers really wanted to hurt you, don't you think they'd do THAT instead of silly star ratings.
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoI wouldn't call simply scrolling down digging..oh well happy selling!
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoThis is a more "quieter" ..sneaky way of slow burning the competition oh you tee!
kensgiftshop
·1 month agoYou do know that rolling papers don't qualify for Media Mail.
gurlcat
·1 month agoI used to know a dude who rolled with bible pages.
kensgiftshop
·1 month agoMy dad, when he was young, he used to use leaves from grape vines to roll his cigarettes.
christworks
·1 month agoDo I ever have a story along those lines. It will have to wait until another time. 🙃
grann-4629
·1 month agoWaiting and looking forward to it 😎
chapeau-noir
·1 month ago · EditedI used to know a dude who rolled with bible pages.
He had the best luck with 2 Samuel 22:9. Nice even burn.
nicenvintage
OP1 month agonicenvintage
OP1 month agoThey were listed as economy shipping..but the "new look" inadvertently changed it to media mail...thanks for the heads up..I know they're not media mail..Good night y'all, sleep tight $$
gurlcat
·1 month agoRegarding the OP's killer fast shipping, am I the only one who cannot find their handling time on any listings? I've checked several in various categories, also checked other sellers to make sure eBay wasn't just hiding it again, but no, it's just THIS^ seller's listings -EDD, yes, but no stated handling time.
gurlcat
·1 month ago@nicenvintage What handling time do you put on your listings? Are you aware that it doesn't show up in the shipping details like it's supposed to? -That is way more likely to cost you sales than 4.9/5.0 star ratings.
inhawaii
·1 month agoI don't understand your complaint.
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoShipping speed stat just got lower.
I offer same day..goes out almost instantly . How does that stat go down?
And if shipping cost is too high, why not haggle? Why complain after the sale
grann-4629
·1 month agoHaggling on shipping costs is a no-no.
ref: other posts on this forum
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoHaggle the item price, I know you can't haggle shipping..wow robots anyone..I also thing the new app listing too defaulted my economy shipping on the papers to media mail.. same day used to show on item specs...whew...sorry I asked
mam98031
·1 month ago@nicenvintage Please participate in the thread you started. We would like to assist you, but we need a better understanding of what the problem actually is. We likely can help, but we need your cooperation too.
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoNavigating this isn't a cake walk forgive me if this is a bit hap hazard..my shipping speed just went down a notch..huh? I'm same day y'all..not my fault if post office is slow. Can't ai get this? I did read elsewhere online ai responses that competition sellers with same items will buy something then trash your stats..that's a bummer, no?
mam98031
·1 month agoYou may not have control over the PO, but you ARE still held responsible to ship the item on time and we are responsible for the item until it gets delivered. It has always been that way. It isn't the AI's fault.
If you are having problems getting the PO to scan you items correctly, then CONTACT THEM, explain the issue and try to get them to do THEIR job more responsibly as it is affecting your job negatively when they don't process the scans right and on time.
You need to contact your local PO and talk directly with the MANAGER of that location. Politely and professionally explain the problem. If that gets you no where, the go to USPS.com and file a complain on the location near you. While some will say it doesn't work, my experience is that it does and I've personally done this a couple of times and had a great outcome.
onefootflipper
·1 month ago · EditedMessage erased, leaving forum due to threatening forum member following me around on the internet.
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoI don't know what your reply means
gurlcat
·1 month ago@nicenvintage Probably because onefoot misunderstood what your post means. Because your post is CLEAR AS MUD.
Explain what kind of "stats" you're talking about, and what you mean by "snipers".
onefootflipper
·1 month ago · EditedMessage erased, leaving forum due to threatening forum member following me around on the internet.
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoLook back and you'll see the truth Neo. Thank you.
kensgiftshop
·1 month agoNo one here knows what your original post is about.
shado-x
·1 month ago · EditedOf course, you don't what the reply means. :p
mr_lincoln
·1 month agoHi @nicenvintage
"Sniping" is a term used for last second bidding on Auctions. You have sold 43 items in the last 90 days, I glanced down that list and it appears they are all BIN (Buy it now) listing formats.
Could you explain further the "stat" you are referring to and how Same day shipping might relate to that data?
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoSniping is also a term used for buyers buying your product just to leave all one star ratings weather it arrived quickly or not..nad..all the questions answered with a one star rating. Not my fault post office was slow.
gurlcat
·1 month agoOkay thank you for explaining, but I don't think anybody else calls that sniping, also I seriously doubt other sellers are spending money to buy things from you (and what, countless other competing sellers too? Of vintage items?) .... just to give you low star ratings.
But most importantly, NOBODY CARES ABOUT STAR RATINGS. Your feedback percent and comments matter to some buyers, but not all, and if anybody is looking at your star ratings they're probably such an uptight karen you don't want them as a buyer anyway.
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoI've looked further into this phenomenon..buyers looking to kill your stats is a thing now..good luck.
gurlcat
·1 month agoOhhhhhh you've looked into it? Well then, it must be true!
But even if it is, it doesn't matter, because (say it with me)
buyers
don't
care
about
star
ratings.
And if buyers don't, then why should you? I have no idea how good or bad mine are, because I never even glance at them.
nicenvintage
OP1 month ago · EditedOk, thanks
Good
for
You!
BTW:
gone.c-33
·1 month agoPlease don’t believe everything Google AI says, not just about eBay but about EVERYTHING.
onefootflipper
·1 month ago · EditedMessage erased, leaving forum due to threatening forum member following me around on the internet.
gurlcat
·1 month ago@onefootflipper Do you agree that "Main Character Syndrome" a growing thing among ebay sellers? Like how can the concept of scale be so lost on people?
onefootflipper
·1 month ago · EditedMessage erased, leaving forum due to threatening forum member following me around on the internet.
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoGosh, thanks. Other sellers want to shed competition..slow burn style..passive aggressive and such.. your quite oblivious of that tid bit. So many negative retorts. Thanks 🙏
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoI respectfully disagree. Thanks mentioning my bubble.
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoSorry, I meant sellers with identical items..geez.
onefootflipper
·1 month ago · EditedMessage erased, leaving forum due to threatening forum member following me around on the internet.
nicenvintage
OP1 month agoOk got sniper means only one thing got it thanks.
grann-4629
·1 month ago · EditedWhat do you call a 'sneaky **** with rifle'?
There are other definitions of the word 'sniper' is all I'm trying to say 😎
nicenvintage
OP1 month agokensgiftshop
·1 month agoWhat does snipping have to do with your stats?
grann-4629
·1 month agoWhat?