Bot-recorded metrics, aka ebay "service metrics" are only as useful as the people who decide what to record and how to identify it and relate it to performance. And, ebay, you're measuring some things and identifying them as another.
For example, my "Returns" rate is creeping to the high side of what ebay identified as Average. But, what ebay is calling "returns" are NOT returns. Because I sell used electronics, most often coming with no instruction manual, often purchased by people who don't want to either think of themselves as ignorant, nor invest the time and effort to learn how to properly use their purchase, I get more return requests than somebody selling nails. But, since I've spent the last 35 years providing AV technical support in the world of right-brained academia, I expend the hours and do the communication that results in about half of those return requests being cancelled, closed by the buyer, a good proportion of them posting positive feedback. BUT, ... every one of those return REQUESTS continues to be counted as a "Return". BOGUS!
Also, I currently have a shipping "Tracking record" that shows 7 transactions as having been uploaded late or not uploaded at all. Three of them were items that sold while I had my Away settings properly set, sold early in the week of my vacation, showing as "Late" even before my Away period had ended. I spent vacation time talking to a CSR about this, who agreed that it was in error and said she was noting her observation to get the defect removed, also saying she was seeing the same thing happening to other sellers "site-wide". Two of the transactions with no tracking are the result of making local deliveries of items purchased, but not listed as set to allow "Local pickup." But copious documentation of ebay messages corroborates the deliveries, as does the immediately posted positive buyer feedback, posted before a carrier delivery could have been made. (ebay uses bots, and bots don't reason like that.) One of the 7 transactions resulted in a prompt warning from PayPal to not ship, because the account owner reported the transaction as unauthorized. The last I knew, ebay and PayPal communicate, or at least their bots do. Of the 7 transactions, ONE lack of tracking is related to a mistake of mine. I could not quickly find a remote control to ship, so, within a few hours I had purchased same item from another seller, which he prompty shipped directly to my buyer. But, ebay would not allow that seller's tracking number to upload as related to my transaction (I do understand why not) to prove fulfillment of my shipping obligation, which was shipped a full day earlier than required. So, ebay, your "tracking record" is some sort of tracking record, but it does not relate very closely to seller delivery performance. Which of the two is the more important to you?
My current tracking-validated on-time shipping has dropped too close for comfort to the 95% minimum metric to maintain my TRS status. I am not worried about my ability to promptly ship my sales, but I believe I do have good reason to be concerned that ebay will make one more error or misuse a metric.
