Leaving Feedback - what happens if you don't click the stars?

LindaP

O.G.
Dec 31, 2007
8,981
15
I just left feedback for an ebay seller and I realized that I hit submit too soon and did not click any of the star ratings. I would have given him 5 stars on everything. I hope this means it just doesn't count my votes for stars at all, rather than count them as a low rating?

Linda
 
It doesn't help the seller but I don't think it hurts either. I could be wrong but I always assumed that if you do not rate the stars it doesn't count as anything. We should call and ask.. I am curious too.
 
^ I think so too -- if you don't click the stars they don't count at all. If a seller offers free shipping, they automatically get 5 stars for shipping.
 
It doesn't count against the seller and doesn't help them. Think of the stars as being optional - I know a lot of buyers who are sellers who have stopped giving any stars because the system is so one sided and punitive towards sellers.
 
It does nothing at all. I have a lot of people who leave me feedback without stars.

I always give sellers 5 stars for everything if they got my package to me in less than 2 weeks and weren't huge jerks. It's true that it's so easy to accidentally harm a seller by leaving a well-intentioned 4 stars.
 
Oh, how does giving 4 or 3 stars harm the sellers? I do that if either the shipping was a much higher than they paid for or if the item or service was okay but not quite as expected, ie. it stinks of smoke or is more used than expected or dirty etc.
Can the sellers actually see what rating I gave them? I only sold a few things and have never noticed how many stars buyers gave me, only the overall rarting.
 
Ok good, I'm glad it doesn't harm the seller to leave out the stars. I never knew you could do that until I did it by accident, I thought they had to be filled in. I wish I could have given him his 5 stars but ah well, he did get a positive rating.

I do occasionally give 4 stars, I give 5 stars for the best shipping prices (actual shipping) but if they charge much more I'll give 4 stars. I think sellers that give the best shipping prices should be rewarded, I wouldn't rate them the same essentially as another seller that goes over.

In this case, the seller charged me $5 and placed it in a priority box so I know I paid actual for shipping and he didn't pay for any materials. I would have been happy to give him 5 stars.

Linda
 
Ok good, I'm glad it doesn't harm the seller to leave out the stars. I never knew you could do that until I did it by accident, I thought they had to be filled in. I wish I could have given him his 5 stars but ah well, he did get a positive rating.

I do occasionally give 4 stars, I give 5 stars for the best shipping prices (actual shipping) but if they charge much more I'll give 4 stars. I think sellers that give the best shipping prices should be rewarded, I wouldn't rate them the same essentially as another seller that goes over.

In this case, the seller charged me $5 and placed it in a priority box so I know I paid actual for shipping and he didn't pay for any materials. I would have been happy to give him 5 stars.

Linda

Be aware that the 4 stars you leave may be removed from the seller's DSR based on eBay's new DSR criteria.

eBay automatically removed one of my low shipping DSRs because the priority shipping charge was at actual cost and arrived within the delivery date range. The buyer could have asked me via official msg if she wanted non-priority to save on shipping costs, but she didn't. Is that my fault or hers?

I have never left a neutral or negative feedback for a seller. 98% of the time, I leave sellers 5 star DSRs. However, there are very rare instances where I leave 4 stars - it usually has to do with item not as described and stated ship time versus actual ship time. The seller forgot that I can still compare the post mark on the box to the shipping/handling time stated in the listing even if the seller didn't purchase tracking or upload the tracking number.

To clarify: Leaving 1-4 stars does do damage to the seller's ratings. Leaving 0 stars does not count against the seller.
 
Oh, how does giving 4 or 3 stars harm the sellers? I do that if either the shipping was a much higher than they paid for or if the item or service was okay but not quite as expected, ie. it stinks of smoke or is more used than expected or dirty etc.
Can the sellers actually see what rating I gave them? I only sold a few things and have never noticed how many stars buyers gave me, only the overall rarting.

boutiquepatina explained it quite well. Basically I would consider 4 stars to be "good" and 5 to be "really really excellent", but eBay has these ridiculous policies where, if you want to be a top rated seller, your average has to be above 4.7 or 4.8 (forget the exact number, but it's very close to 5). So if I give someone 4 stars because they did a good job, it's still a punishment according to the eBay system.
But your system sounds pretty reasonable.. I mean, if I wasn't happy with some aspect of the transaction then I wouldn't give five stars either. I just try to err on the side of higher ratings because I'm a seller too and I sympathize with them.
Also, you can't tell who gave you what star ratings, but if your seller doesn't have many ratings and you give them really low ratings, then you might drag down the stars enought that they can tell you did it. For example, if a new seller only had 2 people give them star ratings, all five stars, and you hated them and gave them one star, then they could look and see that you left feedback and suddenly their stars dropped. But there's no way they could prove you did it, and furthermore, there's nothing they can do about it!
 
You should be giving all 5's unless a transaction is really screwed up. Either that or don't give out stars.

For shipping, I find buyers ding stars because they feel like the item did not get to them fast enough. How do I have any control over that? Once I drop it off, it is out of my hands.

Anything less than a 5 is punishment.
 
Yup. I got a 1 for shipping time, from a buyer, for an item that was shipped within 27 hours and received as international delivery within 6 days. By a very experienced eBayer (well over 1,000 feedbacks). I think that is vindictive. all for an item of less than $10. very very nasty.
 
Be aware that the 4 stars you leave may be removed from the seller's DSR based on eBay's new DSR criteria.

eBay automatically removed one of my low shipping DSRs because the priority shipping charge was at actual cost and arrived within the delivery date range. The buyer could have asked me via official msg if she wanted non-priority to save on shipping costs, but she didn't. Is that my fault or hers?

.

Well if they remove it, they remove it, but I think a 4 star rating is still good. In your situation you charged actual shipping costs so that's a different scenario than what I mentioned. I agree there was no fault of your own there.

There has to be some way to differentiate between sellers that charge actual cost and those that mark it up. Otherwise why even offer the buyer to choose between a 5 star rating? Often a buyer does not realize they were overcharged until they get the package, so it's not something they could have determined when initially making the purchase.

I would always check tracking before leaving the seller a lower star rating on shipping time, but 99% of the sellers I deal with ship out immediately so it's never been much of an issue. I work for the PO so I know the seller has no control over the package once it leaves their hands.

ETA: Maybe an example will help. I once had a seller that stated in big letters in her listing that she knows her shipping charges are a little on the high side but that's because she ships Fed-Ex, she doesn't use USPS, etc. etc. So I went ahead and bid and paid and when she shipped the item it came by USPS not Fed-Ex, and for $8 less than what I paid. At that point I was ticked because I felt like she had mislead me, I don't mind paying actual shipping costs depending on the service they use but I don't want to over-pay shipping. I had no way of knowing this until the box arrived. I wouldn't give her a 1 star rating, but I wouldn't give her a 5 either. There has to be some way to reward sellers that are considerate to their buyers.

Linda
 
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Linda, under normal circumstances, a 4 should be good. But the ratings require sellers in the USA to get at least 4.6 to 4.8 continuously. It's impossible to do that if you get 4's because it drops the average. It's a far from perfect system, but it is reality on eBay.

I took to sending an email to show my buyers the postage cost in US$ and in yen, as I post in Yen. To post an item for 1200 yen, actually costs me about $14.80, but buyers see 1200 and they think dollars. So I was subsidizing postage and still getting 4's until I explained the difference. After explaining, I usually get 5's for shipping.
 
Linda, under normal circumstances, a 4 should be good. But the ratings require sellers in the USA to get at least 4.6 to 4.8 continuously. It's impossible to do that if you get 4's because it drops the average. It's a far from perfect system, but it is reality on eBay.

I do realize that, but as long as a seller is charging actual shipping or close enough, they're going to get 5 stars for me. It's only if the shipping is marked up that I would give less than 5 stars. I think I am a very fair buyer when dealing with sellers and treat them as I would want to be treated. I don't think a seller that pads shipping charges should receive the same rating as as seller that doesn't.

I took to sending an email to show my buyers the postage cost in US$ and in yen, as I post in Yen. To post an item for 1200 yen, actually costs me about $14.80, but buyers see 1200 and they think dollars. So I was subsidizing postage and still getting 4's until I explained the difference. After explaining, I usually get 5's for shipping.

Good idea to explain the difference! You absolutely should have gotten 5 star ratings. :smile:

Linda
 
I don't believe in giving 5-star ratings in all areas unless the transaction is totally screwed up. I believe in giving honest ratings that truthfully reflect the nature of the transaction. Shipping time could be great, but communication could suck.