w~~_7.JPG "pjcdn2005"){kind=avatar}
Hello rose-dee and pj. Thanks for your insights. My concern is with Top-Rated in the US, not Top-rated PLUS. Within the past 48 hours, I have gone from 91.3 per cent tracking uploaded and validated to 64 per cent..... the numbers are analyzed daily but go to the current three-month period. This system is fatally flawed.
Tracking uploaded within handling time and validated by carrier
64.29%
(9 out of 14 transactions)
(Top Rated Sellers must have at least 90.00%)
Tracking uploaded
100.00%
(14 out of 14 transactions)racking uploaded within handling time
100.00%
(14 out of 14 transactions)Tracking uploaded and validated by carrier
64.29%
(9 out of 14 transactions)Create a report to see which of your transactions did not meet the tracking upload requirement
I had two items of the 14 that shipped to the USA without a trackable service: one was light packet and the other unregistered i.e. Small Packets Airmail. The rest have all been sent Tracked Packet. I should sit at 85 per cent. My meagre reports are 'in progress'.
@mjwl2006 wrote:Hello rose-dee and pj. Thanks for your insights. My concern is with Top-Rated in the US, not Top-rated PLUS. Within the past 48 hours, I have gone from 91.3 per cent tracking uploaded and validated to 64 per cent..... the numbers are analyzed daily but go to the current three-month period. This system is fatally flawed.
Tracking uploaded within handling time and validated by carrier64.29%(9 out of 14 transactions)(Top Rated Sellers must have at least 90.00%)Tracking uploaded100.00%(14 out of 14 transactions)racking uploaded within handling time100.00%(14 out of 14 transactions)Tracking uploaded and validated by carrier64.29%(9 out of 14 transactions)Create a report to see which of your transactions did not meet the tracking upload requirement
I had two items of the 14 that shipped to the USA without a trackable service: one was light packet and the other unregistered i.e. Small Packets Airmail. The rest have all been sent Tracked Packet. I should sit at 85 per cent. My meagre reports are 'in progress'.
From the 20th of the month to the end of the month the tracking stats are "live". That means if you sell something yesterday it's going to show that you haven't uploaded tracking. If you sold something 4 days ago and it hasn't yet been shipped it's going to show that you haven't uploaded tracking. If you sold something 4 days ago and have uploaded tracking it will show as not yet verified because there hasn't been enough time for eBay to check the status.
You will always see this wobbling over the last 10 days of the month because the current month will be used for next months evaluation. After the 1st the wobble goes away because no new sales are being added as they won't come into play until NEXT months evaluation.
Have a look at the number in "Trending Data" that may help you to make sense of it.
@mjwl2006 wrote:Hello rose-dee and pj. Thanks for your insights. My concern is with Top-Rated in the US, not Top-rated PLUS. Within the past 48 hours, I have gone from 91.3 per cent tracking uploaded and validated to 64 per cent..... the numbers are analyzed daily but go to the current three-month period. This system is fatally flawed.
Hi 'mj' -- maybe I wasn't being clear, or perhaps I've misunderstood what benefits you're concerned about.
If your concern is with the (regular) US Top-Rated status, tracking is irrelevant (assuming you're registered on the Canadian site of course). You will get the 20% discount regardless, provided you meet the other TRS requirements (# of transactions, dollar value, defect level, etc.).
If your concern is to have the "badge" or "seal" shown on the U.S. site that Top Rated Plus sellers get (for whatever it might be worth, who really knows?), then you do need to meet the same tracking requirements as your U.S. counterparts. There are probably some other minor perks as well, but in my view they don't justify using expensive tracking 90% of the time to get them.
I think the tracking percentages are shown to Canadians to let them know where they stand if they do want to meet the more onerous US TRS Plus qualifications. As I said, I'm really not convinced the exorbitant cost of tracked shipping on 90% of US-bound parcels justifies the pretty gold "seal", but it's possible it may have some effect on placement. I haven't heard anything specific on that subject though.
Here's a screen shot of my current status vis-a-vis tracking. I have US TRS, but not TRS Plus. Note the text circled in red with respect to Canadian sellers.
I just happen to have had more than the usual number of tracked parcels in the last couple of months, so I'm up to about 39%, but normally it's around 10%.
I don't care to pay for tracking in order to get a distinction on the .com site that may or may not have an effect on my sales. EBay hasn't given any assurances on that point, and until that happens, I'll continue to pass on paying for tracking. If anybody else can provide a link to such assurances, I'd be interested to see it.
The (regular) US TRS is different though -- as I said, the 20% discount is important to me, and I think it may help in placement on .com. Using tracking merely in order to get the TRS Plus gold seal on .com isn't worth it, in my estimation.
@mjwl2006 wrote:While I appreciate the discount, it's the Top-Rated designation on ebay.com that I am wanting. Maybe it makes a difference in search results and maybe it doesn't but it lends an air of 'officialness' to a seller when I see it as a buyer.
I understand what you're saying, but I think we Canadian sellers have to balance the appearance of the "seal of approval" against the downsides of tracking.
It's just my own view, but I think you may be wasting a lot of money (and passing expensive unnecessary shipping on to your buyers, perhaps risking defects for neutral/negative FB) in order to get something of unsubstantiated value.
The day eBay assures me (backed up by some numbers, SVP) that that little gold seal will increase my U.S. sales by 20% or more, I'll go back to using tracking. 
@mjwl2006 wrote:
@recped wrote:From the 20th of the month to the end of the month the tracking stats are "live". That means if you sell something yesterday it's going to show that you haven't uploaded tracking. If you sold something 4 days ago and it hasn't yet been shipped it's going to show that you haven't uploaded tracking. If you sold something 4 days ago and have uploaded tracking it will show as not yet verified because there hasn't been enough time for eBay to check the status.
You will always see this wobbling over the last 10 days of the month because the current month will be used for next months evaluation. After the 1st the wobble goes away because no new sales are being added as they won't come into play until NEXT months evaluation.
Have a look at the number in "Trending Data" that may help you to make sense of it.
Thank you. It does explain the problem I'm looking at but it doesn't quite address the problem this type of evaluation system has created. The 'trending' data tells me that merely one of my tracking numbers has been validated when I know that four have been. I suppose then that my complaint is that if these items had sold to their USA customers on May 18 instead of May 21, I'd be looking at a Top-Rated Plus Seal on ebay.com right now. On May 19, I had three transactions left to meet the 100 requirement and had passed the 90 per cent validated tracking requirement and then the evaluation period changed. It's daily for one thing, monthly for another, and then quarterly for the third. That's kind of silly. Who evaluates this way? It's like comparing apples to oranges and then throwing a flaming chainsaw into the juggling act.
Nope you still not getting it!!
How do you "know" they have been validated? Just because USPS gave it a scan doesn't mean eBay has gotten around to checking to confirm. I normally see 3 - 5 days between a scan and when eBay validates, sometimes it takes longer but it doesn't matter one bit.
As for ANYTHING in May....it doesn't count until June 20th. Your evaluation that was done on May 20th covered the period Feb 1 to April 30, any sales in May don't need to be validated until your June evaluation which covers March, April & May sales.
@mjwl2006 wrote:
For me, tracking isn't only about the Top-Rated Plus issue. Because I sell high-demand items and/or toys that have a fluctuating value, I encounter the occasional issue of, um, how shall I put it.... buyer's remorse is too kind a term.
I understand your concerns, I do. You're selling to a more volatile market than many, but at least it's not teenage DVD gaming paraphernalia.
Let me play devil's advocate and posit an alternate possible business model. If you know you have a lot of U.S. competition on similar items, to reverse the usual maxim, why not beat them on price and shipping rather than trying to join them by displaying a badge of dubious proven value?
Use those $8 or $9 per item that you're now spending on upgrading to tracked shipping on every sale as a means of offering free shipping on everything. Use Light/Small Packet on all but the most "problematic" sales, message every purchaser with a personal thank-you note and their expected date of delivery (you probably already do this), and maybe even throw in something cute but inexpensive as a surprise free gift with every purchase. Ladybug sticky notes, cute little fridge magnets, etc. etc., there must be thousands of such items that would do.
Actually, it would probably require less than $8 or $9 per item to do this effectively. What I'm saying is that by offering free shipping I expect you'd get better placement in searches than with any TRS Plus seal, far happier customers, and you'll likely boost sales volume significantly. Tout the free shipping everywhere possible, and prominently on your listings -- I mean within the title, and right up top in the description.
Yes, you may currently be protecting yourself against an occasional INR (I say "may" because it's by no means certain) by using tracked shipping across the board, but my view is that you're chasing an expensive shadow (the TRS Plus seal) that has no proven record of making a difference.
Consider that by selling a ca. $20 item with $12 or $15 shipping, you may already be creating a somewhat grudging customer who is more likely to complain about delayed delivery via an INR (whether fraudulent or legitimate) because they feel they've paid for the gold standard in shipping, than someone who has received completely free shipping. True, you may get the occasional INR anyway, but a higher sales volume and your top-notch, personalized service would help to protect you against too many resulting defects.
In the end, it's a choice between trying to protect oneself against all risk, or accepting a low level of risk (inherent in every business) in exchange for better sales. My guess is that if you removed all shipping charges from your items, you'd beat out a whole lot of your U.S. competitors.
I know eBay doesn't make these decision easy for any of us, and there is always the defect monster hanging over our heads. Selling categories make a difference too. As do Canada Post rates. However, I think sales volume trumps a lot of those problems, if you can manage it. (And you'd save yourself a lot of grief and concern over your monthly tracking percentages).
All just IMHO and in an effort to offer some help. 
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