Any suggestions on raising communication DSR?

[shari_nat]

I thought I was getting 4.9 for communication but my last 30 days score is 4.8.

Just wondering what others do and how I can incorporate new ideas.

Here is my usual communication scenario:

I send an invoice which includes a thank you for theirr purchase and details on shipping costs and time frame. It usually gets set right after the auction ends or the next morning.

Payment received notification.

Shipping notification with more details on expected delivery time.

For items that are not new, I include a handwritten note right in the package thanking them for their purchase and asking them to contact me if there are any problems with the product.

I answer all ASQ with a personal touch, within a few hours of receiving the question. No one word answers and always thank the potential buyer for their interest.



If anyone has any other suggestions I will glady welcome them.

Thanks!

Shari

[pierrelebel]

I do what you do.

"Payment received notification."

However, in addition, I leave feedback immediately upon receipt of payment (not in batches weeks later or upon receipt of feedback from buyer).

For those buyers who pay attention to feedback (not all of them do) it helps create an additional level of confidence in the transaction.

Good Luck. .

[shari_nat]

Thanks Pierre, I've been giving the upcoming new feedback changes lots of thought. I may start leaving feedback when a buyer pays, especially if you and others have noticed a positive difference.

[pierrelebel]

"have noticed a positive difference..."

I have NOT noticed any difference as I have always left positive feedback immediately upon receipt of payment since I started selling on eBay ten years ago.

If you check around, you may notice most sellers who give feedback upon receipt of payment seem to have higher DSRs than those who wait.

Coincidence? Maybe not.

Buyers leave DSR based on what they feel about a transaction. I like to make them feel good! ;-) .

[futuretech_liquidations]

Shari_nat - sounds like your doing everything right and in a professional manner too so keep doing what your doing.

As for leaving feedback, we leave feedback only after receiving it because of the nature of the items we sell. We trend to attract alot for questionable buyers.

Regards,

Tim @ FTL

[recped]

with 4.8 or 4.9 I suggest you do nothing different. At the rate you are getting feedback just one or two 4 ratings will bring you down a tenth on your 30 day numbers.

It's unrealistic to think you can get 5's from every buyer.

[shari_nat]

Thanks ftl and recped. I guess I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. My sales will pick up more now that I'm not on vacation anymore. My store was closed for 2 weeks and prior to that I wasn't running any auctions for 2 weeks so my quantity of DSRs was low.

I'm still thinking about leaving feedback first but maybe I'll wait until I have to. May 1st?? when I can't leave neg anymore.

Shari

[ameroindustries]

I send everyone shipping notifications that there item has been shipped and NOT to contact me until 2 weeks in canada or 4 weeks in uas . works great for the most part LOL I h8 anwsering emails .

[ameroindustries]

uSa not uas

[momoftwingles2]

Hi centralmetalcorp,

Just curious...why do you not combine shipping? It seems that many of your buyers request it. It would help with your DSR's! Also...perhaps encouraging your buyers to contact you should they feel the need to for any concerns might raise your communication DSR! Sometimes buyers when they give you THEIR money need a little hand holding and as a seller if you are able to put them at ease...it goes a long ways with customer satisfaction!

As I mentioned...just curious!
Susan

[dipmicro]

Susan, this kid (central) ships 150 packages a day and already works 16hr/day. Just his eBay invoice is probably bigger than both of our revenues combined.

I guess he could use a 15% discount on fees, 15% out of 10-20k/month is like winning vacation every month.

[momoftwingles2]

Thanks dipmicro,

As I had said, I was just curious.

Susan

[coxengines]

In an earlier post, I had advocated emailing specific text to buyers as a shipping confirmation and then include a similar note in the package as a means of raising shipping DSR's.

Not only did I receive my 15% but my 30-day shipping average went to "5.0". My complete 30-day stats are 5.0, 5.0, 5.0, 4.9, the last item because I do add a buck per item over actual cost incl. packaging.

If anyone would like a copy of this text, I would be happy to post it.

Xena

[momoftwingles2]

Way to go Xena! I wish you continued success!

For sure...please post your message!
Susan
momoftwingles2

[coxengines]

This is what I send as payment confirmation:

Your package has been shipped today via Canada Post; your merchandise carefully packed and fully insured.

Please let us know when you have received your package and that everything was to your satisfaction. Once that you have received your package, could you be so kind as to leave us feedback on eBay and we will gladly do the same for you?


A NOTE TO FEEDBACK:

eBay has implemented a 5-Star rating system. When rating us for “shipping time”, please keep in mind that this refers to how quickly the seller ships after receiving payment (we ship within 24 hours) and NOT how long the package takes to arrive to you, as the seller has absolutely no control over Canada Post’s delivery times.

It has been a pleasure serving you, thanks again for your prompt payment and we wish you a terrific day!

Xena & Bernie
“xenalook”

[coxengines]

And this is what I include in the package itself:

Hello and thank you for buying from us. We trust that the merchandise you received fully meets or exceeds your expectations.

When you get a chance, could you perhaps log into eBay and leave us some feedback? That would be greatly appreciated and we will certainly reciprocate in kind.

A NOTE TO FEEDBACK:
eBay has implemented a 5-Star rating system. When rating us for “shipping time”, please keep in mind that this refers to how quickly the seller ships after receiving cleared payment (we ship within 24 hours) and NOT how long the package takes to arrive to you, as the seller has absolutely no control over Canada Post’s delivery times.

It has been a pleasure serving you, thanks again for your business and we hope that you will “visit” again soon.

Xena & Bernie
“xenalook”

[momoftwingles2]

Hi Xena,

Great job! I personally, and this is a personal decision, would only change one line! And that line is:

When you get a chance, could you perhaps log into eBay and leave us some feedback? That would be greatly appreciated and we will certainly reciprocate in kind.

In the letter I send out I put: Kindly let me know when your package arrives so that I know it is safely in your hands. I have left positive feedback for you and hope that you'll return the favor in kind if you are happy with your purchases.

However, I applaud your work! I think it is great! The communication is open and honest and shows that you care!

Susan

[dipmicro]

Many of my customers buy several items and we combine. Originally, we did let customers to enter the combined shipping (the weight of every item and weight based shipping charges are very clear from the description) but we were getting into problems. Some were entering $0 for shipping hoping they get a freebie, others were adding to orders and entering $0 for second S/H regardless that we stressed we needed single payment for combined shipping.

I added shipping cost for additional item to my listings and prevented buyers to edit it and problems are gone. For example if it's 7g item, the cost is $2 + $0.20 for every additional.

Many request the combined shipping, some don't read the shipping policy, they just let eBay combine. I have had buyer paying $18 for shipping that would normally be $3. I guess they might get frustrated and never look back.

I expect my DSR to go down with this change, but we have WAY less work communicating to buyers of $1 items in 2-3 emails that we need single payment in order to save us $0.29 on PayPal transaction, refunding two payments and resending combined invoice.

[dipmicro]

Oh yes, I forgot to mention ... if there is an excessive eBay-combined shipping we would refund the excess less $1.

[shari_nat]

Thanks Xena!

I've used some of your wording already (from your post a few weeks back). I really appreciate you sharing that with us.

Shari