DSR shipping fees under 4.5 anyone else having problems ?

[dagr8_renaud]

here is what I will try in all my next lisings , I will add the followong message in all my auction , before you read it understand english is a second language for me so any input greatly appreciated ..

If all Canadain Power sellers write a similar note in all of our listing we will get way more Exposure ... I was thinking maybe someone could make a nice lookin HTML so that we could all have the same one this way even buyer who dont read auction would be curious at one point or another read it .

anyways here it is :

" A note about DSR ( Detailed Seller Ratings ) , PLEASE READ :



While it is very hard to achieve perfection in an online transaction eBay still requires Power Sellers like me to obtain a minimum of 4.5 / 5 on all ratings ... This means when you rate a seller under 5 in any categories it is exactly like saying he does not deserve to be a Power Seller . Recently I have problems obtaining rating above 4.5 in the shipping and handling fees category ( and only in this category ), hence the need to explain shipping fees :


The only way for me to obtain Insurance and tracking information FOR ALL INTERNATIONAL ORDERS is to use Canada Post' s Xpress Post to the US and Canada Post' s E.M.S for international orders . In the United States they have more options for shipping overseas but in Canada we do NOT .

My handling fees are flat fee of 3 $ on every transaction ( sometimes it covers packaging fees sometimes it does NOT )

If you think that is too much and know how I could lower these handling fees please kindly let me know, but please remember I sell sunglasses it is a fragile item and requires to be packed carefully .

Believe me I am aware that paying 60 $ for shipping a 300 $ pair of sunglasses anywhere in Europe or Asia is very frustrating. If I could lower my cost I would sell a lot more , I receive many emails from Italy, Thailand and all over the world to tell me if shipping was lower they would buy from me . Thank you for taking the time to read this and considering how to rate a seller's DSR . "


So what do you all think ? of course this one is personalized for my listing but you get my drift , thanks in advance for your inputs , if solution like this have been posted somewhere else I apologize and thank you in advance for linking me to those solutions .

[ampurtle]

Well EXCUSE ME, but why aren't people using the eBay/Paypal shipping features ? It makes life a lot easier...

If the service you need is not available to specific destinations, then exclude those destinations, or better yet, use the eBay/Paypal shipping features and avoid all the problems.

From where I'm sitting, people just want to make sure Canada Post remains the 1st choice whipping boy and aren't really interested in resolving issues...

[cumos55]

You are what you are... You are the sum total of all of your experiences, how you have dealt with those experiences, both positive and negative.

Each of us is different... that is to be expected.

How we express ourselves in conversation and through visual expression is unique..

However, the written word is a whole new way of expressing ourselves... and even there we each show our character. There are no visual or verbal cues

Words are words... but how we put them into sentences, and in turn express ourselves is different for each and everyone.

Go back over this discussion.. print it out... Cut out each person's replies and look at how each person has expressed themselves..

A buyer reads the email you have sent... They can each get a sense of who you are...

The critical thing for of us is to separate the self from what is being written... What will the buyer's response to this email be.

One has to always be positive... You cannot hide unhappiness in an email.

Try this... the next time you are unhappy with a buyer... compose an email... then leave... Come back when you can then read the email as if you are the buyer.. What will the buyer feel? Be very critical of yourself.

The buyer knows you through your listing... what you say and how you say it... your TOS can be very expressive.... without being aggressive.

[coxengines]

Right on cumos55!!!

It is precisely as I had stated earlier in this thread:

The spirit of what you do carries over in the way you do business. Your customers feel this and act accordingly.

Perhaps I should have added: "The spirit of who you are..."

A listing and its TOS are a reflection of who the seller is and buyers can usually "feel" this.

Even if they buy from a seller that is not happy on the inside, they start off with (often subconscious) negative feelings and, when the package arrives, their scrutiny of the transaction will reflect this.

There are sellers that ship heavy objects all the time (i.e. salt lamps) and have terrific DSR's.

The difference between a successful seller and one that finds naught but grief on eBay is their attitude.

It works every time - no exceptions!

Xena

[dagr8_renaud]

Xena once again I disagree with you .

Not only doing business can be learned form others
one can copy paste text for there listing here and there they can also have predefined answer for most common questions going like 'Hello ! "....." thank you , much appreciate god bless 'sign your name here' ... it is standard now a days ... it doesnt mean anything to me when a seller answers to me like this , The product and the fast service is what counts for me and it is what I offer I ship fast answer fast and sell Quality .

a lot of bad ppl have the best business in the world eventho they dotn sell quality products while a lot of VERY good ppl with very good service are poor, if the world would work like you say it would be a better place no doubt .. tho I admire, how positive you are . someone money oriented makes money out of a business , it is not who you are that will make a difference but how you conduct business....
for example look at my only negative feedback ( page 3) and tell me I deserve it .. LOL I already hear you say if you have it you deserve it , once again we dont all get what we deserve ,although there is a difference between what we think we deserve and what we actually deserve , truth is it DOESNT WORK like that .

how can you explain mine (if you even took a look at my DRS and feedback rating)


above 4.7 almost 4.8 everywhere . except what I have no control over witch is the cost ...

The answer I got from reading everything in this thread that I will use are :

_ Being positive aboutchanging thinks it will most definitely help
_ Remind my customer all the time I have no other choice but ship EMS .
_ use eBay shipping calculator .

thank you all for your inputs , if anyone is stuck using the same kind of service as me for shipping internationaly lets work together


thank you !

[pierrelebel]

"except what I have no control over which is the cost "

If you do not mind, I disagree.

Sellers have control over every aspect of the transaction except the transit time to some degree.

You can elect to charg $5.00, $10.00 or $20.00 to ship "BRAND NEW Oakley X Metal Juliet DUCATI /Positive RED" priced at $400.00. The choice is yours. .

[coxengines]

Sellers have control over every aspect of the transaction except the transit time to some degree.

Absolutely correct and precisely the reason why some sellers do well and others don't.

Dagr8, you are continually focusing on the negative aspects of your business (negative FB, etc) and by doing so your dispel an aura consistent with your feelings.

We have received two neutrals to date and, by taking responsibility as to why the buyers felt compelled to leave such, we have improved how we do business.

We blame ourselves and not our buyers.

In our main business, we rarely sell anything under $20,000, we never insure it, it takes 4-6 weeks to deliver and shipping costs per item are in the thousands (on average 5-10% of merchandise value).

Yet, we have been in business for over 20 years.

I am only saying this to point out that what you sell, what it costs and what it costs to ship only play a minor role in customer satisfaction.

There are sellers on eBay that sell refrigerators, boat engines, etc.

Since you will likely not be able to change your customers, the only thing that you can change is yourself and the way you do business.

If you stopped to listen and take some advice from all the posters here that have taken the time to respond to you (instead of discounting everything they say unless they agree with you), you will find doing business on eBay can be quite rewarding.

Xena

[coxengines]

B.T.W. dagr8, I had a look at one of your listings and I can see that you are setting yourself up for buyer discontent.

Hey, it's your business and none of mine... but you did come to the boards for help (methinks?).

Xena

[dagr8_renaud]

pierre

how could I charge 5 $ ? by paying the shipping cost and not the buyer ? my understanding is in your eBay business you have absolutely no need to use EMS , I do . for many reasons specified earlier . thank you for your answer.

Xena ,

1_ I am here to try and increase my DSR how is that negative ? you use my example to say i am negative you are missing the point I received a negative because a buyer forgot to update his address in paypal AND in eBay. he told me his other address but 1 week later . He claimed a dispute and left neg feedback out of the blue without notice I had no proof of shipment Paypal gave him his money back . that , could happen to anybody
Its like I was blamed for shipping fast and cheap .. that is exactly the point I was making .

2_ 'I am only saying this to point out that what you sell, what it costs and what it costs to ship only play a minor role in customer satisfaction.'

AGAIN YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT my customers ARE satisfied

The problem IS related directly to the shipping cost that is what DSR is for , you keep saying Buyer will rate 5 stars everywhere regardless of shippign cost , I am the living proof it is false , if DSR was a general appreciation why would I get different ratings in only 1 category . I repeat in ONLY 1 category


4_ btw my business on eBay is quite rewarding , but if I lose Power Seller Status I lose extented seller protection witch allows me to ship to unconfirmed address without risk . again you have no need for this, I do because my items are worth 10 times yours .


5_ I find it amusing that you say I am not listening while YOU been saying the same exact thing from the begining, all your interventions in this thread were meant at defending that point .

6_ by lookin at your listing I notice it is obvious you have no problem because you sell low cost items , tho you keep mentioning how others are successful at selling pricey items to international buyers (refrigerators from Canada to Europe ???? ya right ) , I have yet to hear THEM talk about it .

7_ how am I setting myself up for buyer discontent ?
regardless of what you seem to think of me I am always open to advice ( should I say please ? )..

but about MY DSR :

If you will not acknowledge my main problem about shipping and handling cost is directly related to the fact that I HAVE NO OTHER OPTIONS , you are not listening . Pierre in his only post here nailed the subject right away , I still dont understand if he is askin me to pay the shipping , or what .

this thread now became somewhere where ppl could talk about there frustration towards ' the new eBay' , that WAS NOT my Goal , my goal was to find solutions , but it seem the only users on this board are either discouraged about the 'new' eBay or are not selling pricey item to INTERNATIONAL BUYERS , thank you Xena for your inputs , I agree I am discounting some of your inputs because I still consider you have not faced my problems not because I disagree with you in fact I kinda act like this all the time even in real life ( for example I can read what I type 2-3 times before hitting send), ask any of my customers ,they will all tell you I conduct my business in a great way (and yes btw I do think who I am shows when I speak to them ).

[pierrelebel]

"how could I charge 5 $ "

You could charge whatever amount you want $0, $5, $10 or $20 as shown in your listing.

Will your customer be happier with a $5 or $10 shipping charge? You bet!

When you sell a $400 item, you should have enough margin to allow you to absorb some of the shipping cost.

"my understanding is in your eBay business you have absolutely no need to use EMS"

????

What could you possibly know about my business? How do I ship a $500 stamp? a $1,000 set? a $2,000 collection? .

[dagr8_renaud]

well sorry for my assumptions Pierre.

If you do use Ems you know a swell as me that it is 60 $ shipping
I cannot absorb 50 $ most of the tiem after paying paypal and eBay 50 $ is what I got left ..
and for the reccord that item never sold for 400$ , it always sold around 300 .

I did try to give free shipping and to adjust my price accordingly , my experience showed ppl rather have a better price and pay shipping . saddly it only takes a few user to get you down under 4.5

[ampurtle]

Xena:
What did Cox ever make that was $20k, other than the lawyers invoice LOL

I think you're full of it, if you were making $20,000 sales, you wouldn't be wasting your time as an eBay liquidator of $1.99, end of line, Cox inventory....

As a point of interest, that proves absolutely nothing, but is an interesting statistic.... I randomly selected 16 of your auction items ending over the past 4 days, ranging from 99 cents to 12 bucks, all expired with no bids. That's 4 dollars (assuming 25 cent listing) you threw away, right off the bottom line. 500 items listed at the reduced rate of 25 cents is $125.00.

I did the same for Pierre only they were all BIN items presumably listed for the $.25 special. The result was the same, but in Pierre's case there was a much larger spread on the value range, 1.99 to 400.oo, so he is getting a better deal and saving a lot of money over the regualar fees, and he only has to sell one middle priced item to recover the entire cost of the listings, which is exactly what my modelling on this scenario said, and why I adopted this model going forward.

Now,back to the subject at hand, Dagr is:
A. Not fluent enough in english pick up on everything.
B. Obviously new to the eBay experience.
C. Unable to find clear answers to his questions.
D. In need of some assistance to become more effective.

Seeing as no one is interested in actually helping the poor guy, I guess I'll have to do it myself....

email me Dagr... ampurtle@sympatico.ca

[coxengines]

Ampurtle,

My hubby is an exporter of new automobiles. He exports around 400 vehicles/year and his yearly sales are in the 8-digit figures (yes, that's over 10 mill). I can't advertise here but, if you email me directly, I'll gladly send you a link to his website, whereas you can then be the judge whether or not I am "full of it";-)

I am not wasting my time on eBay. It is fun and lucrative.

My sell-through rate on auctions is almost 100% and my store listings rarely expire with at least some of the quantities having sold. Often, I have to replenish store listing within days of posting. Some items are more popular than others.

This month, I had 3 auctions with no bids (out of about 200) and one store listing where a product did not sell at all (out of about 60 or so store listings).

So, I genuinely have no clue what you are talking about.

About 1/2 of my SCO's expire with no takers but SCO's are gravy, in case that is what you are referring to.

Cheers
Xena

[dagr8_renaud]

cmon guys , my daddy makes more money then you...

Xena your husband has great business I am glad for him , what' s that has to do with anythin .

Ampurtle I ll drop you an email , that thread was meant for it tho ..

I still dont get why everybody drops in here has to talk about how they have a good understanding of it all , while in fact none has provided a REAL answer , Xena this is NOT a mystical quest where one has to find true spirit in order to achieve DSR , this is business .. YES I CAME HERE FOR HELP but also to help others with same problem ..

eBay has already made some adjustements , for example Neutral wont be counted has NEG anymore , also user will be able to change there negative back to a positive from now on ... Its not because it suits you that it is OK , in fact it suits a minority of sellers ...

So my understanding of all your saying comes down to this I am not worthy and all those who fail are not worthy either .

Right .

[ampurtle]

Now I know you're full of it, there isn't a car under $40k that's worth buying...

"My hubby makes millions so I spend my time as an eBay liquidator of end of life discontinued toy parts because it's more fun than cruising down the coast in his 5 mil yaught".

Is this the same hubby that was in here making a total dork of himself the other week, trying to look important with his schemes to cheat Canada Post ?

I'll tag another 10 auction items and post the screen shot with zero bids, then you can enlighten everyone on your new math :^O

I think it's time someone killed this thread because it's obvious that Xena is the best thing that ever happened to eBay and has all the answers even though she has no track record of selling items over $50.oo...

[faerywishes]

I believe some of us have already given some suggestions for dagr8_renaud.

1. Educate the buyer on why the shipping is so much. Explain simply but positively. You basically have to sell your shipping costs as well as the items.

2. Educate the buyer on how important your DSR's are to you.

3. Make your listing page more buyer friendly. My suggestion would be to redo your return policy.

a. saying you are not responsible for items shipped without insurance might be incorrect. If they use paypal you will be responsible. Ebay will pretty much back the buyer as well. I offer 100% returns. As well as 30 days to do so. Most people will put it off or forget all together with that time frame. 3 day time frame I feel is too short. But that is only my opinion.
b. some of your pics are great, some not so great. In this listing pic 300243785899 I don't think
it comes across that you took your time to get a great shot. It comes across as you didn't really put much effort into it so why would for the rest of the transaction.
c. on 290247532341 the info is jumbled. What I mean is I feel it kind of jumps all over the place.

When the buyers feels you really take care of everything the shipping costs won't matter so much. I think that is what some of us have been trying to say. It's the whole package not just bits of it.

Maybe offer some freebies to help compensate for the shipping.

I do get that you are trying really hard to get the info to the buyer. I just think you need to tweak it.

Every 2 weeks someone from Ebay contacts me to help me with my store, listings, whatever. I can ask all the questions I need, they always have something prepared to teach me as well as email follow up of the call. If you are not taking advantage of this make an appointment to do so.

Have you tried Seller SourceBook? For $8.00/mth they have awesome auction templates. They make your listings look amazing and professional. Again if the buyers sees everything professional and concise with back grounds to enhance your sunglasses the shipping will become less of an issue. Your items sell on a higher end your listings should show that.

People tend to hold onto the negative aspects more than the positive so don't give your buyers the negative opportunities. Believe me they will start to care less about the shipping.

Let go the emotional part about getting a negative feed back undeserved. We all get them

[faerywishes]

oops didn't mean to post that quickly.

All of us get unfair feedback at one time or another. I have 17 neutral feed back and believe me when I got them in June I was devastated. I didn't deserve them or earn them, but I got them anyway. After a few days of whining and complaining my hubby said to me "well, now you know what it's like to be like the rest of us". I drove myself crazy trying to be perfect. Now I don't care anymore, I'd rather be unperfect than still striving to be perfect. You would have thought I would have been happy that they won't count next month. I actually don't care. It's not going to change anything really. The 17 neutral will still be there for people to see. It hasn't affected my sales.

I hope some of this helps. Try not to get so discouraged. Ignore what you don't want on any of the boards and try not to get caught up in it. There some very helpful people in here and while not every suggestion will work for you hopefully something will.

Good LuckB-)

[faerywishes]

Just one more suggestion check out this thread

Canadian Powersellers : Useful tips to quickly get the 15% discount (purse_of_the_legionary)

You might find something in there you can use.

:-)

[coxengines]

there isn't a car under $40k that's worth buying.

LOL!
Toyota Corollas sent to China are one of our best-sellers.

"My hubby makes millions

Does not. Margins are around 3-4%.

in his 5 mil yaught

Don’t have one, couldn’t afford one.

Is this the same hubby that was in here making a total dork of himself the other week,

Yes and I shall pass on your sentiments.

I'll tag another 10 auction items and post the screen shot with zero bids

Have fun!

Xena is the best thing that ever happened to eBay

Finally something nice:-x

Aside from some suggestions for dagr later in the day, that’s the end on my postings, I guess.

Xena

[coxengines]

OK, back to topic.

dagr, had another peek at one of your listings. Below are copy and pastes with my suggestions:

Paypal user, I reserve the right to refuse your payment if your address is not confirmed

It's a negative statement and does not serve to attract buyers. CA, US & UK aside, I believe that the addresses are never confirmed.

Even in those countries some buyers do not have confirmed addresses but are upstanding buyers.

Such buyers might shun your listing or, even if you grace them with a sale, start off the transaction with negative sentiments.

I would leave that sentence out of the listings.

If you have less then 95% positive feedback or if you have less then 3 positive feedback contact me BEFORE placing your bid or I will cancel your bid and/or sell to 2nd highest bidder.

Complete downer! If a zero FB buyer sniped your auction and you refused to deliver, you would be faced with seller non-performance.

Why put that in there? All buyers start out with zero FB. Personally, I hesitate to buy from sellers who have such statements (out of resentment).

Even if you "permit" the sale, the buyer already has negative sentiments.

I would delete that statement in its entirety.

If package is not insured WE are NOT responsible for anything that could happen during shipping

Wrong! You are 100% responsible, whether you insure or not.

It's a negative statement which has no place in a listing. Also, a savvy buyer might "try you on for size" just because you make that statement.

use it at your own risk

Huh? The risk is yours, not theirs. Another negative statement.

or I can choose to simply delay shipping ( at my discretion)

Can't believe you actually put that in listings! This builds resentment even if you do not delay shipping.

Take it out of your text.

The above aside, your shipping costs are high. $9.95 for anywhere would be more attractive for potential buyers.

Lost in the mail is a rare occurrence. Given, with the demographics that you presumably sell to, you might attract the odd professional buyer.

If you figure a 2% loss rate (which IMO is very high) and CP's $100 indemnity per occurrence, "burying" $5-6 per item somewhere will take care of that potential issue.

Your descriptions are "scattered". By regrouping sentences they will become easier to read.

Less is better. Try to stick to 2 (max 3) colours. The way you have it set up now comes across as aggressive and IMO will attract a younger, more aggressive, crowd (perhaps that's your intention, however?).

If you email me I'll attach a flyer that we include in all packages re. shipping time and postage costs. Works for us, works for others and could work for you.

Does this help any?

Cheers
Xena

[coxengines]

Xena this is NOT a mystical quest where one has to find true spirit

You are absolutely right! The gist of my message was that listings generally reflect how people feel about themselves. Changing a few words around will have little effect.

The only thing that will help is changing ones approach to eBay selling (I refer to it as "attitude") and the "feel" of the listings will improve.

So my understanding of all your saying comes down to this I am not worthy and all those who fail are not worthy either .


Your understanding is wrong. Everyone, and that includes myself, have experienced failure at some time. I don't even see such as failures, preferring to see such experiences as having learnt how not to do something.

As suggested by another poster, print out all the responses, highlight advice and cross out unconstructive jabs. Highlight advice even if you don't like it and revisit such next day.

Most of us resent and resist change; it's the way we are. However, if you can wrap your mind around the fact that we are all genuinely interested in helping you, perhaps it will be easier to consider some of the advice that was given to you.

You'll get there...:-)

Xena