In the upcoming months a seller’s overall eBay feedback rating will take on new importance.

Yesterday, in Lessening The Impact Of Detailed Seller Ratings In 2008, I talked about eBay’s plans to use a seller’s DSR in determining how their listings appeared both in search results and in eBay’s regular listings. From the information coming out of eBay, it now sounds as though a seller’s overall eBay feedback rating will be another part of the equation in making those determinations.

There is also a second area where a seller’s eBay feedback rating will come in to play more prominently in the upcoming months. eBay has already begun placing more emphasis on enforcing their Seller Non-Performance Policy. Basically, what can happen is this:

If the total of a seller’s neutral and negative feedback ratings received over the last 90-day period is greater than 5% of the total feedback ratings they received during the same time period, they are subject to temporary 14-day restrictions in the form of selling sanctions or reduced listing volume. If that figure is more than 10% they are now subject to indefinite restrictions until they improve their buyer dissatisfaction rates to less than 5%.

While the most of the impact of this renewed emphasis on Seller Non-Performance will be upon those sellers who list thousands of items a month, both new sellers and those who list only a few items a month may get caught up in the net also.

If a new seller who had received 18 positive feedback ratings received 1 neutral rating it would make them subject to temporary 14-day restrictions. The same could happen to a seller who had been selling on eBay for some time, but only listed a small number of items each month.

The majority of us are running our eBay businesses in a professional manner and shouldn’t have to worry about facing these restrictions. However, for those who are just starting out or who sell very few items each month, there are some things you should concentrate on to insure you don’t run into this problem.

• Make sure you describe all items accurately and include mention of any flaws or problems the item has
• Once payment is received, insure that you ship all purchases quickly
• Package all items so they arrive safely at their destination
• Respond to all buyer questions and concerns quickly and honestly
• If any problem should arise with a transaction be proactive and handle it quickly to the customer’s satisfaction
• Never become argumentative with customers no matter how obnoxious they may be
• If a customer is unhappy with their purchase seriously consider providing them a complete refund and let them keep the item
• If you do receive a negative or neutral feedback that puts you at risk of restrictions, send the customer a full refund immediately. Then begin negotiations with them in hope of agreeing to mutual feedback removal

Photo by James Holloway.

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