DSRs - Bane or Blessing?

Any eBay seller knows that DSR stands for Detailed Seller Ratings. DSRs are ratings that eBay allows buyers to use to rate any seller thay have bought from. The ratings range from a low of one star to the top of five stars. ebay added this new feature in 2008 to help buyers get a more accurate look at a seller's reputation, beyond the one line Feedback system that had been in place for years. It is unclear to me how many buyers check the DSRs of a seller they are thinking of buying from for the first time or, for that matter, even the basic feedback comments.

What is clear is that sellers are paying attention to their own DSRs. The DSR ratings now affect everything from organic search ranking of a seller's listing ad on eBay to his/her compensation. Powersellers get discounts off the final value fees that eBay charges all sellers when their DSRs are at or near the top of the range approaching five. All sellers may even have their ability to place listings on the site suspended when any one rating of the four categories drops below 4.1.

The four customer service categories that buyers are asked to use to rate a seller are: Item as Described, Communication, Shipping Time, and Shipping and Handling Charges. Many sellers have pointed out various parts of the DSR program that they believe are flawed. One of the flaws that sellers point out most frequently to eBay has been the rating scale itself. When given a scale of 1 to 5, many buyers would think that 4 means "pretty good." But eBay expects every seller to have all fives, or at least more that 4.1 and much closer to all fives to get the powerseller discount. So if every buyer gave all sellers a four, all of the sellers on eBay would no longer be allowed to sell on eBay according to the current DSR scale structure. I realize this is an absolute and would never happen, but it illustrates many sellers' concerns with the system. Nevertheless, most sellers have now learned how to provide better customer service and therefore higher DSR rankings.

eBay has provided a list of best practices that sellers can adopt to improve their DSRs. I have improved my own DSR numbers dramatically since adopting many of these ideas. It is clear to me that DSRs are separating the good sellers from the 'bad' sellers. And the 'bad' sellers are learning and practicing new customer service skills or leaving eBay. There is now a Seller Dashboard page where you can look at a detailed view of each of your DSRs. In addition, the latest tool eBay has provided to sellers is the ability to run targeted reports based on Buyer Location, Category, Date Range, Item Numbers, or Shipping. This will help sellers zero in on which situations are generating lower DSRs and enable them to fine tune their listings and selling practices to change those low ratings. Look for a link on your Dashboard page that says "Create Report" or "See Your Reports."

Another tool that helps me keep on track with even the smallest changes in my DSRs automatically is at AuctionTrax. It's a free tool that allows you to view any eBay seller's DSRs for the past 30 days or 12 months. If you set it up for your own seller account, they will email you a report about the changes whenever they occur. Thanks, AuctionTrax.