An Explanation of EBay's New DSR Requirements for Sellers

eBay's new Detailed Seller Rating Requirements rolled out April 1st and it was not a surprise when it created mass confusion.

During the last two years, eBay sellers have been subjected to numerous upheavals in their sales strategies. Just as sellers become acclimated to "previous" eBay changes, more changes occur, resulting into an escalation of extreme confusion and dissatisfaction for sellers. This is especially true if eBay is a critical source of income for the seller's daily living expenses and the seller cannot easily determine if he / she will even be allowed to sell products on eBay in the near future.

When a buyer purchases an item on eBay, the buyer and seller can leave feedback and a short comment any time within the 60 days after a transaction ends. Most sellers are knowledgeable about their feedback score and how the number is calculated. A high percentage of feedback negatives, by themselves, will not result in eBay selling restrictions unless you are a PowerSeller or a Top-rated seller. However, a high number of neutrals and negatives will most likely adversely affect eBay sales to potential buyers.

After a buyer posts feedback and a short comment about a transaction with a seller, the buyer is then able to rate the seller in four different criteria with a rating scale of 1 to 5. Buyer satisfaction is at its' lowest with a rating of 1 and its' highest with a rating of 5. These buyer satisfaction ratings are the DSRs (Detailed Seller Ratings) (Requirements) that eBay now uses to "police" sellers.

The four criteria buyers rate seller performances are:
1. Item as described
2. Communication
3. Shipping time
4. Shipping and handling charges

The DSR scores set the standards by which eBay sellers must comply.
1. Scores of 1s or 2s must be limited to a percent of transactions or a specific number per evaluation period.
2. Only U.S. buyers will count in the DSR calculations.
3. All transactions from repeat buyers will count in the DSR calculations. This means one buyer can buy three items and leave 1s and 2s for DSR ratings and he / she will have the same impact as three different buyers who each purchase one item.

Evaluation period:
1.Sellers of 400 or more transactions will be evaluated on the most recent three months.
2.All sellers with less than 400 transactions will have an evaluation period of the most recent 12 calendar months.

Follow this link to more information about the calculation of DSRs.

eBay also states that DSRs for a given month are included in the transaction month. DSRS are continuously updated and Feedback can be left for at least 60 days. The example eBay gives is that DSRs left in July for a transaction in June will be included in your rate for the month of June.

All sellers, no matter their volume of sales, whose DSRs fall below the Standard Seller Status will be demoted in the search function and may be restricted or suspended. If the seller is also a PowerSeller, the seller may lose PowerSeller status and benefits.

A seller can determine, at any time, the status of his or her DSRs.
1. start at My eBay
2. click on the Account tab
3. click on Seller Dashboard
4. in the middle of the page, under Seller standing click on "See what it takes to become Top-rated on your next evaluation" (the letters are small)
5. under the "Daily Performance" tab, you can click the "down arrow" beside the box for Performance Criteria for: to change "Top-rated" to "Above standard " (unless you are a Top-rated seller)
6. the left column lists the Criteria required to meet the performance status
7. the middle column lists the Allowable low ratings and requirements
8. the right column shows your Current performance
9. a green check mark means "on track", which means a seller meets the DSR requirements
10. a red flag shows seller requirements that are "at risk."

Periodically, sellers should look at the status of their Daily Performance Criteria to determine if they are "at risk" and, if they are, a "recovery" plan can be initiated and targeted at the specific Criteria at risk.

Helpful Information for a recovery plan can be found with the link at the bottom of the Daily Performance screen View 12-month trending data (this data could be different if your evaluation period is three months instead of twelve months). The link will take you to data that shows when the 1 and 2 scored DSRs occurred and, therefore, how long it will be before the 1s and 2s roll off.

A chart with an overview of the new seller standards can be found by using the second web site reference at the end of this article. The chart on this web page lists the requirements all sellers at the bottom; PowerSellers and Top-rated sellers are at the top. Top-rated sellers must opt in to the PowerSeller program.

Sellers that are interested, but not knowledgeable, about the PowerSeller or Top-rated seller programs can find that information by clicking on the third web site reference at the bottom of this article.

Now, more than ever, it is important to analyze your eBay seller status frequently and be pro-active and timely with damage control when dealing with buyers.

Sources
http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/growing/DSRcalculation.html

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/news/sellerstandardschart.html

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/PowerSeller/requirements.html