It's all in how you ask...

Last week, Seller Development's Todd Lutwak hosted a number of webinars to help sellers understand all the new changes announced by Lorrie Norrington on Wednesday.  (Watch the archive, or attend our final Webinar tomorrow at 1pm Pacific.) I was "backstage" during these events with a (very) small army of helpers.  We huddled over our laptops during the 1-1/2 hour sessions, and answered all the questions that attendees could chat in to us while Todd and other SMEs ("subject matter experts") were presenting.  Talk about an adrenaline rush!  The rapid-fire question/answer session was better than a triple Grande to get the blood flowing....

Slide #21 was a particular favorite for attendees, and, after several requests, I promised we'd share it here on the Chatter blog.  Todd was covering a variety of proven Best Practices for sellers who are looking for ways to improve their DSR scores.  He shared this example of a very effective letter that some sellers are using as package inserts:

Dear {BUYERUSERNAME},

Thank you for your prompt payment. I appreciate great buyers like you.

Your item has been shipped via USPS priority mail and you should receive it within 3 days. The tracking number is xxxxxxxx

I have posted positive feedback for you.  I hope you will do the same for us.  In addition to your positive feedback, we hope you will give us FIVE STARS on all of the Detailed Seller Ratings.  If you feel like we fell short of FIVE STARS, please email me first at jd@sellerco.com and I will make sure you are happy.

We appreciate your business and hope to do business with you again soon.

Sincerely,
John Doe.
jd@sellerco.com
Manager of Customer Service

It's a great letter, because it is packed with meaning that sends a strong, positive message to the buyer -- 1) YOU care deeply about customer service.  2) YOU really want them to be extremely satisfied.  3) Assuming they feel  YOU lived up to your aspirations, you are asking them for 5-stars as a measurement.  4) And if not, you are inviting them to write you and let you know how YOU can improve.   I exaggerated the YOU parts, because this is more than a letter about Detailed Seller Ratings; it's about branding yourself as a customer-centric business.  The customer-focused, personal touch can give eBay sellers a big advantage in a competitive market.

And while we're on the subject of DSRs....

Last week, in Lorrie's message, she announced a new selling standard that requires sellers maintain a minimum of 4.3 across all 4 DSRs in order to continue to list.  It helps to know that 85% of all DSRs left in the marketplace are 5's.  Only a very small number of under-performing sellers have less than 4.3 on any of their DSRs.  What's more important -- this same group of sellers is also responsible for a large number of BBEs (bad buying experiences).

But out on the forums and in the webinars, some sellers pointed out that, since "4" is labeled the equivalent of "satisfied" for each category, a seller who delivered satisfactory service and who received all 4's from all buyers could be blocked from listing. 

It's understandable that the question has come up, but how real is this concern? Are good sellers going to get "caught in the tuna net?"   How many have received all 4's from all their buyers so far?  The answer is ... zero.  This has never happened, and there are NO sellers on eBay who've received all 4's.  As Griff and the rest of the "PINKS" posted again and again last week on the 8/20 Announcement Forum, it's not the 4's that hurt a seller's DSR scores, it's the 1's and 2's, and the vast majority of sellers have no worries in this regard.

(Note: We will be archiving the best Q&A from the 8/20 Forum by topic announced....stay tuned.)