I thought I was alone suffering the effects in Ebay's Seller's Shipping Rating system. After reading another fellow member's Guide, I now know that there could be more of us suffering from this poorly thought system. Here's my analysis on the matter :

The intention is noble. The Seller's Shipping Rating system is meant to keep in-check, unethical Sellers who impose high shipping cost on the buyers . Some Sellers have a low starting price on their items, but impose an overly high shipping charge for the transaction. This allows them to recover the losses made on the item. However, cost-savvy Buyers would have valued the item concern using the Auction/Sale price + Shipping Cost to reach the true cost of the item. At the same time, Ebay wants more completed transactions, so if the high shipping charge is a deterrent to Buyers to proceed with the deal, Ebay would lose out on Final Sales Fees. So to restore Buyers confidence, the Seller's Shipping Rating system is created as one of the criterias of whether the Seller would be rewarded with "extra" selling advantages like better listing exposure or suffer "penalties" like lowered listing exposure.

The problem with this system is that, Buyers might still give the Seller's a very low Shipping Rating even though the charges are fair. Take my case for example, I used to ship Worldwide at a flat rate of US$5 to US$8 depending on package weight and size. And this comes with the Registered Airmail facility. Ask someone from UK and US to ship using the same feature and you probably get an International Shipping Cost of not less than US$10! And do remember, when Buyers confirm the deal, they actually agree to the shipping cost of US$5 as stipulated in the listing. However, when the item reaches them, they leave a feedback with a low Shipping Rating. This resulted in me, a Seller with a 100% positive feedback profile for over 1000 transactions in the previous 8 years of Ebaying, suffering a below-standard Shipping rating. While all my other ratings were 4.8 to 5.0 , my shipping rating was 4.3! All my sales listing suffered lowered exposure to potential Buyers. Was this fair to me? Afterall, I charged lower than most international sellers and give a better shipping facility in the sense that the package is Registered ( receipient has to sign acknowlegement when receiving the package ) and is much safer than non-registered packages.

I complained to the Ebay Customer Service, and guess what was the reply?

"Dear Sir, you should follow up with your client on the transaction until he receives the package to ensure he leaves you a very good feedback. And if he doesn't, I can't help you"

WHATTTTTT????? Sometimes, I don't even have enough time to sleep, putting priority into proper packaging of the items to ensure they reach my clients safely and undamaged. And this smart alec is asking me to boot-lick the client until he gives me a good Shipping Rating?

It doesn't make sense at all, seriously. When Sellers sell less through lowered exposure, Ebay earns less commission from the deals. Then something struck me.

What if Ebay is doing this to force the Sellers to give Free Shipping but increase the pricing of their items? What would it earn in doing so? Ladies and Gentlemen - more commission from the higher sales value !!!!

Take for example item A and B. A sells for US$5 with a shipping of US$5 for a total cost of US$10 to the Buyer, but Ebay only earns commission from US$5 - it doesn't get anything from shipping. Item B meanwhile has Free Shipping but sells at US$9 ( Seller would definitely want to recover some cost back ). When item B sells, the Seller has to pay commission based on the sales of US$9, thus giving Ebay more revenue.

So, do you really think Ebay has the Buyer's concern at heart? No - It's a subtle way of generating more perverse profits for itself. If you're a Seller, would you agree with me on this?