Is it bad to ask for DSR?

[onlineseller]

The "new" ebay account I have been using, has perfect feedback, awesome ship times, and a good overall rating.

However, my shipping and handling charge rating is 4.4.

My shipping charges have been right on the money against the actual shipping charges.

Some sites suggest shipping for free, but I tend to sell heavy items and that is out of the question.

Someone suggested that you should *ask* for a good DSR. I tried this with the last item. As soon as it shipped, I messaged the buyer explaining that I shipped the item and could they take a minute to leave an honest feedback with the star ratings. I received a 5 rating that time, and my average went up to 4.5.

Now that I have a 4.5, I can now list items for free at any starting price, until the promotion is over.

The downside is, some people have said that emailing buyers to "beg" for a better DSR can backfire. If the customer feels like you are contacting them before they have a chance to leave feedback, they could just get pissed and leave you the lowest rating.

Thoughts?

[TGMT²]

The BEST thing a seller can do to improve DSR scores is simply include a FREE gift in every package.

Seems to be working real well on all my accounts which all have a Top-Rated-Seller status.

On the free gift I include a little tag that says something similar to...

“THANK YOU”
Free Gift!
___________________________

We would very much Appreciate 5 Gold Stars.

[pod]

Originally Posted by onlineseller

My shipping charges have been right on the money against the actual shipping charges.

I tend to sell heavy items and that is out of the question.

I have heavy stuff too. And add its coming from Canada and it makes it even worse. Not sure if you can in your case, but I hide an extra $15 to $20 into price. In my case its very workable. And I find psychologically, its not the final price that people think about, its the shipping amount. When they have no idea what shipping costs really are they assume you are just grabbing extra cash. They see $19 for shipping and its not even a thought. They see $39 and they think YOU are charging too much. Unless you ship on a regular bases the costs can be surprising. They are dinging you for shipping costs simply because they just don't know how expensive it can be. If you can make it look like you are charging less your score will go up.

[onlineseller]

What would be a good free gift? I really don't want to spend extra money to get a better DSR. I mean I could, but don't want to.

What about just a nice written letter included with the package? Maybe a picture of a cute kitten saying please give me 5 stars LOL.

[TGMT²]

Originally Posted by onlineseller

What would be a good free gift?

Not sure what would work for you? I go to garage/yard sales every week and am able to pick up lots of Brand New things for 25¢-50¢ each.

[hitch]

I include a Free Business card from Vistaprint that says..

"Thank you for the Purchase! If you are Totally Satisfied Please leave a 5 Star Feedback!"

"If you are Not Satisfied please contact us @ (Google voice number) our goal is to make you happy!"


Pretty cheesy message , but I also ask after 30 days if they have not left a feedback i have some auto script in inkfrog setup.

My DSR's are excellent, the lowest is ship time which right now is a 4.82