Why automatic eBay ratings distort the seller ranking (Cassini) unnoticed
Summary: lidor3073 discusses the weaknesses in eBay's rating system, especially the effects of automatic ratings on sellers. They explain that although their profile shows 100% positive feedback, the lack of detailed ratings in automated feedback can mathematically dilute the overall rating. This causes the Cassini search system to reduce the visibility of their listings, despite consistently high standards in the reviews. They also criticize the lack of ability for sellers to rate problematic buyers critically as well, which creates an imbalance in protection between buyers and sellers. They ask whether others have had similar experiences.
Hello everyone,
after a lot was discussed in my last thread from May, before the community was switched from Khoros to Bevy, about the topic of the “voluntariness” of leaving feedback, I’d like to shed some light on the problem from Cassini’s technical and mathematical side. I analyzed my own profile and identified a structural problem with the current feedback system.
First, an important note to avoid the usual detours right away: I’m winding up a private household here. This household has existed in this form since 1980, and it’s not just 39 sq m. The number of my sales results purely from this comprehensive liquidation. I am not operating commercially, do not need to register a business, and I will not respond to snide or cheeky insinuations in that direction in the comments. This is purely about eBay’s system logic.
I’m on the autism spectrum and therefore strongly depend on reliable feedback, clear communication, and systematic logic. My profile currently shows 100% positive feedback (141 positive, 0 neutral, 0 negative in the last 12 months). In the detailed seller ratings (DSRs), I’m at a clean 5.0 for item description, shipping time, and communication. For shipping charges, I’m at 4.8 stars.
Also, to clarify this right away: No, my shipping costs are not too high. I ship exclusively at the actual, exact, and discounted online rates from DHL or Hermes and don’t add a cent for packaging materials or the trip to the post office. For fragile items, insured shipping with tracking is mandatory. But if an item sells at auction for just €1.00, some casual buyers subjectively feel the unavoidable €6.19 DHL postage (discounted online label!) is “too expensive” in relation to the item value and, out of ignorance, subtract one star.
And this is exactly where the invisible problem created by eBay’s automatic feedback comes in:
No detail stars in the system: If a buyer doesn’t leave feedback manually, eBay does generate a general positive point for the overall score. However, the system does not assign stars for the four detailed categories (DSRs).
Mathematical dilution: Since most buyers now let the process run through automatic feedback, the total number of detailed stars submitted drops drastically. If one or two of the few manual ratings mistakenly judge postage as too high in a €1 auction, that deduction carries extreme mathematical weight.
The impact on Cassini: The many “automatically satisfied” buyers do not balance this out, because their 5-star satisfaction is not recorded in the detailed ratings at all. A 4.8 average for shipping costs, however, gradually pushes the status in the search algorithm (Cassini) into the background, even though you are acting completely fairly.
The often-heard forum opinion “The stars don’t matter” falls short here. If the detailed stars are mathematically distorted by buyer inactivity and the incompleteness of the automatic system, that directly harms committed sellers in the visibility of their listings.
The existential dilemma of “voluntariness”:
It’s repeated here in the forum like a mantra that feedback is “voluntary” for the buyer. That is legally correct—but it completely ignores the reality in which we sellers operate. For us, positive feedback is vital for survival in order to remain visible on the platform. If a seller, because of buyer inactivity, hardly gets any manual feedback anymore, then just one or two unjustified negative or neutral ratings (or deductions in shipping costs) are enough, and the mathematical ratio immediately collapses drastically. Cassini penalizes the account, pushes visibility in listings relentlessly into the basement, and the offers are hardly shown anymore.
It’s a vicious circle.
The biggest imbalance: why the protection is completely one-sided:
On top of that, there is a fundamental system flaw that eBay already introduced back in 2008: Sellers can only rate buyers positively. A neutral or negative rating for a buyer is impossible. It is always presented as if only buyers needed protection. But sellers are just as often ripped off by fraudulent buyers (keyword: fake bidders, extorted price reductions, or manipulated returns).
You can see how absurd this one-sided system is right now in the massive flood of fraudulent listings for the Midea PortaSplit air conditioner on eBay. Criminals and fraudsters are shamelessly exploiting the extreme demand. If an honest private seller then ends up dealing with a hacked account or a professional scammer, they have absolutely no way to warn the community. The fraudster keeps a clean record in their profile, because the seller is forced to rate either not at all or positively.
The system protects “lazy” buyers on one side through “voluntariness,” while punishing honest sellers through the Cassini algorithm for the smallest, often not even their fault, mistakes. At the same time, it takes away any option for sellers to protect themselves from bad actors. The balance between buyer and seller protection has long since gone out of whack!
What do you think? Have you noticed similar shifts in your detailed ratings or declining visibility due to the increase in automatic feedback?
Best regards ☺️
lidor3073
OP3 weeks ago@auto-parts-home
See here.