Found this response from an eBay staffer on another thread in this discussion forum that may shed some light...

eBay staffer: bennie
Thread title: Will the power seller board be abolished?
Post: 11 of 20

" ...the qualification for non-PowerSellers who are eligible for Top-rated seller status based on $3,000 GMV will qualify in OCTOBER, not the later date of April. The new PowerSeller GMV threshold for all PowerSellers (not just those who are Top-rated) changes to $3,000 in April. The Top-rated seller status launch will include thousands of new PowerSellers.... "

Interesting...

Timecatchers LLC - It's All Write Store

The new Top-Rated Seller program has become very perplexing due to a series of mixed messages about it...

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VIEW FROM MY MESSAGES EMAIL DATED JULY 27, 2009

Subject Line: Fall 2009 Seller Update--you're on trace for top rewards

Excerpt from message:
"As we announced in April, in the spirit of partnership, eBay is consolidating changes into two or three major releases a year, with at least a two-month advance notice for sellers. Here's an overview of the second and final major release of 2009. Most of these updates will launch between September 22 and October 1.

"The great news for you--based on your track record of consistently delivering great service to your customers, you are on track to be invited to the PowerSeller program, get Top-rated status and earn the highest discounts and rewards starting in October."

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VIEW FROM SELLER DASHBOARD LINK "CHECK YOUR LOW DSRS AND IF YOU'RE ON TRACK TO QUALIFY"

Excerpt from top half the screen bearing the new Top-Rated Seller badge:

"This October, become an eBay Top-rated seller. Learn more
The eBay Top-rated seller program begins in October

This October, become an eBay Top-rated seller.
o Enjoy more discounts
o Increase buyer's trust with the eBay Top-rated seller badge
o Improve your search standing"

AND in a small section on the same screen (prefaced by the red flag in yellow box) the following:

"Your current seller standing does not meet all requirements for eBay Top-rated seller status. However, if you're only missing the current sales volume requirement for the PowerSeller program, you may still qualify if you have at least $3,000 in sales over the past 12 months."

Does this mean there is a loop whole in the Top-Rated Seller program that may make it possible to get into the program anyway? Note the word "may" which brings to mind the words "may not".

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VIEW FROM SR2 ANNOUNCEMENT

Excerpt from FAQ document:
"How do I qualify to be an eBay Top-Rated seller?"
"Meet all the requirements for and accept the invitation to the Power Seller program."

There are five bullets in this section of the SR2. As I read them we must meet ALL five of those bullets in order to qualify for Top-Rated Seller status. It follows I would want to know what the Power Seller requirements are then, so...

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VIEW FROM SR2-LINKED CHART CALLED AT-A-GLANCE CHART OF REQUIREMENTS AND REWARDS

View from the Chart linked to the SR2 Announcement called "At-A-Glance Chart of Requirements and Rewards" column headed April 2010:

Excerpt from the section called PowerSeller Requirements in column headed April 2010: "100 transactions & $3000 sales over past 12 months"

The PowerSeller Requirements under October 2009 are much higher and the SR2 Announcement states that among the things I need to do to become a Top-Rated Seller is to meet the Power Seller Requirements.

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My Conclusions...

There is no way we can meet the PowerSeller requirements appearing on the Chart under October 2009, yet the SR2 Announcement clearly states I must meet PowerSeller Requirements and be invited to become a PowerSeller. In October 2009 those requirements are much higher than we can meet. In April 2010 we would be able to meet the requirements. In fact we meet those April requirements right now but they are not the PowerSeller requirements today. They will become the requirements in April.

This means that we will not receive an invitation to be a PowerSeller until April 2010 and subsequently will not become a Top-Rated Seller until April 2010.

Either I do have to meet current PowerSeller requirements (per SR2 announcement) or I don't. Which is it?

There is a bushel barrel full of mixed messages throughout the eBay platform (messages, announcements, charts) regarding Top-Rated Seller program vs Power Seller Program.

eBay would like sellers to thoroughly acquaint themselves with the SR2 Announcement. For our own business self-defense, we printed out all 38 pages of the announcement including linked charts and have done just that, so it should not be a surprise when questions arise about what appear to be inequities and unclear messages.

Small volume sellers have a horse in this eBay race just the same as Power Sellers. Therefore, we should all be able to leave the starting gates at the same exact moment.

We are no longer just climbing an e-commerce mountain. We are climbing one where there has just been a torrential rainfall, followed by severe mud slides -- and us without our galoshes!

Timecatchers LLC - It's All Write Store

When I was in school, they wouldn't let you graduate to the next grade level unless your grades met a certain standard.

On the job, you get the promotion if your performance meets the requirements.

This is business, not a tour through Fantasyland at Disney World.

Hi lehman-parker!
Starting in October, increased visibility in Best Match fixed price listings will be reserved for Top-rated sellers. There will be no performance based increases in visibility in Auction listings. Sellers not meeting Top-rated seller status will no longer have raised status starting in October.
Thanks!
-bennie@ebay.com

QUESTION?????
Is Power Seller program being redefined to include small volume sellers, i.e. "less than 400 annual transactions" and/or "100 transactions and $3,000 in GMV over the past 12 months" and/or "minimum 2 transactions/month"? Which of these is it... all three qualifiers must be true OR only one of the qualifiers must be true.


It's much easier to understand when it's not paraphrased:

New PowerSeller requirements and rewards: Starting in April 2010, quality requirements for all PowerSellers will be based on low DSRs, and benefits will be extended to lower-volume sellers who meet those requirements:

* To ensure PowerSeller status rewards consistently good service, a minimum of 100 transactions in the last 12 months will be required for all PowerSellers.

* To allow more sellers providing great service into the program, the sales dollar volume requirement will be lowered to $3,000 per year.

* Also starting in April, PowerSellers can have 1s or 2s for item as described on no more than 1.00% of transactions with U.S. buyers and on no more than 2.00% for communication, shipping time, and shipping and handling charges.

Hi tribblekitty!
No, DSRs are always meaningful.
If sellers fall below the minimum standards for all sellers, they will be demoted in Best Match for both fixed price and auction listings. While increases in visibility are limited to fixed price listings, demotion is not.
Thanks!
-bennie@ebay.com

Hi Bennie,

It's really not fair for eBay not to have a supportive transition path for small sellers who have outstanding customer service but who don't currently meet the top-rated seller criteria.

July through September is the slowest time period for many sellers, which won't give us much opportunity to increase our sales dollar amount by October.

I could see if we could maintain our raised status until April based on DSRs, and then have to meet the new criteria in order to still have raised status from April on. But to just suddenly lose raised status will make it even harder to meet the criteria by April.

If my sales were to continue the way they've been the last three months, at the end of 12 months I would have sold 284 items, way over the minimum threshold. But my dollar amount after 12 months would only be $1640.

As I said in the thread I started, I think the 100 items sold threshold is very reasonable, but I do not think the $3,000 amount is reasonable.

I can see requiring $3000 for attaining powerseller status, but see no reason why a seller with a perfect customer support record, 284 items sold, and $1640 realized should not be considered top-rated.

If the rating is truly about the level of customer service provided to buyers, what difference should it make if you sell 100 items at an average price of $30 or 284 items at an average price of $5 if your service is equally good?

Doesn't selling almost three times as many items mean your items are actually more desireable and attracting more buyers?

eBay encourages us to keep prices low, so why provide less reward and support to those of us who do offer lower priced but high quality items and terrific customer support?

I agree, too, with the poster who said the top-rated designation will be misleading. Here's an example...

Let's say Seller Andy sold 300 items over a year that totaled $1500, and had DSRs of 5, 5, 4.9, and 4.9. And then let's say Seller Bob sold 100 items that totaled $3000 to the exact same set of buyers and he had DSRs of 4, 4, 4, and 4. If you polled all those buyers and asked them to compare the two sellers, who do you think they'd say should be top-rated? Who did they have a better eBay experience with? Who would they say should have a sticker on their listings promoting them? And whose items would they want to look at first in search results?

And to take it a step further, in the last three months, I've only had one single DSR rating, for shipping time, that wasn't a five, and I think it was from an international buyer. If this continues, I'll end up with 5s across the board for my 12-month DSRs, with almost three times as many sales as will be required for top-rated eligibility... yet I won't be eligible for raised status or to be designated as top-rated.

There is definitely something wrong with the logic here, and I think any buyer would agree that this doesn't make sense.

As I said in my own thread, please, eBay, give serious consideration to changing the criteria for top-rated status to include sellers who have great customer service, meet the 100 item minimum, but sell lower-priced items so don't meet the $3000 threshold.

Thanks for listening...

Pat

Pat