How to interpret Toolhaus''s ratings

[Arkteia]

I agree, it is a great research tool. But how am I supposed to interpret a string of negative rating of a mega-power seller? With a huge volume, there will be someone unhappy, that''s for sure.

I checked gemburionline, and it had very few negatives, what with its volume of sales. Which speaks very highly of Tan. But sam_sung_gems had a good reputation on the PS, I even bought something from him, and yet there is a long list of negatives on the Toolhaus. But then, sam_sung has a huge volume of sales, too! People use terms like "scams" or "frauds". He has some good items which I did not mind buying, but I am only human and after reading these "negatives", I took him off my list. Should I have checked the reputation of the buyers first?

According to BBB, Tiffany has a seemingly high volume of complaints, but if weighed against their volume of sales, it comes down to a very small number. Yet if I were rating Tiffany''s reputation only by their "negatives", how would it look like to me?

In short - how do I decide whether to buy from an international seller or not when looking at the Toolhaus? Someone who has sold 254 items and whose products look "fishy" to me has no negatives there, and someone who has been in business for many years has a lot.

 

[T L]

Date: 5/12/2010 1:10:19 PM
Author:crasru
I agree, it is a great research tool. But how am I supposed to interpret a string of negative rating of a mega-power seller? With a huge volume, there will be someone unhappy, that''s for sure.

I checked gemburionline, and it had very few negatives, what with its volume of sales. Which speaks very highly of Tan. But sam_sung_gems had a good reputation on the PS, I even bought something from him, and yet there is a long list of negatives on the Toolhaus. But then, sam_sung has a huge volume of sales, too! People use terms like ''scams'' or ''frauds''. He has some good items which I did not mind buying, but I am only human and after reading these ''negatives'', I took him off my list. Should I have checked the reputation of the buyers first?

According to BBB, Tiffany has a seemingly high volume of complaints, but if weighed against their volume of sales, it comes down to a very small number. Yet if I were rating Tiffany''s reputation only by their ''negatives'', how would it look like to me?

In short - how do I decide whether to buy from an international seller or not when looking at the Toolhaus? Someone who has sold 254 items and whose products look ''fishy'' to me has no negatives there, and someone who has been in business for many years has a lot.

I think you answered your own question in what I highlighted above. While I do expect high volume to have some negatives, I don''t want to buy from someone, even with high volume, that has many negatives. If you also read the negatives, that speaks volumes too.

ETA: I do not think very highly of Tiff&Co, so the complaints do not surprise me.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

To me, what the negatives say is more important than their exact number or % of sales. If a seller has several feedback saying the stone was fake, I won''t deal with them, unless the buyer seems rather nutty (in which case, I do a quick check up on them). If the seller answers in a very aggressive style (I have seen some that called the buyer an idiot or worse!), I won''t deal with them. If the negatives are because of minor things, I go ahead with the seller.

 

[Barrett]

Lady disdain is right..gotta read what the negs say..like is "stone was fake"..or tested it was diopside and not chrome diopside"..a seller can have a super high volume of sales on;y selling $1 or $5 items..even if it''s crap which for $2 it probably is no one will neg usually on a $2 sale..it''s guaranteed that you will get a neg sooner or later..some of the most honest and trustworthy sellers on ebay have negs..don''t know why but there is always some folks who are jackasses or what have you..and you can''t please everybody..