(1) Evaluation Classification
Evaluations on the AliExpress platform are divided into two categories: credit evaluation and seller item rating, as shown in Figure 5-3. Credit evaluation refers to the evaluation of the credit status of the other party by the buyer and seller after the order transaction is completed; the credit evaluation includes a five-point rating and comments.
Seller item rating refers to the evaluation made by the buyer anonymously on the accuracy of the item description (item as described), the quality of communication and response speed (communication), and the reasonableness of the item delivery time (shipping speed) provided by the seller in the transaction after the order transaction is completed. It is a one-way rating from the buyer to the seller. Both the buyer and the seller can evaluate each other in credit evaluation, but the seller item rating can only be made by the buyer to the seller.
For all orders shipped by the seller, both the buyer and the seller can evaluate within 30 days after the transaction is completed. For credit evaluation, if neither party gives an evaluation, there will be no evaluation record for the order; if one party makes an evaluation within the evaluation period and the other party does not make an evaluation within the evaluation period, the system will not give the evaluator a default evaluation (there is no default evaluation for the seller item rating either).
(2) Calculation of Positive Feedback Ratings and Credit Score
The calculation method of product/merchant positive feedback rate (Positive Feedback Ratings) and merchant credit score (Feedback Score) is as follows:
· If the same buyer only makes one evaluation of the same seller in the same natural ten-day period (a natural ten-day period is from the 1st to the 10th, 11th to the 20th, and 21st to the 31st of each month), the star rating of the buyer’s order will be the star rating of the current evaluation (the natural ten-day period is calculated based on US time).
· If the same buyer makes multiple evaluations of the same seller in the same natural ten-day period (a natural ten-day period is from the 1st to the 10th, 11th to the 20th, and 21st to the 31st of each month), they will be aggregated and calculated according to the evaluation type (good, medium, bad), that is, the number of good, medium, and bad reviews will be counted only once each (including the case where there are multiple products in one order).
· In the seller’s sub-item rating, the same buyer’s multiple ratings of the same seller’s product description accuracy, communication quality and response speed, and reasonable delivery time in a natural ten-day period (a natural ten-day period is the 1st to 10th, 11th to 20th, and 21st to 31st of each month) will only be counted as one. The calculation method of the buyer’s rating of a certain item in the natural ten-day period is as follows:
Average rating = total score of the buyer’s rating of the sub-item/number of ratings (rounded up)
The credit rating points obtained by the seller determine the credit rating mark of the seller’s store.
In the following three situations, regardless of whether the buyer leaves a negative or positive review, only the review content is displayed, and the positive rate and evaluation points are not calculated:
· Orders with a transaction amount of less than US$5 (the transaction amount is clearly the amount paid by the buyer minus the refund amount during the sale, excluding post-sales refunds).
· The buyer filed a dispute for non-receipt of goods, or the dispute includes a return, and the buyer did not actively cancel before the dispute escalated to arbitration.
· Reviews of special products (referred to as the “black five categories”) such as freight compensation, gifts, deposits, special checkout chains, and pre-sale products.
For reviews other than the above, the product/merchant’s positive review rate and merchant credit points will be calculated normally. Regardless of the order amount, it is unified as: +1 for a positive review, 0 for a medium review, and -1 for a negative review. For credit reviews, both buyers and sellers can reply to explain the negative reviews they received.