Seller etiquette & the eBay feedback system
Saturday 07 November 2009
by SaleHoo.com
What a wonderful few months it has been with you. When I first overcame your website I was sure this was the place to be! I made my $50 back on the first sale which was about in a week. Yes I am a re-seller now on Ebay. I am now making my own website for re-selling products. Want Proof? Go by to semmysales.com when you get the chance. All products were from salehoo, a wonderful resource for ages 18 and up.
Want to be the next SaleHoo success story?
What are you about to learn in this newsletter? Well, firstly we're going to take a look at what is involved in being a successful seller on eBay. Then, we'll be giving you some hot 'high-achiever' tips for keeping your feedback at the top of the ratings. And finally, we'll run through the details of exactly out the feedback system works and what you can do about negatives should you receive any.
Let's get started!
What's Involved in Being a Superstar eBay Seller?
While on first appearance, eBay seems a sturdy system of trade, it is, in fact, reliant upon a very delicate concept: trust.
Having never met, buyers and sellers must rely completely on each other to do business with integrity. Without this trust, the eBay way of selling would never work.
As a seller on eBay, you have a number of responsibilities. Anyone who bids on your item is indicating their trust in you to do business honestly and professionally. And if you don't deliver, then you essentially jeopardize the entire eBay community.
It's also about more than simply behaving honestly - that should be a given. Increasingly, eBay is focusing on making sure that all sellers provide first-class service. More specifically, that means they want all sellers to:
- Provide easy and secure payment methods (like Paypal or credit card)
- Offer only genuine, brand-new merchandise
- Communicate frequently and professionally
- Ship quickly and cheaply
- Package the item professionally
- Going the extra mile for your customer - whether that means frequent free shipping discounts, providing thank you notes or goodies with purchases, sending out newsletters, or personally calling up a customer who has made a complaint.
As a seller, your success rests on maintaining these standards. Making a slip-up will inevitably lead to negative feedback - and the more negative feedbacks you get, the further down the page your listings will rank. In other words, the penalties for not providing a streamlined service are becoming increasingly severe. But scary as that sounds, there are some simple ways to ensure problems are very unlikely to occur.
How to be an eBay High-Achiever (And Avoid Negative Feedback!)
Obviously you want to do everything you can to avoid a negative feedback. A large part of 'getting it right' boils down to having basic good business systems and principles in place.
1. Post an Accurate Item Description
The first step to being a trustworthy seller is to give as much information as you can about the article you are selling. This might include brand, age, dimensions, color, and so on.
An important part of the description is information about imperfections and faults. Does your item have a dent or a chip or an unsteady leg? Does it make a funny rattling sound when you switch it on? All these details are absolutely vital to a smooth transaction: no matter how much it goes against your instincts to include them!
During my first foray on eBay, I decided to sell a Sony speaker system and amplifier that I no longer used. While the sound quality was still excellent, it didn't look pretty. It had a paint splatter on one speaker, a missing knob and a dent on the top of the amp where somebody had stood on it accidentally while it was in storage.
Writing all these details down merely convinced me that no one could possibly want such a wreck with so many quirky faults.
But, surprisingly, the brutal honesty of the description paid off. And I felt like I received a very fair price for my speakers and amp.
Believe it or not, there are people out there who will want your item, no matter the condition.
In my case, the buyer wanted the sound system for his shop. As the amplifier and speakers were out of sight, the dent and the mysterious absence of the knob didn't matter a jot jot to them.
***Tip***
Bear in mind that the more collectible the item, the more details the bidders will want. A small scratch or a missing piece could make a world of difference to the value of such an item.
In short, the more details you provide, the more honest you appear. Giving the buyer a nasty surprise will only result in negative feedback.
2. Add Shipping and Payment Details
As a buyer, I like to see how much shipping is going to cost and the preferred payment method.
There is nothing worse than finding out that shipping for your bargain item is going to cost twice what you paid for it! The more details of this sort that you provide, the easier you make it for people to bid. Again, the less surprises the better.
3. Keep Shipping Costs Reasonable
In the past, sellers used to be able to make a small profit on the shipping - which would often make up for what they lost on the item itself. These days, that's all changed. eBay have taken a number of measures to try to get rid of the practice of hiking up shipping costs. Their research has shown them that buyers really can't stand being ripped off at the checkout by shipping costs that are obviously higher than necessary. So what eBay has done is this:
- Added the Shipping and Handling charges detailed selling rating (DSR) so that buyers can give feedback on this issue specifically.
- Given priority to items with cheap or free shipping in the search listings.
- And in some overseas trials, they have been experimenting with placing limits on how much can be charged for shipping in certain categories.
That might sound a bit rough on sellers at first glance, but these measures actually aren't bad at all.
What powersellers are doing very effectively these days is offering low shipping costs and a very fast shipping service. In some cases they are also raising their item prices a little to compensate for the loss on shipping (which usually goes down okay with buyers); but in most cases, sellers find that the increase in sales that they get from a lower shipping price actually compensates for the loss on its own!
However, if you do find that you're struggling to get high ratings on Shipping and Handling then you might want to try these emergency remedies:
- Offer free shipping for a limited period of time (that will quickly boost your sales and get your Shipping DSR back up where it should be!)
- Send out an email when you have actually shipped the item. This gives the buyer more certainty about when to expect the item and it also allows them to tell more accurately whether any delays are the fault of the shipping company - rather than you!
4. Encourage Good Communication
There's nothing worse than having to wait for a week for a seller to give you an invoice for the item...and then another week before they acknowledge your payment and get around to sending it off. Make quick, friendly communications a priority and you will be remembered favorably. What's more, go out of your way to be polite, even in the face of a rude email from an irate bidder. Good, old fashioned customer service may be trying at times, but it will mark you out as a true professional!
We also strongly recommend including an FAQ in your listing, or at the very least, on your About Me page. This not only saves you support time, but it also gives the customer a lot more certainty about you as a seller and what they can expect from the sale.
Take a leaf out of Amazon's book and provide an estimated shipping time. Communicate frequently: send buyers an automated email to say you've received payment, and send another to say that you've shipped. Better still, send a third email about 3-4 days later (oat which point the item should have arrived) to check whether they are 100% satisfied. This will help to ensure that they raise any issues they have about shipping or packaging with you - and not just via the use of negative feedback!
5. Insure your shipments
Insurance is a good way of covering any mishaps your items might encounter en route. However, for inexpensive items this may not be cost-effective. Despite this, many sellers still choose to require their buyers to purchase insurance for virtually every auction. This is an entirely personal preference - most likely depending on the size and fragility of the items you choose to sell.
6. Repair broken items
If the worst happens, and your item breaks or goes missing, offer to repair it or refund their money. If they simply don't like what they bought, you can ask them to pay return shipping, and refund their payment for the item.
For CDs, DVDs, or computer software, it's a good idea to include a note in the auction saying that you only accept returns if the box is unopened, or if the software is obviously damaged.
Of course, there are some unreasonable buyers out there, and you may not wish to give in too easily to a refund. Nevertheless, wasting your time on a drawn-out process can often be more of a financial loss than just refunding the money. So all and all, sometimes it's easier to bite your tongue and give a refund for a quick resolution.
What to do about Unreasonable Refund Requests
Things can get a little tricky however, when you sell something on the stipulation that it has a number of listed defects and then, what does the buyer do but return it because it doesn't work due to the faults mentioned. In this situation, you have good reason to stand firm. Nonetheless, you may, once again, simply find it easier just to make a refund.
Give this technique a go: when you offer a refund, always insist that the buyer returns the item as a condition of making the refund, even if you don't really want it back. Sometimes, the thought of having to actually do something and ship the item can be enough to make the buyer have second thoughts. Laziness is a great deterrent!
Also, in my experience, often just offering to make a refund can defuse the buyer's anger and set the stage for resolving the situation in another way.
How Does the Feedback System Work?
Buyers and sellers are asked to place feedback on each other at the end of each transaction. It's entirely voluntary, but eBay send out a lot of reminders so most people do end up using the system!
Sellers
Sellers can only place positive feedback on buyers.
Buyers
Buyers can place a positive, neutral or negative feedback on the seller. Plus they are asked to anonymously rate sellers on four areas of the sale:
-
Item as described
- Communication
- Shipping time
- Shipping and handling charges
- Sellers can only
To encourage buyers to place fair feedback:
- Buyers are unable to place negative or neutral feedback in first 3 days following the sale. Feedback can only be left for 60 days after the transaction has ended.
- Buyers are able to revise feedback.
Responding to Feedback
If you receive, or give, negative feedback that is unwarranted, then eBay does provide the opportunity to respond. Click on the Reply button next to the feedback, and state your response.
Once again, make sure that you are not leaving an emotional or malicious response. A suitable reply might be: 'This was a misunderstanding. As the item was local, I wanted to negotiate a local pickup. This was unacceptable to the seller.'
Your response will be able to be seen by everyone who looks at your feedback, however it won't be reflected in your rating. It's simply an opportunity to tell your side of the story if you feel that the feedback was unfair.
Feedback removal
Unfortunately, no matter what lengths you go to, there will be some buyers who place negative feedback unreasonably. In this situation there is often not much you can do except learn from the experience. However, there are several occasions where eBay will step in and remove feedback, but these tend to be rare:
- Feedback left by a user who is later suspended
- Feedback left by a buyer who fails to respond to an Unpaid Item notification
- Feedback containing vulgar language or personal contact information
- And occasions when eBay receives a valid court order to remove Feedback.
Find out more about feedback here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/feedback/index.html
Workbook
- If you haven't already, purchase something off eBay to get a feel for the transaction process. Don't forget to leave feedback! If you don't know how, the feedback process is fairly simple. Just click on My eBay, then click the Feedback link under My Account on the left-hand side of the page. Click the Leave Feedback button, select between positive, neutral or negative feedback and write a comment.
- Consider this situation: You send the winning bidder an email with shipping costs and payment details. He emails back to say that he thinks your shipping costs are unreasonably high. How would you respond?
- Try drafting a polite first-reminder email to send to buyers if they haven't paid within 5 days. It's much easier to be reasonable when you are not feeling frustrated and stressed! Add it to your email as a signature file.
**Tip**
Get eBay's Selling Manager Pro software. It allows you to place feedback in bulk, saving hours of time! It also stores lots of different feedback comments (all positive of course) and will assign them randomly so that you don't end up giving the same comment to 100 people.
Helpful Links
eBay's Feedback FAQs: http://pages.ebay.com/help/feedback/index.html
Want to make your item stand out? Learn what works and what doesn't in next week's newsletter!
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