Most of this information comes straight from the ebay business pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you'll know what they know.
If you are running an eBay business, you may not realize that the need for great customer service still exists ? even for online auctions. When a buyer receives quality customer service from you, they will potentially do one of two things ? or both. They will give you great feedback, and they may look for more of your auctions in the future. If you hope to make a living from eBay, you have to stop thinking of it as an ?auction? and start running it like a business.
If you owned a brick and mortar business, how would you treat your customer while they were standing at your counter, waiting for you to finish ringing up their order? You would be helpful and respectful of course! You would do everything that you could to guarantee that customers return to your establishment in the future. You would bend over backwards to make sure that their buying experience with you was both satisfactory and enjoyable. Why would you do any less at the close of one of your eBay auctions?
First, act quickly at the close of your auctions. Contact the winner, and congratulate them. Describe the item they have won and how the item will be shipped ? even if this information is already part of the description for the auction. Remind them of their winning bid amount, and give them payment options and instructions. Let them know when the item will be shipped.
Close your email by thanking them for participating in your auction. You might even take this opportunity to tell them about other open auctions that you have as well. Think of this contact with the winner as a conversation that you are having with a customer who is standing at your counter in that imaginary brick and mortar store.
Once the payment and shipping details have been taken care of, contact your buyer again. Let them know when the item was shipped ? the exact date and time ? and when it is expected to arrive on their end. During this contact, let them know that if they have any problems or questions, that they should contact you through the eBay site. If they do contact you in the future, make sure that you answer promptly, and that you do all that you can to make them happy with their purchase ? even if it means issuing a refund.
Yes, You should be open to issuing refunds, depending on what the item is. Furthermore, you should issue refunds promptly. Of course, it is reasonable to expect the buyer to return the item to you, at your expense, before the refund is issued, but once you receive the item, issue the refund promptly. This is just good business!
Sometimes it's tough to sort out all the details related to this subject, but I'm positive you'll have no trouble making sense of the information presented above.
So, you've put up your eBay listings and now it's time to sit back and let the cash flow grow. Sorry, being a successful seller on eBay isn't that easy. Selling merchandise on eBay is a business. While your choice of product is fundamental to the success of that business, customer service can be the make or break factor. eBay is an open, easily accessed community based website, sellers who don't attend to their customer base may find that they quickly no longer have a customer base.
Any buyer can immediately leave feedback concerning his/her transaction with you. In many ways this makes customer service rendered by an eBay merchant even more important than customer service in a bricks and mortar establishment. Therefore, customer service should weigh heavily on all of the decisions you make regarding your eBay business beginning with ad design and right on through the actual delivery of the product. Notice the sentence doesn't read "ending" with the actual delivery. Customer service is ongoing; it never ends.
Composing accurate and easily understood eBay ad copy is the first step to good customer service; including pictures to assist your potential customer with his/her buying decision is another way to be a good merchant. Providing reasonable shipping rates and multiple forms of payment can also go a long way in building your client list. Adding the eBay shipping calculator to your ad is a no cost tool many clients appreciate. Crafting and posting a clearly written return policy is imperative.
Without a doubt, however, the bottom line in customer service is response. Well written ads, informative pictures, shipping tools, established policies and frequently asked question (FAQ) lists can all make life easier for buyer and seller alike; they all cut down on the need for personal interaction. Still, a quick, pleasant personal reply from the merchant does more to build positive feedback than any other action an eBay seller can make. Even when a customer doesn't like the answer just getting an answer in a timely fashion can leave a good feeling with the buyer. A wise seller will also know that while it is important to have and enforce buying/selling policies; it is equally important to know when to be flexible with those policies. While compromising on an issue with a buyer may cost a seller a few cents in the short run, it can lead to increased profits in the long run. Don't allow yourself to be run over by an unreasonable customer but be open to negotiation with a buyer who may have a legitimate complaint.
All in all, as with any company, an eBay merchant must pay attention to every aspects of his/her business. Choosing the perfect product and advertising it in just the right way are essential components of any successful eBay auction. It will be difficult to maintain your success though without attentive, intelligently administered customer service.
Both B. Keith Johnson & Charles Hammer are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.