>From Ebay Zero to Power-Selling Hero: Using Feedback Effectively
When I talk about feedback to new Ebay sellers, I usually
compare it to having one note posted on the door of a
brick-and-mortar business for every transaction. At almost any
business--no matter how bad the service--you would have a lot of
positive transactions; and thus a lot of positive notes. As a
potential shopper, you probably wouldn’t bother to read all of
these positive notes. Instead, you’d look to see if there were
any negatives.
If you were planning to eat at a restaurant and you found a
bunch of notes in big, red marker that said the food was moldy;
the waiter dumped hot coffee on me on purpose; and the manager
chased me out of the store with a gun, you probably wouldn’t go
there--or at least you’d think twice about it.
And likewise, if you wanted to buy an engagement ring, but you
found a number of notes on the local jeweler’s door that said I
bought an engagement ring. The diamonds were fake. And the owner
refused to give me a refund, you would drive out of town to
another jeweler.
Feedback is a powerful tool that will ensure either your success
or failure selling on Ebay. This is why it is so important to
use feedback carefully. You should do everything possible to see
that each of the following happens: 1) every buyer gives you
feedback; 2) all of that feedback is positive; and 3) every
dispute or misunderstanding is resolved, resulting in: a)
positive feedback, b) mutually-withdrawn feedback, or c) neutral
feedback.
A lot of Ebay sellers have a written feedback policy that
requires the buyer to post feedback if they want feedback from
the seller. This allows the seller to factor in the buyer's
feedback when leaving feedback. It also forces people who
wouldn't otherwise give feedback to do so.
I personally do not use this system. When I receive payment, I
leave feedback immediately. My feedback is always positive and
descriptive. If I have something bad to say, I try to work it
out with the buyer first, rather than posting negative feedback.
In the example I used above, giving negative feedback to a buyer
would be the equivalent of a store owner driving out to the
buyer’s house and posting a big, nasty letter on the person’s
door for everyone in the neighborhood to see.
Leaving negative feedback like this is not only is a bad
reflection on my business, but it can also prompt retaliatory
negative feedback from the buyer.
Afterall, if someone left that nasty note on your door for all
of your neighbors to see, wouldn’t you at least exercise your
right to leave a response on the door of that someone’s business?
. . .again, this is why it is so important to avoid these
exchanges altogether.
In general, it is pretty easy to avoid negative feedback as an
Ebay seller. If you create a clear store policy and adhere to
it, give refunds when they are warranted, and communicate with
your customers whenever there is a problem, you shouldn’t ever
have to worry about negative feedback.
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