Once upon a time in an internet not far away eBay was a happy land where sellers and buyers traded items and ratings happily and sellers had just as much ability to let the world know about a bad buyer as buyers had to flag a poor seller.
Unfortunately those days have been and gone.
Giving feedback is now a one-way street for buyers only and the feedback that customers give accounts for more than ever.
The reputation of sellers don't only depend on it but the amount in fees they pay as well, thanks to the new DSR system.
In that sense it doesn't only make good business sense to be a good seller on eBay it is a matter of life and death.
Guide' Your Customers Through The Sales Process While every Tom Dick and Harry can sell low volumes sporadically on eBay it takes someone special to sell large volumes consistently and increase their customer base.
To do that a seller needs to be ready to 'guide' the customer through the sales process.
A process that starts as soon as the seller starts to write the description and goes on till long after the item is delivered.
The result of this is that the customer won't only want to buy more things from you in the future, they will also tell the friends about the great service and fantastic products they got from shopping with you.
Doing that is as simple as writing a good description, including enough disclaimers, FAQs and usual polices to reassure the customer that they won't be left in the cold if something goes wrong and keeping in touch with the buyer all the way through the sales process, from the time their bid is accepted till the time their item arrives at their door.
If you are professional and responsive enough the buyer will not only be satisfied with their purchase but they will trust you a lot more.
Finding a new customer costs six times more than retaining an existing one.
So, if you do everything right the first time you won't need to worry about spending hours addressing problems and dealing with customer complaints.
You just need to watch the return sales come in and watch your eBay business grow.
Don't Focus On The Negative Removing negative feedback and unpleasant comments from your listings and seller page is all but impossible.
Fortunately the comments are only one thing that buyers look at.
Here are some things that buyers look at when deciding whether or not to buy from a seller: The quality, content and layout of your auction pages Here they look for pages that: *Look professional *Have useful and accurate photographs *Have clear, relevant and accurate photographs The quality of the communication from the seller This is where the buyer wants people that give timely and professional responses that actually address the issue raised by the buyer.
Shipping They don't want things to take to get to their door and they don't want things that are wrapped too elaborately (or too amateurishly).
The item itself Basically they want the item to be in as good (if not a better) condition as it is described on the eBay listing.
How problems are resolved Customers look for: *Whether or not returns are accepted *Whether or not refunds are issued in a timely manner Both of these points can and should be addressed in your FAQ or somewhere in the documentation on your seller page.
It is possible for you and the buyer to come to an amicable agreement even if one doesn't seem possible.
All you need to do is discuss problems in transparent manner and maintain your courtesy and professionalism right through the resolution period.
Look For Answers In Forums If you are having a particularly difficult problem with a supplier/customer then it always helps to talk about it.
There are several eBay member forums out there on the internet where sellers help each other out through difficult solutions and offer advice on a number of different issues.
All eBay sellers have problems at some stage in their selling careers and it is worth remembering that someone, somewhere, will have experienced it before.
To find solutions you can often visit these locations: *Powersellers Unite *Powersellers Forum *US EBay Community Discussion Boards *UK EBay Community Discussion Boards By following these three steps you will be able to improve your DSR and lift your sales in no time.
Unfortunately those days have been and gone.
Giving feedback is now a one-way street for buyers only and the feedback that customers give accounts for more than ever.
The reputation of sellers don't only depend on it but the amount in fees they pay as well, thanks to the new DSR system.
In that sense it doesn't only make good business sense to be a good seller on eBay it is a matter of life and death.
Guide' Your Customers Through The Sales Process While every Tom Dick and Harry can sell low volumes sporadically on eBay it takes someone special to sell large volumes consistently and increase their customer base.
To do that a seller needs to be ready to 'guide' the customer through the sales process.
A process that starts as soon as the seller starts to write the description and goes on till long after the item is delivered.
The result of this is that the customer won't only want to buy more things from you in the future, they will also tell the friends about the great service and fantastic products they got from shopping with you.
Doing that is as simple as writing a good description, including enough disclaimers, FAQs and usual polices to reassure the customer that they won't be left in the cold if something goes wrong and keeping in touch with the buyer all the way through the sales process, from the time their bid is accepted till the time their item arrives at their door.
If you are professional and responsive enough the buyer will not only be satisfied with their purchase but they will trust you a lot more.
Finding a new customer costs six times more than retaining an existing one.
So, if you do everything right the first time you won't need to worry about spending hours addressing problems and dealing with customer complaints.
You just need to watch the return sales come in and watch your eBay business grow.
Don't Focus On The Negative Removing negative feedback and unpleasant comments from your listings and seller page is all but impossible.
Fortunately the comments are only one thing that buyers look at.
Here are some things that buyers look at when deciding whether or not to buy from a seller: The quality, content and layout of your auction pages Here they look for pages that: *Look professional *Have useful and accurate photographs *Have clear, relevant and accurate photographs The quality of the communication from the seller This is where the buyer wants people that give timely and professional responses that actually address the issue raised by the buyer.
Shipping They don't want things to take to get to their door and they don't want things that are wrapped too elaborately (or too amateurishly).
The item itself Basically they want the item to be in as good (if not a better) condition as it is described on the eBay listing.
How problems are resolved Customers look for: *Whether or not returns are accepted *Whether or not refunds are issued in a timely manner Both of these points can and should be addressed in your FAQ or somewhere in the documentation on your seller page.
It is possible for you and the buyer to come to an amicable agreement even if one doesn't seem possible.
All you need to do is discuss problems in transparent manner and maintain your courtesy and professionalism right through the resolution period.
Look For Answers In Forums If you are having a particularly difficult problem with a supplier/customer then it always helps to talk about it.
There are several eBay member forums out there on the internet where sellers help each other out through difficult solutions and offer advice on a number of different issues.
All eBay sellers have problems at some stage in their selling careers and it is worth remembering that someone, somewhere, will have experienced it before.
To find solutions you can often visit these locations: *Powersellers Unite *Powersellers Forum *US EBay Community Discussion Boards *UK EBay Community Discussion Boards By following these three steps you will be able to improve your DSR and lift your sales in no time.
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