From Ebay Zero to Power-Selling Hero: Using Feedback Effectively

When I talk about feedback to new Ebay sellers, I usuallycompare 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 youfound a bunch of notes in big, red marker that saidthe food was moldy; the waiter dumped hot coffee onme on purpose; and the manager chased me out of thestore with a gun, you probably wouldn't gothere--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 localjeweler's door that said I bought an engagement ring.The diamonds were fake. And the owner refused to giveme a refund, you would drive out of town to anotherjeweler.

Feedback is a powerful tool that will ensure eitheryour success or failure selling on Ebay. This is whyit is so important to use feedback carefully. You should do everything possible to see that each ofthe 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is positive; and 3) every dispute or misunderstanding is resolved, resulting in: a) positive feedback,b) mutually-withdrawn feedback, or c) neutralfeedback.

A lot of Ebay sellers have a written feedbackpolicy that requires the buyer to post feedbackif they want feedback from the seller. This allows the seller to factor in the buyer's feedback when leaving feedback. It also forcespeople 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 feedbackto 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 yourdoor 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 customerswhenever there is a problem, you shouldn't ever haveto worry about negative feedback.

http://www.workathomerightnow.net/ebay.html -Written by Isaiah Hull, author of "How to Profiton Ebay In Seven Days Without Spending A Single Penny." For a limited time only you can get a pre-publication copy of his book for ONE-FOURTH the post-publication price!