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Keeping your Ebay Customers Happy!

We just went through a few days of boxing up items for Ebay and shipping them out – it’s quite a task for the uninitiated.

As we were going through the process, I noticed that many of the customers who bought from us shared the same concerns, and asked the same questions. Ebay customers appear to be somewhat worried when it comes to sending their money to a perfect stranger and waiting for their product to come in.

That’s when I realized that there are some extremely easy and simple ways for people who want to make a significant amount of money on Ebay to make their customers happy. And when you make your customers happy – you get better feedback. And when you get better feedback – your sales will increase exponentially!

Ebay Customer Service Tips
The most critical aspect of being a successful Ebay seller is obviously making the customers happy. Just from the sales Cindy and I have done – we’ve realized that even though the confidence level of the general public when dealing with Ebay has improved over time – most people are still somewhat nervous when buying items on Ebay.

Cindy and I now realize that the only way to make thousands every month on Ebay is to:

Provide customers with the best transaction experience they’ve ever had on Ebay.
Ship as quickly as possible.
Respond to customer concerns and correspondence as fast as you can.
Package well, and ship using the shipping service the customer asked for.
Respond Immediately after a Sale with an Invoice
When your items sell, always wait about a day to give your customer time to pay. The majority of the time, without any prompting at all, the customer will pay. At least 6 of the 10 items we sold were marked “paid” and the customer had already sent payment. With a Paypal account, they’ll likely just immediately make the payment electronically.

If a whole day goes by and you don’t receive a payment, then send an invoice and kindly request payment for the total shown on the invoice. We did this for the rest of our sales, and received the “payment” status within hours. Most Ebay buyers are very quick to pay, which is very nice.

Ship Promptly

The absolute best way to keep customers happy is to ship as promptly as possible. This can’t be overstated. This past week, Cindy shipped the items out the very next day after payment was made, and the customers were astounded that the item was received so soon.

The key to fantastic positive feedback on Ebay, and a customer base that returns to you again and again, is prompt shipping. There’s no better method to make a customer extremely happy than getting an item that they purchased to them as quickly as possible.

Respond Promptly to Customer Concerns
When all else fails – and you do get complaints or concerns, phrase your responses very carefully and politely. If they complain about the product, don’t offer a refund right away, simply ask for more information and see if there’s anything you can do to make it right – such as pay for a minor repair. Sometimes paying for a repair will cost less than refunding the item, and you still keep a part of the profit you made.

If an item breaks in the mail, and the customer didn’t pay for insurance, you are not supposed to be held liable for shipping accidents. However, many customers may try to blame you for poor packaging. Therefore the safest approach, if you sell a lot of fragile items, is to make shipping insurance mandatory. This will provide peace of mind.

Reply to all questions about your listings as quickly as possible. Customers like to know that they are buying from a professional and friendly seller. If you “sell yourself” through your responses to them, they are much more likely to place a bid on your item.

The saga of  Jack’s family ( to be continued)