eBay and Customer Service

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!

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eBay and Customer Service