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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