Starting on eBay? Explore this 5-part series for our beginners! (Part 5)
As a buyer, you have an opportunity to build up your eBay ratings. When you buy something and it was a positive experience, leave feedback. The seller will hopefully leave feedback in return. This is a great way to bolster your reputation to both sellers and your potential buyers. As a new seller, you have a limit to how many things you can sell. As you increase the number of positive feedback that you have, you will be able to sell more.
You can rate sellers in four different categories – Item as Described, Communication, Shipping Time, and Shipping and Handling Charges. The highest is 5 stars and the lowest is 1 star. Be as thorough as possible, answer questions promptly, provide fast shipping, and don’t make a profit on shipping. This ensures that you get the highest ranking for each category. Strive for that hole in one in customer service, as you work towards excellence in each of these categories.
The advantage of offering free shipping would be to "attract more buyers and get a higher placement in search results... and automatically receive a 5-star shipping rating". (eBay, 2019)
If you do offer free shipping, this cost will be the seller's responsibility. Make sure to price the item with the shipping costs in mind.
If someone messages you with a complaint on their purchase, be professional. Offer a refund, an exchange, or a partial discount. Openly communicate with them towards a solution. Disgruntled customers will further be angered if they are ignored or treated with disrespect. They will likely post a negative review, discouraging others to buy from you. It’s important that this be prevented. When there are problems, the help you provide will dictate the actions from the buyer. Direct the negative comments away from your website and work through the issues with the buyer in your messages.
For steps on how to leave feedback on eBay, Business Insider provides a great guide with this link.
"Feedback is an essential tool for buyers and sellers on eBay to determine which accounts they want to do business with. Leaving honest feedback after a transaction is an important part of doing business on the platform." - Business Insider