Being a seller is a lot of responsibility, and sometimes you
might feel like you're not doing everything you should be. This
simple checklist will help you keep on top of things.
Have you found out everything you possibly could about your
items? Try typing their names into a search engine - you might
find out something you didn't know. If someone else is selling
the same thing as you, then always try to provide more
information about it than they do. Do you monitor the
competition? Always keep an eye on how much other items the same
as or similar to yours are selling, and what prices they're
being offered at. There's usually little point in starting a
fixed price auction for £100 when someone else is selling the
item for £90.
Have you got pictures of the items? It's worth taking the time
to photograph your items, especially if you have a digital
camera. If you get serious about eBay but don't have a camera,
then you will probably want to invest in one at some point.
Are you emailing your sellers? It's worth sending a brief email
when transactions go through: something like a simple "Thank you
for buying my item, please let me know when you have sent the
payment". Follow this up with "Thanks for your payment, I have
posted your [item name] today". You will be surprised how many
problems you will avoid just by communicating this way.
Also, are you checking your emails? Remember that potential
buyers can send you email about anything at any time, and not
answering these emails will just make them go somewhere else
instead of buying from you.
Do your item description pages have everything that buyers need
to know? If you're planning to offer international delivery,
then it's good to make a list of the charges to different
counties and display it on each auction. If you have any special
terms and conditions (for example, if you will give a refund on
any item as long as it hasn't been opened), then you should make
sure these are displayed too.
Have you been wrapping your items correctly? Your wrapping
should be professional for the best impression: use
appropriately sized envelopes or parcels, wrap the item in
bubble wrap to stop it from getting damaged, and print labels
instead of hand-writing addresses. Oh, and always use first
class post - don't be cheap.
Do you follow up? It is worth sending out an email a few days
after you post an item, saying "Is everything alright with your
purchase? I hope you received it and it was as you expected."
This might sound like giving the customer an opportunity to
complain, but you should be trying to help your customers, not
take their money and run.
Being a really good eBay seller, more than anything else, is
about providing genuinely good and honest customer service.
That's the only foolproof way to protect your reputation.
By Paul is Head of Training for a major UK Charitable Organisation
with a wealth of experience in personal development, management
development, e-learning and operational management. In addition
he owns PK eBooks (http://www.pk-ebooks.co.uk)
two sites
specifically aimed at those who want to successfully sell on
eBay http://www.ebay-profits.co.uk
and http://www.info-entrepreneurs.co.uk
