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Forgive All Ebay
Sins! |
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by: Robert C.
Potter |
Over the years, I have
been amazed at the “blinding” greed and reckless approach
to
commerce that some business owners have employed. Lying to
customers, selling inferior merchandise, and not offering refunds,
left a firestorm of irate customers in their wake. Without fail, all
of this “ill will” led most businesses to bankruptcy, and in some
cases, Federal Prison.
I realize that not everyone engages
in “business criminality” that rises to the level of fraud and
incarceration. Most people try to be good stewards, and approach
their enterprise in an honest and forthright manner. For those of
you who own thriving business concerns you already know that in most
cases the customer is always right. You make sure that you
communicate effectively, refund monies if the buyer is truly
unhappy, and try to meet the needs of the people who buy your goods
or services.
However, there are more than a handful of Ebay
sellers that are of the mind that customer service and effective
communication is not something that they need not participate in.
Take the case of a woman named Barbara, (Nickname: BobAnn) who
recently posted her disappointment on the Ryze Business Network:
Quote:
Barbara Cerda wrote:
Greetings Everyone,
“When will sellers on Ebay understand that customer service
is key? And when will Ebay sellers learn using customer friendly
approaches can only make their business grow?” Again today I've
bought from a less than friendly seller.
Thought I was
placing a bid and instead bought the item at the buy now price. Of
course the seller refused to allow the retraction, nor was I allowed
to place a bid. I always pay for my winning bids immediately upon
email confirmation.
And did so in this case. But it would
have been customer friendlier for this seller
to accept my
retraction to be replaced with a bid. He would have gotten repeat
business from me and my friends. His "Buy Now" price is 30% over the
retail price for this item. Lesson learned by me again - that there
are way too many sellers on Ebay out to grab a buck and the hell
with fair practice. Lesson learned yet again.”
BobAnn
End quote…
The operative phrase here is “repeat business
from me and my friends”. There is no better endorsement of your
product or service than word of mouth advertising. Lack of
flexibility on the part of the seller, not only cost them one
customer, but also destroyed the possibility for future business.
Good news travels fast, but bad news travels faster!
As an
auction seller, (Ebay auction ID: LevelBest77) I would have
accommodated her request right away. And while I have never had
anyone use “Buy It Now” by accident, I have had several people over
the years ask me to retract bids. The number of people who have made
that request can be counted on one hand! Some, did not even
understand the process, (bid retracting) and I was more than willing
to guide them through it.
People make honest mistakes, and
you should never “abuse” a buyer for doing so. If you plan to get
into Ebay auction selling for the long haul, always practice good
will toward your customers. Unless someone is totally unreasonable,
and you have done everything in your power to accommodate their
request, never deny people the ability to change their mind, return
an item, or retract a bid! Developing good will also requires that
you anticipate customer needs…..
For instance, I had a few
overseas customers bid on a wireless router. This particular item
needed to be powered with a Universal Adapter, since voltage
requirements in France and Australia are obviously different from
those here in the United States.
I made this abundantly
clear to both bidders before they sent me any payment. The purchase
of such an adapter, not to mention the shipping price, would have
doubled the US retail cost. I told them that they could probably get
the product cheaper at their local electronics stores. Without
hesitation, I let them out of their obligation to pay for the item.
I then contacted the next highest bidder and offered that person the
chance to make the purchase.
Both bidders thanked me for my
honesty. They had forgotten about the electrical differences. I
could have ignored that little detail, and sold them the item
anyway. I just had to put myself in their situation. Think of how
frustrated they would have been if I did not reveal that
information. Buyer’s remorse would have set in quickly, once they
realized that they could have purchased the same item for a lot less
in their native countries.
While the benefits of these
actions may not have an immediate effect, you can be sure that
should I ever have another “item of interest!” these two gentlemen
would not hesitate to purchase from me. They can count on me to
accommodate their needs, instead of catering to my wants. Creating
this type of good will instills trust, and the knowledge that you
have the customers best interest in mind.
“Me thinketh thou
doth protest too much!
Do you accentuate the positive? Or,
do you run on negativity? Negative Ebay feedback is a tool that
everyone should use with restraint, or not at all. As a rule, I
never leave negative feedback. Unless someone has blatantly lied
about your product, or attacked you personally without merit, then I
would not leave any feedback in the “minus” side of the isle!
“Flame” wars are not pretty. I have seen a lot of
unnecessary back and forth “banter” that could have been avoided, if
they (the seller) just resisted the urge to make their “two cents”
known. Sometimes it gives customers the impression that you are more
concerned about arguing, then conducting your business.
I
have also witnessed seller feedback that has included some pretty
foul language. Engaging in this type of verbal sparring is not much
of a confidence builder either. It is more telling of what you are,
then about revealing the sins of your customers. Don’t go out of
your way to register a negative response if you can help it. Heed
the sage advice that our Mother’s use to tell us: “If you can’t say
anything nice, don’t say anything at all!”
“What we have
here is a failure to communicate!”
Communication with your
customers should not amount to the sound one hand clapping! Bottom
line, if someone e-mails you with a question--answer it! Here is an
example of the type of feedback I obtained by doing just that……
“He was very Helpful and cooperative in answering questions.
Follow-up: Will DEFINITELY use his services anytime he has items of
interest! Great Seller!”
The gentlemen who left this
positive review, wanted to know about some of the particulars of a
“Mickey Mouse” clock I had up for auction. His wife is a collector
of all things Disney, and thought it would be a nice surprise
for her birthday. The
clock, to say the least, was in sad shape.
It was incapable of keeping time, and the
only part of it in
working order was the second hand. I thought for sure that he would
be disappointed with the item despite full disclosure of all of it’s
imperfections.
To my surprise, not only did I receive
positive feedback, but he also told me that his wife absolutely
loved it! In this instance, one man’s junk, truly, is another man’s
treasure! I never thought this item was worthy of any praise! The
time it took to answer his questions—all of five minutes!
I
know that some of you will say that I am not being realistic. You
just can’t answer e-mails all day; “I have a business to run!,” you
might proclaim. If you plan on making a living on Ebay, then you
better think about hiring someone to help you answer your daily
inquires if it is just too overwhelming. If you specialize in a
particular product, set up a Frequently Asked Questions page to any
Auto-Responder.
If you use Ebay on an infrequent basis, and
have less than thirty listings a month, then you really don't have
any excuse not to provide great customer service and e-mail
communication. You shouldn’t be inundated with questions regarding
that many items, unless the product you are selling is technical in
nature.
If you ignore your customers, they will go away.
Good customer service should be woven into the fabric of every good
business. I cannot overemphasis the importance of this issue. I
continue to be perplexed by the fact that it is last on the list of
business priorities for some Ebay sellers!
Will good
customer service and communication alone make you rich on Ebay? That
would be a resounding "no”. You will have to understand your market,
and provide products that the Ebay community will bid on
consistently. There will be “bidders & buyers” out there that
will make mistakes and commit some auction sins! Forgive all Ebay
sins and you will be rewarded with happy, repeat customers!
About the author:
Robert C. Potter is
the author of “The Ultimate Guide To Products For Resale.” Over 300
Wholesale & Surplus Supply Sources, For Ebay Auction Sellers,
E-Commerce Websites, Flea Market Vendors, and Retail Store
Owners! You can find his ebook here: http://www.productsforresale.com
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