People go into business for many reasons; some noble, others far from it.  However at the heart of those reasons is financial gain; everyone must make a living and some use a business as their means to this end.  People sabotage their own gain, their own efforts, and even their own money by ignoring one basic, yet overlooked principle - customer service.  We have all experienced poor customer service, more times than we would like.  Yes, humans will be humans and mistakes will be made, but with the proper insight and training not only can you NOT LOSE your customers, but you can MAKE new ones.  Good customer service is a golden ticket, often tossed aside, to ensuring great business and even future business; now who wouldn't want that?!  Discovering a selfless attitude in your customer relations, will undoubtedly bring the gain we all so desire, in the eBay marketplace these steps can be easier than one would think. 

eBay provides a market, unlike any other place of our time; thus why we are here exploring this phenomena and utilizing its expansive power.  With all of the opportunity that abounds us here as eBay sellers and business owners, it would be easy to forget the basic simple truths of good business practice.  Beyond ethics, marketing, pricing and so on, we have a fundamental need to be good service providers.  It can be tricky, being an emotional being, when a customer either rightfully or unjustly attacks our products or services.  However, your reaction is critical in making or breaking this and future deals, and even setting your mind at ease when you shut off your computer at night.  There are a number of things to consider when deciding just how extraordinary your customer service dealings will be, but one or all of these guidelines will have you well on your way toward pleasant, and positive feedback.

1) MAKE A FIRM DECISION REGARDING YOUR RETURN POLICY:  There are a number of different ways to handle returns or exchanges.  The important thing about the policy is not what type, it is simply to know what is best for you and stick to it.  We all value being able to return an item; to take away the risk of a purchase, to offer peace of mind about quality, and to even change our mind months down the road as long as we haven't opened our product.  The companies that have the ability to offer these leanient return policies are some of our favorite shopping hubs, simply for that fact.  On eBay however, a large percentage of sellers, do not have the ability to offer these easy returns, or returns at all for that matter.  If you find yourself in this category, and do not have the time nor resources to offer a return policy, your customer service will be all that more important.  Buyers must trust and respect your dealings with one another to not feel either afraid to purchase from you, or entitled to something after the purchase is complete.  If you choose not to offer returns, state it clearly, stick to it with kindness to those who request it, and above all else be ready to explain yourself.  Offer a kind email to those who are unhappy with your policy and let them know that though what they purchase is "as is," you are committed to detailed explanations, and always answering questions in a timely fashion so they know what they are getting in advance.  Customers actually value this, they can expect great things from a seller who trusts their customer service so much that they don't even need a return policy!

2) ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS:  Though that may sound so easy, you might be surprised to know that some sellers can take days or weeks to answer emails, if at all.  Don't waste people's time!  eBay is gracious in the fact that it has made this part of selling so easy with eBay messages, copies going directly to our email, and even the new addition of Skype and so forth.  The power for this guideline is in your hands; check your messages, often, and return them right away.  Schedule or time block two 10 minute sessions into your day just to make sure you are diligent in returning your messages. 

3) WHEN IN DOUBT TROUBLE YOURSELF:  This is where the selfless attitude really comes in.  Stay up a little later, cut your lunch a little shorter, and spend a little more of your daily patience on an inquisitive customer or impatient buyer.  Your financial and personal gain will often be immeasurable, for your acts of kindness.

4) HANDLE YOUR NEGATIVE FEEDBACK WITH DIGNITY:  Though we all hope to never receive a negative feedback, we are powerless to stop an overzealous buyer from leaving an emotion driven feedback.  If and when this happens, how you handle it is everything.  This is the time to muster up all of the dignity you can.  Try, even through the frustration, to truly feel sorry for any miscommunication.  Offer some encouragement to an obviously troubled person and be humble.  Admit when you are at fault, apologize even if you are not at fault, and assure the future readers of this feedback that you are a caring individual through your courteous response.  There is nothing that looks worse than the feedback responses that you see and the seller flies into a 50 character rage!  Its ok to be offended, but be proactive.  Allow yourself to make a change if need be and keep your &^%^* and name calling to your self and off of the keyboard.

5) SMILE - YES SMILE:  How do you smile through a computer?  No, not with those little colons and parenthesis.  Use your words, your timeliness, even your name, to make the buyer receive your smile.  Use emotion driven words in your emails, like "deeply appreciate your question," "I hope I have explained this clearly enough," "Thank you for your correspondance," and of course, "Thank you so much for bidding, congrats on your winning bid!"  Your timeliness in respose, as discussed earlier makes people feel important and thus happy.  Your name or signature can be of great impact.  Even if you value your anonymity, it is not necessary to use your legal first and last name but your first name alone, screenname or storename.  Sign your messages with a "~Store#1 Staff," or "It's a pleasure, John," or "Happy bidding, S.S."  Personality equals humanity, if people feel like you are a real person and not an automated company spokesperson, the more likely they are to consider your feelings in return. 

6) INSPIRE KINDNESS AS A SELLER AND AS A BUYER:  I wonder what the percentage is of sellers who are also buyers, I would venture to say that it is high.  Set an example to the sellers you buy from.  Thank those sellers sincerely for timely, courteous resposes and messages.  Leave them extremely kind feedback.  Be dignified as you handle any issues with those who sell to you.  Resolving a problem with a seller will give them the ability to learn through their practive with you and encourage them to be selfless the next time, maybe with a more impatient buyer.  Again, this is another time to trouble yourself first for the greater good, so to speak.

eBay is a market in which sellers can rest on their products.  Being that it is a marketplace highly driven by product competition and price competition, customer service can be lacking.  If as sellers we value our reputations and hope that buyers will value them as well, we may see that our feedback will count more than ever.  A buyer will decide to buy from us, instead of our competition because of our great feedback rating.  They will be happy that they did, when they receive a great item, great service and encouragement along the way.  Doesn't it just make you feel good to be selfless, and we haven't even discussed the selfish gain part! 

PLEASE let me know if this was helpful!  Thank you so much!