( 
)Sellers - Are You Cheating Yourself Out of Sales?
By Online_Editor
Chances are you could be getting a lot more repeat business by looking at your eBay career through your BUYER'S eyes! I've been a buyer for many years and I'll show you a few things you probably never thought of because you were only looking at it from a seller's perspective.
I'll show you how you could be driving away some of your most valuable customers - and what to do about it!
Don't assume that your buyer is sitting with baited breathe waiting for the one thing he/she ordered from eBay - and only from you. Many buyers, like myself, may get up to 20 boxes a day from USPS, UPS and FedEx.
I have a very comprehensive inventory tracking system I designed in Filemaker Pro because I resell most of what I buy to the local markets. For example, we don't have anywhere up here where I live to buy Macs - except for me.
It's vital that I know what I ordered, when, from whom and for how much. Just as important, when I'm facing 15-20 cartons of incoming, I need to know who each box is from, what it contains and the matching eBay Item Number ... and I need to know what I'm supposed to be getting in each box.
I've dug through wads of newspaper from someone whose name on the box matches nothing found on eBay - only to finally find a small item just before the box and packing goes into the trash.
Just this morning I found a small network card in a box from someone called Randy Day in Broomfield, CO. I don't find a corresponding seller named "Randy Day" in my database or in a search of eBay. Who in the hell is Randy Day and what does he call himself on eBay?
Also this morning, I got a package through DHL Express from a "Parcel Plus - Manager" in Fredrickson, VA, containing two CD-ROMS. I suspected that "Parcel Plus - Manager" was simply a strip mall shipping business like UPS has stores. Searching further I found a little tag that said "Dennis Watson". I find no Dennis Watson on eBay or in my database when I purchased my items; turns out "Dennis Watson" is "celp" on eBay.
Just how do I match these items up to purchases? I don't want to send someone an email saying I didn't get their shipment - when I really did. But I have orders I don't seem to have received, and items that I received that don't seem to match purchases.
1. ALWAYS put a simple list of the included items on the top of your box contents - the LAST thing before you close and tape the box. A copy of the PayPal receipt is fine.
2. ALWAYS include your eBay moniker and eBay Item # on every shipment, prominently labeled.
3. ALWAYS pack your items well enough to withstand the tossing, pounding and slamming they're going to get in transit - from air turbulence to don-t-give-a-damn shipping handlers who are rated because of their speed, not their care with packages. That means adequate padding!!!
4. NEVER use old, worn-out secondhand boxes for shipping!
5. If you're going to use pop-up windows for things like shipping calculators, make sure the HTML code allows resizing. I have been SO frustrated by a tiny, narrow window that doesn't show enough to even enter in the Zip Code (HCDI is bad about this! In fact, their whole online store looks like a web designer's war zone!)
6. ALWAYS answer buyers' emails. One seller (erecyclingonline - Garland, TX) makes it clear they will be as nasty, cruel, insulting and obnoxious as they can if anyone dares leave them negative feedback (see my special guide on these rascals!) BUT they refuse to answer email from buyers, leaving buyers with two choices (a) leave appropriate negative feedback and get creamed, or (b) suck ass just to protect your own reputation and encourage frauds and rip-offs like this.
I hope you sellers take these 5 important steps to improve your customer service. So far I've been only a buyer, but am working on opening my own eBay store with ebooks, CDs, DVDs and software - so I'm glad I'm seeing things first from a buyer's point of view, so I don't make the same mistakes.
By Online_Editor
Chances are you could be getting a lot more repeat business by looking at your eBay career through your BUYER'S eyes! I've been a buyer for many years and I'll show you a few things you probably never thought of because you were only looking at it from a seller's perspective.
I'll show you how you could be driving away some of your most valuable customers - and what to do about it!
Don't assume that your buyer is sitting with baited breathe waiting for the one thing he/she ordered from eBay - and only from you. Many buyers, like myself, may get up to 20 boxes a day from USPS, UPS and FedEx.
I have a very comprehensive inventory tracking system I designed in Filemaker Pro because I resell most of what I buy to the local markets. For example, we don't have anywhere up here where I live to buy Macs - except for me.
It's vital that I know what I ordered, when, from whom and for how much. Just as important, when I'm facing 15-20 cartons of incoming, I need to know who each box is from, what it contains and the matching eBay Item Number ... and I need to know what I'm supposed to be getting in each box.
I've dug through wads of newspaper from someone whose name on the box matches nothing found on eBay - only to finally find a small item just before the box and packing goes into the trash.
Just this morning I found a small network card in a box from someone called Randy Day in Broomfield, CO. I don't find a corresponding seller named "Randy Day" in my database or in a search of eBay. Who in the hell is Randy Day and what does he call himself on eBay?
Also this morning, I got a package through DHL Express from a "Parcel Plus - Manager" in Fredrickson, VA, containing two CD-ROMS. I suspected that "Parcel Plus - Manager" was simply a strip mall shipping business like UPS has stores. Searching further I found a little tag that said "Dennis Watson". I find no Dennis Watson on eBay or in my database when I purchased my items; turns out "Dennis Watson" is "celp" on eBay.
Just how do I match these items up to purchases? I don't want to send someone an email saying I didn't get their shipment - when I really did. But I have orders I don't seem to have received, and items that I received that don't seem to match purchases.
1. ALWAYS put a simple list of the included items on the top of your box contents - the LAST thing before you close and tape the box. A copy of the PayPal receipt is fine.
2. ALWAYS include your eBay moniker and eBay Item # on every shipment, prominently labeled.
3. ALWAYS pack your items well enough to withstand the tossing, pounding and slamming they're going to get in transit - from air turbulence to don-t-give-a-damn shipping handlers who are rated because of their speed, not their care with packages. That means adequate padding!!!
4. NEVER use old, worn-out secondhand boxes for shipping!
I generally get packages in good order, but the past week I got a very nice-looking Mac Power PC (Item 280188911837 - $59.99 - free shipping) that was smashed into tiny pieces because it was apparently tossed a good ways by a careless UPS handler and landed on its corner. One vertical corner of the box was ripped apart in transit, even though it had been well-stapled. It hit so hard that the staples just ripped right out of the cardboard.
The seller was Mike Mayer of LaRose, IL (dba anvilcomputer on eBay). I had to do some searching to match up Mike Mayer with anvilcomputer - it wasn't too easy. I had to try to find a match according to city and state, since the names didn't work and there was no identifying eBay seller ID.
But Mike was very apologetic and offered to make it right by either sending replacement for the broken pieces - or if that didn't work, filing a claim - IF I sent him pictures of the damage. Let's see now - where is that digital camera - and do I have the USB connection cords handy in this major office/shop re-organizing? See the frustration?
Another package via UPS arrived from Ayman Arafa (dba "e-recycling-mart - another difficult search to find a match!). It contained a HP LaserJet 2100 printer (Item #110209139610 - $32 + $29 shipping). The box looked like it had exploded - long horizontal rips covering two sides of the box (which was only about 1/3 full of packing peanuts - not NEAR enough protection. The box had been taped to cover the rips - but did the seller do it or did UPS do it?
The printer came out in pieces - the side panel was broken off and I couldn't get it to go back on and stay. The darned shipping cost more than the printer cost!
In both of these cases, my job would have been a lot easier if the boxes had been marked with the eBay item # and the seller's eBay ID or there had been a detailed shipping invoice inside the box. As it was, it took hours just to get this information.
The seller was Mike Mayer of LaRose, IL (dba anvilcomputer on eBay). I had to do some searching to match up Mike Mayer with anvilcomputer - it wasn't too easy. I had to try to find a match according to city and state, since the names didn't work and there was no identifying eBay seller ID.
But Mike was very apologetic and offered to make it right by either sending replacement for the broken pieces - or if that didn't work, filing a claim - IF I sent him pictures of the damage. Let's see now - where is that digital camera - and do I have the USB connection cords handy in this major office/shop re-organizing? See the frustration?
Another package via UPS arrived from Ayman Arafa (dba "e-recycling-mart - another difficult search to find a match!). It contained a HP LaserJet 2100 printer (Item #110209139610 - $32 + $29 shipping). The box looked like it had exploded - long horizontal rips covering two sides of the box (which was only about 1/3 full of packing peanuts - not NEAR enough protection. The box had been taped to cover the rips - but did the seller do it or did UPS do it?
The printer came out in pieces - the side panel was broken off and I couldn't get it to go back on and stay. The darned shipping cost more than the printer cost!
In both of these cases, my job would have been a lot easier if the boxes had been marked with the eBay item # and the seller's eBay ID or there had been a detailed shipping invoice inside the box. As it was, it took hours just to get this information.
5. If you're going to use pop-up windows for things like shipping calculators, make sure the HTML code allows resizing. I have been SO frustrated by a tiny, narrow window that doesn't show enough to even enter in the Zip Code (HCDI is bad about this! In fact, their whole online store looks like a web designer's war zone!)
HCDI just tells me to set my screen resolution to 800x600 and shrink the text size. Well, the resolution is already set to 1024x768 and text is set as small as it goes. I design websites, so I'm aware that the resize option is probably set to "FALSE" for the pop-up window code. Screen resolution makes no difference because this stubborn little booger takes up only a tiny portion of the screen as it is - it just is not expandable so it can be read.
BTW, I've had very good transactions with HCDI and have bought from them often. Just straighten up that horrible eBay store!!!
BTW, I've had very good transactions with HCDI and have bought from them often. Just straighten up that horrible eBay store!!!
6. ALWAYS answer buyers' emails. One seller (erecyclingonline - Garland, TX) makes it clear they will be as nasty, cruel, insulting and obnoxious as they can if anyone dares leave them negative feedback (see my special guide on these rascals!) BUT they refuse to answer email from buyers, leaving buyers with two choices (a) leave appropriate negative feedback and get creamed, or (b) suck ass just to protect your own reputation and encourage frauds and rip-offs like this.
Another seller, with whom I had no complaint, refuses to even answer a Best Offer, even though it was better than one she accepted a day later - and even though I had good dealings with her on all previous purchases. My offers expired, despite repeated emails, so as a seller she is now on my black list.
Anyway, enough of the rant. As a seller, can you now see that people like me - who could be some of your best repeat customers - are going to go elsewhere because of the nightmarish communications/shipping/seller ID issues?
If Mike Mayer and Ayman Arafa follow through on their customer service, they will get good feedback from me. I rarely give negative feedback unless it's well deserved - in part because of the retaliatory nature of so many sellers, by which eBay actually encourages fraud and poor seller service. But if someone comes back to do the right thing, then I can be very patient, understanding and forgiving.
Anyway, enough of the rant. As a seller, can you now see that people like me - who could be some of your best repeat customers - are going to go elsewhere because of the nightmarish communications/shipping/seller ID issues?
If Mike Mayer and Ayman Arafa follow through on their customer service, they will get good feedback from me. I rarely give negative feedback unless it's well deserved - in part because of the retaliatory nature of so many sellers, by which eBay actually encourages fraud and poor seller service. But if someone comes back to do the right thing, then I can be very patient, understanding and forgiving.
I hope you sellers take these 5 important steps to improve your customer service. So far I've been only a buyer, but am working on opening my own eBay store with ebooks, CDs, DVDs and software - so I'm glad I'm seeing things first from a buyer's point of view, so I don't make the same mistakes.
Guide created: 01/17/08 (updated 01/19/08)
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