Charles Hammer asked:


So, you’ve put up your eBay listings and now it’s time to sit back and let the cash flow grow. Sorry, being a successful seller on eBay isn’t that easy. Selling merchandise on eBay is a business. While your choice of product is fundamental to the success of that business, customer service can be the make or break factor. eBay is an open, easily accessed community based website, sellers who don’t attend to their customer base may find that they quickly no longer have a customer base.

Any buyer can immediately leave feedback concerning his/her transaction with you. In many ways this makes customer service rendered by an eBay merchant even more important than customer service in a bricks and mortar establishment. Therefore, customer service should weigh heavily on all of the decisions you make regarding your eBay business beginning with ad design and right on through the actual delivery of the product. Notice the sentence doesn’t read “ending” with the actual delivery. Customer service is ongoing; it never ends.

Composing accurate and easily understood eBay ad copy is the first step to good customer service; including pictures to assist your potential customer with his/her buying decision is another way to be a good merchant. Providing reasonable shipping rates and multiple forms of payment can also go a long way in building your client list. Adding the eBay shipping calculator to your ad is a no cost tool many clients appreciate. Crafting and posting a clearly written return policy is imperative.

Without a doubt, however, the bottom line in customer service is response. Well written ads, informative pictures, shipping tools, established policies and frequently asked question (FAQ) lists can all make life easier for buyer and seller alike; they all cut down on the need for personal interaction. Still, a quick, pleasant personal reply from the merchant does more to build positive feedback than any other action an eBay seller can make. Even when a customer doesn’t like the answer just getting an answer in a timely fashion can leave a good feeling with the buyer. A wise seller will also know that while it is important to have and enforce buying/selling policies; it is equally important to know when to be flexible with those policies. While compromising on an issue with a buyer may cost a seller a few cents in the short run, it can lead to increased profits in the long run. Don’t allow yourself to be run over by an unreasonable customer but be open to negotiation with a buyer who may have a legitimate complaint.

All in all, as with any company, an eBay merchant must pay attention to every aspects of his/her business. Choosing the perfect product and advertising it in just the right way are essential components of any successful eBay auction. It will be difficult to maintain your success though without attentive, intelligently administered customer service.

anonymous asked:


Benefits Of Starting Your Own eBay Internet Home Business

Today, many people are looking for opportunities to earn money online,

and selling merchandise on eBay is one of the popular ways of earning

money on the internet. Many people have built their entire business

around nothing more than eBay and have become very successful eBay

Power Sellers.

Regardless of the type of online business you are wanting to start,

there are many benefits that you can enjoy if you have your own

business online vs having that regular 9 -5 job. This article presents

some of the benefits that you can enjoy as an eBay seller making money

on the internet.

 * You can earn a living the

easy way selling products on eBay without the need for a website,

domain names, or hosting. Some people have very stressful jobs that

take up all their time, such that they have no time left for their

family and other interests. If you start your own eBay business, you

can possibly earn a living at home doing something that is fun, easy,

and enjoyable.

 * You become your own boss

and you can set the targets of what you want to earn from your business

and how many hours you want to put into that business. Many people put

up with hard-to-please bosses and annoying employees. If you start your

own eBay business, you get rid of your boss, and you do not have to

commute to work every day.

 * You can pursue your own

interests. One great way to make money online is by doing what you

enjoy most. Because you can sell almost anything on eBay, you can

create your own products based on your interests, and sell them on

eBay. Since you will be doing something that you enjoy, you can never

get bored or tired of building your eBay business.

 * If you start your own

eBay business, you can work from home and you can have a better

work-life balance. Since you are your own boss, you can adjust your

life to suit your business and set your own work hours.

 * Starting an eBay business

enables you to achieve financial freedom. If you take your eBay

business seriously and professionally, you can make a lot of money on

the internet selling merchandise or informational products. Very few

people can become rich from a job salary. By starting your own eBay

business, you can achieve financial freedom and make any amount of

money you want on the internet.

Essential Tips On How To Easily Find Products To Sell On eBay

 * Finding the right

products to sell on eBay is one of the most important factors that can

determine whether you will make money on eBay or not. Deciding on the

right products to sell is one of the main challenges which people

starting an eBay business face.

 * Products that you can

sell on eBay can be items that you own that you no longer need or want,

or you can buy products and sell them on eBay at higher prices to make

a profit. You can also create your own information product. Buying and

selling merchandise or information products for a profit on eBay is a

great way to make money online.

 * Before you decide on what

to sell on eBay, it?s important that you do some research on the

products that are popular and for which there is good demand. By

selling only high quality products, you make it easy to make sales and

earn profits with your eBay business.

 * You can look at eBay and

identify categories that have well-sought after products. You should

sell products for which you can get a high number of bids, which

indicate high demand. In order to succeed in selling products on eBay,

it is also a good idea that you select a handful of categories and that

you focus on selling products in those categories. While looking at the

popular categories, you must also assess the prices which the products

in these categories sell for. This will give you an idea on what you

should pay for the products you buy if you want to make some profits

when you sell these products on eBay.

 * You can increase the

number of products you sell on eBay by buying items at garage sales.

Many elderly people have valuable items that they no longer need and

that they offer for sale. Buy only high quality products that you can

buy at a cheap price and which you can sell for a higher price on eBay.

 * You can also create your

own information products and sell them on eBay. Depending on your

interests and skills, you can write e-books on a wide range of topics

and sell them on eBay. You can earn a lot of profits by creating your

own digital products because you do not have to pay anyone for these

products. eBay only requires that information products be sent out by

mail on a CD.

 * Using drop shipping can

also give you a wide range of products to sell.  There are

wholesalers that will sell you products and send them to the address

that you tell them. This means that you do not have to carry any

inventories. All you have to do when you complete an auction on eBay is

to direct your customers to the wholesaler?s website who will do all

the shipping.

 * Use these tips to

identify some products that you can sell on eBay. All you have to do is

to identify popular products, buy them at low prices so that you can

make a profit when you sell these products on eBay.

Tony Scorch asked:


Is your Ebay business not performing as well as you had hoped? Are you having auctions that do not sell? Maybe the auction is not getting noticed as well as it could. There are some simple tips you can use to improve your Ebay business.

Title of the auction.

The title of your ebay auction is what draws a potential customer to click on your ad. If the title does not catch their eye they will move on to the next ad. If you are selling a baby outfit you might put a title like ‘Girls Baby Outfit’. This title does not tell you what size the outfit is, or if the outfit is for summer or winter. A customer would probably skip this ad over and go for one with more information. A better title would be something like this ‘Adorable Baby Girl Summer Outfit size 6 months’. This catches the eye with adorable and gives the information a customer would need. It gives the size and tells the outfit is for the Summer. A customer would know if this is something they are looking for by the title. The title will bring the customer in to look at the item your Ebay business is offering.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures.

We have all heard the phrase a picture can say a hundred words. This is very important for your Ebay business. A customer is ten times more likely to click on an ad that has a picture. While you can describe the item terrifically a picture can seal the deal. A picture lets the customer know exactly what to expect with the item. You will want good clear pictures of the items you are selling. This can be a huge improvement to your Ebay business. Simply adding a picture or two of each item you have listed can increase the number of sales you have. If an item has a defect like a stain or hole take a picture of it. This will save you from problems with an unhappy customer later. Take pictures of all angles. Most people want to see an item before they buy it. No matter how good your ad sounds if a person can not see the item they will most likely pass it up. Adding pictures is a simple improvement for your Ebay business.

The description.

The description is the next thing a customer will see when looking at your auction listing. The description will need to be very accurate to keep good feedback for your Ebay business. If you do not list any problems there are with an item you can be sure the customer will when they leave your business negative feedback. They will also never return to buy from you again. The ad needs to be clear and concise. If the item you have for sale is clothing you need to tell what size it is. Is the item new or used? Sometimes people want to know if the item came from a house that had pets, or a smoker due to allergies. The customer will want to know how much the shipping will be for the item you are selling. They want to know how long they have to pay if they win the auction, and what methods of payment you accept. The customer will want to know how long after payment will you ship the item. These are all great bits of information to include in the description.

Improving your Ebay business does not have to be hard. Just follow these simple tips and your Ebay business will be booming.

Thrive Learning asked:


Whenever an item is bought or sold on eBay, Feedback about the transaction that reflects the experience with the buyer or seller is expected. At the same time, the trading partner is asked to leave Feedback as well. Essentially, this is a simple way to help buyers figure out who the good sellers are and who they can trust.

The subject of eBay Feedback can be very touchy for a lot of sellers, because their entire eBay business depends on what kind of feedback they receive from their buyers. Too much bad feedback at once can impact sales; at least until a few more positive feedback comments, from other buyers, are made. This is because eBay buyers review a sellers feedback before they buy. They want to know they can trust the seller. So, because Feedback has a direct effect on profits, it is important to have a good understanding of what it is and how it works.

When leaving feedback for buyers, there are 3 options: positive, neutral, and negative.

Positive feedback is given the majority of the time; the average feedback score is over 98 percent positive.

Neutral is usually given by a buyer for a service oriented issue. For example, maybe the seller did everything right, except they did not reply to a few emails quick enough. Maybe that communication was very important to that particular buyer so he/she left a neutral feedback saying, it was an ok transaction but could have been a lot better. A neutral feedback can almost always be avoided by providing basic customer service.

The dreaded negative feedback is supposed to be left only after the buyer has contacted the seller, tried to work out whatever the problem might have been, and they could not work it out. Most buyers always give a seller a chance to work out a problem before leaving a negative feedback. Unfortunately there are also eBay buyers who are quick to leave negative feedback for very petty reasons. As a seller, it is in your best interest to make every transaction a positive one by paying attention to details.

A recent major change to eBay is that sellers can only leave positive feedback for buyers.

It is up to the seller to realize common problems and handle them quickly so that a buyer does not leave a quick neutral or negative feedback. If odd emails are received that show that the buyer is not receiving your replies, give them a quick phone call. Email a customer with a tracking number for their shipment so they are kept in the loop and they will realize you have done your job whether or not the Post Office or UPS causes shipping delays or not. In other words, be a proactive seller and continually think about a buyers needs and how you can improve their buying experience.

Another important aspect of feedback is the Detailed Seller Ratings report. Each buyer can rate a seller on specifics of the transaction by selecting anywhere from 1 to 5 gold stars. The majority of buyers will leave 5 stars but if the average is anything below a 4.1 for any specific, eBay will take notice your business could be in trouble.

That being the case, it is that much more important to focus on the specifics of each transaction, especially make sure you describe your item appropriately. The item should live up to your description or your feedback will suffer. Any problems or issues should be described and photographed when possible and make sure to email buyers after the purchase and answer any questions as fast as possible. Focus a lot of your effort on shipping each order as fast as possible, usually within 1 or 2 days and do not overcharge on shipping. The goal with each transaction is to earn positive feedback and five stars in each category from each buyer.

It may sound difficult but with a little focus and a streamlined business process, you will naturally earn great feedback and scores.

The great thing about this industry is that it is always changing. For more information please follow the links provided. Thrive Learning Institute is a business consulting firm that specializes in helping people start their own online businesses. To learn more, visit www.thriveli.com or the Thrive Learning Institute elibrary.

Lee Mark asked:


While selling on eBay you need to make sure, your copy on the product is not just catchy but is something about the product you’re offering. It is absolutely foolish to list words that have nothing to do with your product in your title. Some people believe that by doing so, they can attract the attention of considerably more people. I beg to differ. It is not going to get you more business. Online buyers know what they are looking for. They type in only the product of their choice, you can hope but you really can’t trick them into buying something they don’t want. On the other hand by having a misleading title for your product you may actually loose potential buyers. You certainly won’t gain any buyers but you will loose the buyers who are looking for the very same product you are selling.

Do not spam your titles or sub-titles. It does not help and it is not a good move for business. Be professional about your eBay business. If you want to gain feedback, sell stuff around the house. It will help you build up numbers next to your username. Do not sell resale books or products. It does not help your business at all. Remember the person you sell it too has the right to sell it at lower price. Before you know it, the price of that book will go down then there is no room for any profit.

If you do want to sell books online, you should personally write it and well be careful that no one else sells your own book. You don’t want to get sued so be careful not to sell anyone else’s work unless you have been given the right to do so. No matter how ridiculous the question, do reply to your online customers, be courteous, they may be your future customers.

Make sure to send your product immediately after payment. Almost all eBay customers are impatient. Even though the product is to be sent only in two weeks, the customers tend to expect them in two days. If you do not deliver on time, you can expect to receive negative feedback, this will not only hamper your relationship with that particular customer but will also ruin business with a few customers who want immediate service.

If you are just starting business on eBay, try selling smaller products like video games, DVD’s or CD’s. Give your product a good title, upload pictures of your product and make sure that what you show them is really what they are going to get. This will profit you. You may want to stay clear of selling big items like Plasma TV’s or DVD players. It is a bit of a hassle to ship larger items.

Be sure to make yourself aware of any of the product sourcing tools that are available. Once you finish selling all of the items in your home, you will need to start sourcing products to keep your business going. You can use tools like the one available at nawca.org to help you research and find wholesale products to resell. To ensure long product life cycles, be sure to pick products that are not too popular. Spend some time to find your niche, your pocketbook will thank you. Do not try to deceive your customer by trying to hide your products defects. It will only cost you future customers and negative feedback. Do not even think of bidding on your own auction to increase the price, you will learn that it indeed is a foolish idea. Most buyers will check the last or previous sale. If they see that the same bidder has bid often, they may report you to eBay and you may be banned. Avoid making some of these simple mistakes and you will increase your profits on eBay.