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In a previous issue, I wrote an article entitled The Buyer's Guide to Online Auction Etiquette. It was a common-sense outline for expediting the buying process online. To show that I am not partisan, here is the "Seller's Guide to Online Auction Etiquette"!
If you boil this guide down to its essence, I'd have to say, "BE COURTEOUS AND PROFESSIONAL."
People go back to stores where they are treated well and have a good buying experience. Although it may be easier said than done, you should treat each customer as though they have just walked through the front door of your shop.
CREATING THE AUCTION LISTING
1) Making your listings user-friendly is good etiquette. Be a "Minimalist." This has been said over and over, but music files, animations, over-sized images and mouse trailers are unnecessary and sales-killers. I'll back out of an auction as fast as I can if it begins grinding my hard-drive.
Make your Terms of Sale concise. If I'm a potential buyer, I want to know how I should pay, how you ship and a few more essentials. I don't want to know what I SHOULDN'T do.
DURING THE AUCTION
2) Answer questions politely! You're bound to get questions from prospective bidders during the course of an auction, probably some that have been included in your description. Be patient with the buyer and answer them politely. Remember, you're the only person that can answer them. Handling questions professionally makes a huge impression and often results in sales. Conversely, you'll never know how many sales you've LOST by being rude or not answering at all.
3) Be firm, but polite! You may get several requests to change your Terms of Sale during an auction. For example, on one of my seller IDs, I list that I accept Money Orders or Personal Checks. I may get several requests to accept a certain electronic payment system. I DON'T tell the bidder to go and read my terms, I simply respond to them by saying, "I'm afraid at this time I don't accept XXXX, but I ship quickly for both Money Orders and Personal Check." Good seller etiquette doesn't mean always acquiescing to a customer's requests, it simply means using good public relations skills when you deal with them.
AFTER THE AUCTION
4) Send your End of Auction notices out in a timely manner. I generally send my EOA messages out within 12-24 hours after an auction has closed. If I don't get a response from a buyer, I'll send another email out within the next 48 hours. I'll also include a line at the top of my message that states, "2nd Notice." I do this for a couple of reasons, a) it subtly lets the bidder know that I've sent out a previous email that wasn't responded to, and b) it helps me keep track. If this email elicits no response, I'll send out a 3rd and Final (which is also noted at the top of the email) message within 48-72 hours of sending my second email. I'll also pull contact info for the buyer to let them know that I'm serious and also to make sure my emails are getting through. If a buyer then responds and asks why I've pulled their contact info, I simply tell them that I wanted to ensure there were no problems between my ISP and theirs - which is the truth. As much as you'd like to say it, don't tell them, "BECAUSE YOU DON'T ANSWER YOUR #$&#^% EMAILS!!"
5) When you receive payment from a customer, notify them and let them know that you have their money. Tell them when their package will be shipped, and you might want to put a line in asking them to drop you an email when they have received the item safely.
6) This is an optional step, but I'm a firm believer that people buy from smaller sellers not only because of the vast assortment of items that we list, but also because of the personal touch. It doesn't take much to accomplish this. I simply hand-write at the bottom of a customer's invoice, "Thanks for your business" or "Enjoy!". It is nice to know that there is a person at the other end of the transaction.
7) Leave feedback - preferably after you've received payment and before your customer has received the item - after all, they've held up their end of the bargain. Some sellers work in larger volume than others, and leaving one feedback at a time may not be possible. That's fine too - in fact there's a great page on eBay that allows users to leave multiple feedback.
http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?LeaveFeedbackShow The important part is to do it.
8) If a customer has a problem with a transaction - if they receive the item broken, it's lost in the mail or they feel that an item has been misrepresented - handle it professionally. As a seller, it's your responsibility to file Postal insurance claims. If a customer has a complaint about the quality of an item, don't let your temper dictate your response. Write an email that outlines the steps that you will take to rectify the situation, and also outline what the buyer should do. Unfortunately, this doesn't guarantee that the transaction will be settled satisfactorily - but even in the event that a negative feedback follows, your response to it should be factual and professional. Future customers will check to see how you handled a bad situation.
There may be some steps that I've left out because of space constraints or some that you may disagree with. By all means, let me know at http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/viewforum.php?forum=3&190. I'll handle your criticism calmly and professionally.
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