Step #10 The Do’s and Don’ts of Feedback

Written by Texas Tracy on March 12, 2008

To begin, this will not be the first post regarding feedback. Feedback is such an emotional topic that it deserves more than one post, so this will just be an introduction.

Starting on ebay it will be imperative that you obtain feedback from the ebayer who not only buys from you but that you buy from. Your first one hundred feedback responses will probably your most treasured. To get them, you must work very hard.

There are many sellers who will not sell to you if you have less than 10 feedbacks. The thought behind it is that many ebay newbies are very quick to the negative draw if they are unhappy. Most, but not all, reputable ebay sellers will work with you in some way if you are not satisfied with your purchase. My recommendation to all new sellers is to be aware that any negative feedback when you have less than 100 total could prove catastrophic to your bottom line. Like it or not, that is the way it is.

A great debate exists over when to leave feedback. I used to leave feedback whenever I was paid, considering that the buyer had done his/her part and deserved it. However, over the years I have come to the conclusion that I will leave feedback only after a buyer leaves feedback for me. Perhaps a bit unfair, but I put this in practice after too many neutrals were left by folks unwilling to contact me if they had an issue with what they purchased from me. I know this may cause some people a little unrest, but that is what I have found works. In addition, I believe that I have left negative feedback only once in my entire ebay career. This is because I want to avoid retaliation feedback, that is, getting a negative because you left a negative. This is the crux of the feedback dilemma, and one that ebay still continues to battle.

You must-if you plan to sell even part-time on ebay-work to maintain a good relationship with those you do business with. A negative hurts a lot more when your feedback is less than 100 than on someone whose feedback is over one thousand. Ponder that thought before you give someone a piece of your mind via email.

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