Step 11:
The requirements for becoming a PowerSeller do depend, in part, on your gross monthly income. But that’s not all. You have to maintain a consistently high feedback rating as well. After you’ve been selling for a while, you realize that not everyone is going to leave feedback for you. Some buyers just can’t be bothered. They’ll only leave feedback if you “wow” them in some way. This is where customer service comes in. To provide customer service that helps you build up your feedback, you need to consider doing things like this:
1) Accepting returns happily
This is a very difficult prospect, but if you cheerfully tell someone to send you your item back (at their expense) and then quickly give them a refund, you’ll make them very happy—and they might just come back to you in the future for another purchase.
2) Giving refunds when you don’t have to
On occasion, I’ve refunded people some of their shipping charges when, say, I charged them $9.99 for shipping and the postage only ended up costing $5.45. Just giving them back a dollar or two through PayPal impresses them.
3) Shipping quickly When you have a bunch of sales end on a Sunday, you need to do everything you can to get the “instant purchases” (the items for which buyers have paid instantly through PayPal) out the door on Monday or Tuesday. Receiving packages just a few days after the purchase was made will certainly “wow” your buyers into leaving positive feedback.
4) Shipping carefully
If you overpack—use several different kinds of packing material, or pack fragile items in a box-within-a-box— you’ll impress your customer with your care. It’s not easy to maintain this level of customer service (unless, as described elsewhere in this appendix, you have people to help you do the work). Regard your customer as your king or your queen, and put them first, and the service will come naturally to you.
The requirements for becoming a PowerSeller do depend, in part, on your gross monthly income. But that’s not all. You have to maintain a consistently high feedback rating as well. After you’ve been selling for a while, you realize that not everyone is going to leave feedback for you. Some buyers just can’t be bothered. They’ll only leave feedback if you “wow” them in some way. This is where customer service comes in. To provide customer service that helps you build up your feedback, you need to consider doing things like this:
1) Accepting returns happily
This is a very difficult prospect, but if you cheerfully tell someone to send you your item back (at their expense) and then quickly give them a refund, you’ll make them very happy—and they might just come back to you in the future for another purchase.
2) Giving refunds when you don’t have to
On occasion, I’ve refunded people some of their shipping charges when, say, I charged them $9.99 for shipping and the postage only ended up costing $5.45. Just giving them back a dollar or two through PayPal impresses them.
3) Shipping quickly When you have a bunch of sales end on a Sunday, you need to do everything you can to get the “instant purchases” (the items for which buyers have paid instantly through PayPal) out the door on Monday or Tuesday. Receiving packages just a few days after the purchase was made will certainly “wow” your buyers into leaving positive feedback.
4) Shipping carefully
If you overpack—use several different kinds of packing material, or pack fragile items in a box-within-a-box— you’ll impress your customer with your care. It’s not easy to maintain this level of customer service (unless, as described elsewhere in this appendix, you have people to help you do the work). Regard your customer as your king or your queen, and put them first, and the service will come naturally to you.
