An eBay Seller's Checklist

By Hendra Subrata Liu

Being a seller is a lot of responsibility, and sometimes you might feel like you're not doing everything
you should be. This simple checklist will help you keep on top of things.

Have you found out everything you possibly could about your items? Try typing their names into a search
engine - you might find out something you didn't know. If someone else is selling the same thing as you,
then always try to provide more information about it than they do.

Do you monitor the competition? Always keep an eye on how much other items the same as or similar to yours
are selling, and what prices they're being offered at. There's usually little point in starting a fixed price
auction for $100 when someone else is selling the item for $90.

Have you got pictures of the items? It's worth taking the time to photograph your items, especially if you
have a digital camera. If you get serious about eBay but don't have a camera, then you will probably want to
invest in one at some point.

Are you emailing your sellers? It's worth sending a brief email when transactions go through: something like
a simple "Thank you for buying my item, please let me know when you have sent the payment". Follow this up
with "Thanks for your payment, I have posted your [item name] today". You will be surprised how many problems
you will avoid just by communicating this way.

Also, are you checking your emails? Remember that potential buyers can send you email about anything at any
time, and not answering these emails will just make them go somewhere else instead of buying from you.

Do your item description pages have everything that buyers need to know? If you're planning to offer
international delivery, then it's good to make a list of the charges to different countries and display it
on each auction. If you have any special terms and conditions (for example, if you will give a refund on
any item as long as it hasn't been opened), then you should make sure these are displayed too.

Have you been wrapping your items correctly? Your wrapping should be professional for the best impression:
use appropriately sized envelopes or parcels, wrap the item in bubble wrap to stop it from getting damaged,
and print labels instead of hand-writing addresses. Oh, and always use first class post - don't be cheap.

Do you follow up? It is worth sending out an email a few days after you post an item, saying "Is everything
alright with your purchase? I hope you received it and it was as you expected." This might sound like giving
the customer an opportunity to complain, but you should be trying to help your customers, not take their
money and run.

Being a really good eBay seller, more than anything else, is about providing genuinely good and honest
customer service. That's the only foolproof way to protect your reputation. Of course, you might be
wondering by now whether it's really worth all the hassle to get a good reputation on eBay. Won't people
buy from you anyway, and couldn't you just open a new account if it really comes down to that? Our next
email will set you straight.

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