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By Kirsten Hawkins
One thing many eBay sellers neglect is to actually communicate
with their buyers – not with some automated ‘suggestion’
system, but with actual person-to-person contact. If you can
be
friendly and sound nice, then you can make them think you’re
doing them a favour while you make a few extra sales.
‘I Could Throw In…’
When you receive an order for an item that costs a lot for
shipping and needs some kind of equipment, this is an ideal
opportunity to make a ‘friendly’ extra sale. For example, if
someone has just bought a computer, you could send an email
like this:
“I’m just emailing you to ask if you’d like a mouse or a
keyboard – since you’re buying a computer from me, I can throw
in any accessories you want without charging any extra
shipping. If you’re not interested though, then don’t worry
about it – it was just a thought.”
Note how informal this email has to be. It can’t stink of
sales, or the whole ‘communication’ thing will be ruined.
Would
you rather buy something extra from someone who says “you
might
as well, since you’re paying shipping anyway” or from someone
who says something like “our valued customers will also love
our GREAT DEALS on mice – check it out!” I know what my answer
is.
Know Anyone Else?
Here’s a simple thing to try: when you thank your buyer,
simply
say that if they’re pleased with you then you’d really
appreciate it if they could spread the word. Many eBay buyers
feel like they’ve got a real bargain, and combining this with
good customer service could be enough to make your customer go
out and start writing down your eBay store’s address on pieces
of paper for their friends. If you notice a lot of orders
coming from the same town, then you’ll know that this
technique
is working.
Any Problems?
If you contact the buyer a few months down the line to ask if
their product is still working fine, you might find that
they’re having a problem you can fix, by sending a spare part
or an upgrade. This is another opportunity to make a sale –
not
to mention helpful for them.
Anything to Sell?
If you’ve just sold them a brand new item, ask your buyer if
they have an old one that they might like to trade in. They
will often be delighted to take you up on your offer, since
they were wondering how they were going to get rid of their
old
one anyway. Give them a fair price for it and offer to pay
their
postage and you won’t believe how happy they’ll be – and the
chances are you can make a good profit on what they send you.
When everything is going to plan with your buyers, it’s nice
to
be able to spend a while every week leaving them all big
chunks
of positive feedback. But how do you make this feedback the
best it can be? We’ll take a look at the dos and don’ts of
leaving feedback for buyers in the next email.
About The Author: Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet
auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit
www.auctionseller411.com/ for more great tips on how to
make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.
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