Shop Talk

eBay is a multi-billion dollar company that employs over 30k people…it’s safe to say you’ve heard of it whether you’ve bought or sold something on the platform yourself or not.

This blog addresses the consumer side of eBay—the people who are addicted to the auction style listings, who have the app and watch the clock dwindle down to place a last-second bid, the people who comparatively check eBay before making any purchase anywhere else (yes, you who dodges the sales associate to do a quick search on your smart device), and the individuals who may occasionally use eBay to buy an item but don’t consider themselves an “eBayer”.  This blog is also for the person who is still on the fence about making purchases on the internet, whether it’s a fear of identity theft or their own technical prowess that’s holding them back.  This is a simple blog with a simple purpose.  That purpose is to eliminate the excuse you have for not leaving feedback for your purchase.

Why is Feedback Important? 

• As a seller, positive feedback reflects a level of trust and assists the seller with expanding their services to other valuable customers.
• As a buyer, positive feedback increases your chances to qualify to purchase items on eBay. It’s your contribution to “the system.”
• When either the seller or buyer leaves feedback, it’s more likely that the other party will follow suit.

No Excuse

After you have received your item, log onto eBay and click “My eBay” on the top right-hand side of the menu.  Then click “Purchase history”.

Scroll down to the item you recently purchased and click the big blue icon that says “Leave feedback”.

If you are satisfied with the transaction, click “Positive” and add a few words to describe why you liked the transaction.  If the item arrived when it was supposed to click “Yes” and click the 5^th star on all the available ratings.  Lastly, click the big blue icon again and you’re done.  eBay allows 60 days for a buyer or purchaser to leave feedback before the item is removed from buying or selling history.

If for some reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, it’s best to contact the seller directly prior to leaving any negative feedback, to include any amount of stars less than 5.  Give the seller a chance to remedy your issue.  Sometimes, they may be able to point you to an eBay policy or a specific comment in their listing that you have overlooked.  Don’t get me wrong, when it’s warranted, negative feedback is just as important as positive feedback.  This type of feedback helps prevent potential buyers from making purchases from untrustworthy seller—just make sure that is the case before you engage in such damaging actions.

eBay makes it easy to rate your experience.  There are no untimely telemarketing phone calls, no emails cluttering your junk folder, it’s not some never-ending survey asking about your ethnicity and age…no one shows up at your door or tries to flag you down on the interstate.  It’s quick, easy, and it works.  By the way, if you don’t mind (or actually enjoy) taking surveys and have a bit of spare time, click here to learn how you can earn money by doing so.  For the rest of you, who think that surveys and ratings are a huge annoyance, I hope I’ve iterated how important it actually is and, for eBay specifically, how simple it is.  If you’re looking to get started selling or buying on ebay check out eBay For Dummies (paid link).

Jordache Williams, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, is the Program Manager for Atlas Concepts, LLC.  He understands that sometimes a small piece of information is the difference between success and failure. His contributions to the Shop Talk blog are purposed with sharing relevant information based on his own experiences.