Dec 18, 2020
Honest Business is the Best Business to Be In
Do you value quick cash or long returns?
I sell reborn laptops and laptop parts on eBay. With over 280 orders and nearly $9,000 in sales, I have learned two of the most important reasons first time customers become lifelong buyers not just on eBay but within your own business too.
My business’s tech sales arm primarily uses this eCommerce platform because my current website isn’t setup for eCommerce transactions. eBay has a relatively positive consumer sentiment, and nearly one billion monthly site visits, the perfect platform for small sellers like me who only list a few items each month.
However, because the platform allows anyone to submit a listing, consumers may often find themselves on the wrong end of a product scam or purchasing from a dishonest seller.
Product scams are unfortunately quite common on eBay. Search “eBay scams” and Google produces 25 million results. Recently many had found themselves with a digital photo of the PS5 when they believed the listing was for the valuable console itself, not an image.
While some of these listings are created as a joke, others are “legitimate” listings where the seller expects people to bid or purchase a “PS5”.
In any business, if a listing is created falsely or with wrong information, there are likely consequences. In the world of eBay, an inaccurate or false listing will likely result in that listing being deactivated. Create multiple corrupt listings, and eBay has every right to suspend your selling privileges or ban your account altogether.
If you were to create several fake listings or falsely advertise products on your website, eBay would not be bothered, but you might drive away your current customers and even those who have purchased from you before.
Keeping your own website and physical locations free from incorrect listings will also affect your business significantly in the long run. eBay is very dependent on its rating system, allowing both sellers and buyers to rate each other. If you have a low seller rating on eBay, ~85%, customers may look for that same product from a higher rated seller.
The same is true with your business. While Google tallies reviews for every company that has a page with them, this is not the only rating system for your business. Pre-internet we had a way of advertising called word of mouth. This excellent free advertising was a fantastic way to gain and retain customers as you just needed to provide outstanding service and dependable products.
Great reviews and returning customers stem from both excellent service and honest business practices. My inspiration for writing this was from a conversation I had with a customer on eBay, where I noticed an issue in the listing. I corrected the description before the auction had ended and notified the winner of the change. They were aware of the change and appreciated that I reached out to them.
Want to grow your business in a healthy and robust way? Make sure always to provide top tier service, triple check every listing, and be upfront with your customers if there is an issue.
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