will give you great feedback, and they may look for



more of your auctions in the future. If you hope to



make a living from eBay, you have to stop thinking



of it as an ‘auction’ and start running it like a



‘business.’





If you owned a brick and mortar business, how



would you treat your customer while they were



standing at your counter, waiting for you to finish



ringing up their order? You would be helpful and



respectful of course! You would do everything that



you could to guarantee that customers return to



your establishment in the future. You would bend



over backwards to make sure that their buying



experience with you was both satisfactory and



enjoyable. Why would you do any less at the



close of one of your eBay auctions?





First, act quickly at the close of your auctions.



Contact the winner, and congratulate them. Describe



the item they have won and how the item will be



shipped – even if this information is already part of



the description for the auction. Remind them of their



winning bid amount, and give them payment options



and instructions. Let them know when the item will



be shipped.





Close your email by thanking them for participating



in your auction. You might even take this opportunity



to tell them about other open auctions that you have



as well. Think of this contact with the winner as a



conversation that you are having with a customer



who is standing at your counter in that imaginary



brick and mortar store.





Once the payment and shipping details have been



taken care of, contact your buyer again. Let them



know when the item was shipped – the exact date



and time – and when it is expected to arrive on their



end. During this contact, let them know that if they



have any problems or questions, that they should



contact you through the eBay site. If they do



contact you in the future, make sure that you



answer promptly, and that you do all that you can



to make them happy with their purchase – even if



it means issuing a refund.





Yes. You should be open to issuing refunds,



depending on what the item is. Furthermore, you



should issue refunds promptly. Of course, it is



reasonable to expect the buyer to return the item to



you, at your expense, before the refund is issued –



but once you receive the item, issue the refund



promptly. This is just good business!