Your eBay reputation is more important than you might think at first. If you’ve received too many neutral or negative responses from other users, you can suffer serious consequences. Sellers will cancel your bids, leave you negative feedback and otherwise make it impossible, or at least very difficult, for you to participate in their auctions. If you’ve really messed things up, eBay reserves the right to cancel your account. Here are some tips on eBay etiquette to keep you out of these unsavory situations.
- Always bid only what you’re really willing to pay for an item. You shouldn’t enter a maximum bid of a thousand dollars when you only have eight hundred free to spend.
- Don’t bid on two of the same item unless you want to buy them both. Some users bid on the second as a “backup plan” in case they lose the first auction. However, since you’re required to pay for all the auctions that you win, this method is a bad idea. You can be stuck buying two eighty-dollar DVD players when you really only wanted one!
- Read the entire listing at least twice before you place a bid. It’s your responsibility to know that the video-game system only comes with one controller, or that the baseball cap is a size eight.
- Use the “Ask the seller a question” feature if you aren’t sure of something about the listing. Most sellers are happy to answer your questions in a friendly manner: they do after all want you to buy their merchandise!
- If you have special shipping instructions, be sure to contact the seller at the same time that you make your payment. Many eBay sellers require, or at least accept, PayPal: this service allows you to enter comments or special instructions when you send your payment.
- Pay for shipping insurance and/or a tracking number. Having these options makes it easier to fix any problems that might come up, from merchandise that was damaged in transit to items that never showed up.
- Enter your bid amount carefully and check before you submit. You want to retract as few bids as possible: do it too many times and your reputation suffers.
- Should you have a problem with the seller, get in touch with him privately first. Save copies of your e-mails and his replies just in case the situation isn’t resolved. Don’t run to eBay before you give your seller a chance to correct the mistake or problem. And be sure that you give that person a chance to fix things before you give negative feedback.
These tips will make your eBay life easier and less frustrating. Other users will be more wiling to work with you and sell to you, and you’ll have solid ground to stand on if you have a problem with a seller in the future. Keeping your reputation in good shape only takes a little bit of extra time, but the improved feedback you’ll earn will stay with you as long as you have your account.
