How to hurt your sales...

[thedelihaus]

I got a chuckle out of this one.

Posted for humor- I understand customers can be difficult to deal with (trust me- I've had many loony customers this month), but emphasis should be on item sold, and a tad bit of tact when dealing with a potential buyer.



As I said, this is posted for humorous reasons only, and I am fully aware that every one has their own way of selling things.

I guess I'm just of the mindset that honey gets more flies than vinegar, and that your product should be more important than your ongoing battle with a client.




Ad put up for a vintage hi-fi piece- and before any description of item is mentioned, seller starts off with this-


"Please read the following-

I've given the following buyer 2 Negative FeedbackS, when (actual customer name mentioned) REFUSED to Pay. Thus I have 2 Negative Feedbacks IN RETURN. Why? She has agreed to pay via a Direct Bank Deposit after 3 weeks. A week before payment she lets me know that she WILL NOT PAY - "not trusting me" - BUT 550 eBayers have been trusting me !!! I've even suggested she pay via PayPal, but NO ! Of course she did not disclose to eBay her email where she HAD ALREADY agreed to pay via this Direct Bank Deposit, so eBay removed her non payment strikes !"


Then, below, the seller describes item-

"a (Brand X) CD Player w/ occasional error code E-22 & occasional skipping...Web says it only requires small belt, as the original is somewhat streched. You fix it & then you got yourself a (Name brand) CD player. Has DIGITAL out. Has In & Out remote."


Potential buyer asks a question-

"Hi, I assume considering you don't mention it there isnt one, but is there a remote with this unit? Thanks, Daniel."

"Hi Daniel. Since I don't show one & neither do I DESCRIBE one as being there - there isn't one. MY Descriptions & MY Pictures in MY auctions are almost 100% CORRECT ; Please check my Feedbacks. EXACTNESS, HONESTY + MORE ARE THE NAMES OF MY GAME !"



Not a terrible response by any means, but considering many folk post items up sometimes not including all items, I think a simple "Daniel, I do not have a remote for this unit. My mention of remote is in regards to being able to daisy-chain via an R1 cable, this player to a (Brand name) receiver and the ability to control it via the receiver's remote. Thank you for your question".




No sweat off my brow. I just wonder if one is working to make a sale, they may want to get as much for the item as they can by addressing inquiries in a certain manner.:scratch2:

[MunkeyQ]

Seems like this is getting a bit too commonplace - I asked a seller if I could pick up the item. To be fair, local pickup wasn't listed as an option, but many sellers don't explicitly state that pickup is ok, even though they allow it. So I normally shoot them an email to make sure I can pick it up, and 99% of the time it is.

He then accused me of trying to scam him through some means, and threatened to report me to ebay for fraud. Hmm. Over-reaction maybe?

Seems like some people just like to be obnoxious when selling, and will go out of their way to put you off...

[thedelihaus]

I just think a small modicum of tact may get you a better return on your sales item, and inspire a bit of confidence in your business practices.


How many times do folk complain of poor customer service, or of unpleasant sales reps?

The best sales reps are accommodating of clients and aware that attitude plays a role in their success.



The guy above is far from the worst I've seen- but by the tone of his ad, I've decided not to pursue this item- he's lost a potential customer, whether deserved or not, by making me feel a bit uneasy, not confident about dealing with him.


What if there was a legit problem? How would he handle it? I'd be leery of this auction for that reason alone.

[MunkeyQ]

I for one wouldn't deal with him either...when things get sticky, I have a nasty feeling he's just going to cite his amazing, infallible terms and conditions whilst being stubborn as a mule. Good decision on steering clear... However, the worst people to deal with in my experience are generally those with awful grammar and spelling in the descriptions. Emails are replied to late...no mention of "please" or "thank you"...

Whenever I sell stuff, I always answer all the questions as politely as possible. Even if someone asks "what colour is it?" despite there being a photo and extensive description, I won't bite their head off.