posted on July 14, 2003 06:20:55 PM new
NO feed back is MUCH Better than,,,BAD feed back. Are we doing this for feed back or for a living? A living is my choice.
posted on July 14, 2003 06:23:23 PM new
The day my business becomes such a BUSINESS in my mind that I no longer enjoy interacting with people is the day I quit.
I don't seek out a conversation with my buyers (they'd think I was nuts), but I don't have a problem being friendly or answering emails.
I just don't understand how becoming antisocial makes a person some kind of elitist BUSINESS ebayer. I do this for a living too..it's my sole source of income. Go figure.
posted on July 14, 2003 06:32:18 PM new
What HE said...
DITTO!
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
[ edited by tomwiii on Jul 14, 2003 06:40 PM ]
posted on July 14, 2003 07:32:09 PM new
Tomwiii claims an 80% feedback ratio left for him and that beats my 10% ratio all to hell. I'm gonna try his way for a while. Ebay is becoming an informal and unpersonal vending machine just like the thread title. There's no sense of community anymore. Customers are livestock to be eaten, do get personal with that cow, that are there only to be eaten at dinner. Shame on the impersonal sellers! ( any hint of an Elmer Gantry revival tent preaching going on in that tone? )
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"Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error."
- Andrew Jackson
posted on July 14, 2003 07:52:40 PM new
Its simple, its all about what you sell, how much you sell it for, and how fast you ship. If you do a good job on those three things your buyers will be happy. If you need someone to hold your hand go to church.
posted on July 14, 2003 08:37:15 PM new
Oh good grief! Why don't we all just admit that we're divided in at least two, if not three groups and be done with it? We who still deal in common courtesies could talk about our thoughts, and you business guys could do your talking too.
And I suspect strongly that those who sell 1,000 identical widgets every month (or every week)do see themselves as all business.
But speaking for those of us (I think I can do this?) who sell a wide wide variety of collectibles, no two alike, rarely using the same category more than every three months or so, I personally have seen my life enriched immeasurably by using the little courtesies.
For one thing, feedback is better and more often. For another, I've learned a world of information about collectibles from some of my buyers, simply by thanking them for their payments and wishing them a great week or a happy summer. They tell me stories about the items, and I've "met" more wonderful buyers than I can count at the moment. And learned a ton.
Just one example--I sold an old 1800s history of the Philadelphia Presbytery (church history) Sunday night. Buyer felt free to tell me he's a church historian and it turns out he and my father-in-law would have had much in common. And my husband, who's been reading old family letters about days in seminary in Philadelphia, now knows of someone who can actually use that information in his work.
Many more examples where that came from.
The third group here, and perhaps there's a lot of overlap, are fast typists who learned the touch-typing method 'way back when. We can type quickly, and so it's easier for us, perhaps, to send an extra friendly line in a message. Hunt and peck typing would slow me down to a crawl!
posted on July 14, 2003 08:47:46 PM new
What ROADSMITH said! Great post, and I wonder if you aren't onto something about the typing. Last check, I'm up around 80 wpm, which isn't spectacular, but fast enough that typing isn't a chore.
posted on July 14, 2003 08:56:05 PM new
Excellent post by Roadsmith. Sometimes my posts get firey like an Elmer Gantry preacher but she keeps her cool.
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"Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error."
- Andrew Jackson
posted on July 14, 2003 10:51:34 PM new
Jack, you are absolutely right. But you can't honestly say there isn't some spurt in your enthusiasm when you log on do get a good fb.
posted on July 15, 2003 07:56:13 AM new
The FB is not an issue. At some point, the law of diminishing returns applies to FB. Once your FB reaches a certain number, more positive feedback will accomplish nothing. Negative FB may have a bad impact, so as AP said, no feedback is the better way to go.
As far as gaining information, it may help to be socialable with customers. But there are other ways to do that over the internet.
eBay hasn't been a "community" since it surpassed 1/4 million listings.
eBay doesn't "socialize" when you send them an email. Yet sellers keep listing. My local hardware store and pharmacy employees socialize with customers, but everyone still does the majority of their shopping at WalMart.
I look at it like a resturant-- you can have the best most sociable service, but if your food is bad, no one will come back. You can have wonderful food and anti-social service and people will come back.
I hate to sound sexist, but it also appears that it is usually females that seek out these "social" activities in the business transaction.
There is nothing inherently wrong with the socializing, but it is inefficient and rarely adds to the bottom line.
posted on July 15, 2003 09:07:48 AM newI look at it like a resturant-- you can have the best most sociable service, but if your food is bad, no one will come back. You can have wonderful food and anti-social service and people will come back.
Some people may come back with the anti-social service restaurant but a lot of them will not. Every customer counts and every reasonable effort to court them should be made.
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"Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error."
- Andrew Jackson
