E-Commerce http://www.bizcovering.com/E-Commerce/index.911 New posts in E-Commerce Ebay Feedback Manipulation http://www.bizcovering.com/E-Commerce/Ebay-Feedback-Manipulation.127201 Ebay, the highly successful online marketplace, is very well known for the huge number of transactions that are conducted on a daily basis. All of these transactions are graded on a daily basis as well, in the form of a feedback rating system. This feedback policy has been in place since the beginning of eBay and it is what drives all business managed on the site.

Feedback can be entered at the option of each member for either party involved in any transaction. For example, if a buyer purchases an item on eBay and pays promptly, the seller will normally give positive feedback to the buyer. The same circumstances apply when a seller sells an item to a buyer. If the buyer feels positively about the transaction then he or she will reciprocate with positive feedback to the seller.

Positive feedback is a win, win situation for all parties that are aggressively trying to do business on eBay. The more positive feedback that is received, the better your reputation and the more likely you will be able to enter in many successful business transactions on the site.

Negative feedback, on the other hand, may result from many things. For a few examples; a seller may not ship as quickly as the buyer would like, or the actual item received is not like it was advertised online, or the merchandise was damaged in shipping. A buyer may not pay promptly, or their method of payment may not be satisfactory. Another case of negative feedback may stem from the fact that one party will give the other party negative feedback, so then the second party will give negative feedback in return.

Feedback extortion is also known to happen. One party may want more or different merchandise that is not currently offered in the sale and that party may threaten with negative feedback in order to get the merchandise that they want.

Negative feedback is deadly to your reputation on eBay. You may have many positive transactions with a wonderfully high feedback rating, and then one negative feedback can drastically harm your reputation eBay's former policy was that negative feedback would affect your reputation for the term of your membership. In their latest change in policy, eBay states that negative feedback will affect your reputation for one year. In most cases, a high feedback score is a good sign, but eBay warns that members should always check another member's Feedback Profile to read comments and look for negative remarks.

Here is how the positive and negative feedback ratings affect your overall feedback score:

  • +1 point to your Feedback Score for each positive comment and rating left for you
  • No points for a neutral comment and rating left for you
  • -1 point to your Feedback Score for each negative comment and rating left for you

As you accumulate more positive points, you are awarded different colored stars. Following are the different levels of stars that are awarded:

Yellow star: 10 to 49 points
Blue star: 50 to 99 points
Turquoise star: 100 to 499 points
Purple star: 500 to 999 points
Red star: 1,000 to 4,999 points
Green star: 5,000 to 9,999 points
Yellow shooting star: 10,000 to 24,999 points
Turquoise shooting star: 25,000 to 49,999 points
Purple shooting star: 50,000 to 99,999 points
Red shooting star: 100,000 points or more

Some members who are trying to build their reputation on eBay by acquiring the different levels of stars will specifically look for transactions that are easy and cheap to complete. A cheaply priced item, with free shipping, or greatly reduced shipping will be very attractive to them. They can easily score another positive feedback rating without having to spend too much to do so.

Digital items that can be downloaded are another way for them to achieve higher feedback ratings at little or no cost.

“Digital goods are often reproduced at little to no cost to the seller. On eBay, this creates the potential for feedback manipulation. To preserve the integrity of the feedback system, all goods that can be digitally downloaded or transferred electronically (including e-mail delivery) must be listed using the Classified Ad format in the Everything Else>Information Products category only.”

eBay has specific guidelines set in place in an attempt to thwart feedback manipulation:

“Feedback left or received, including detailed seller ratings (DSRs), where the feedback's primary value is to artificially enhance a member's reputation rather than provide commentary and ratings on genuine transactional experience is not permitted.

Consequently, offering to sell, buy or barter feedback is not permitted. In addition, registering multiple accounts (or working with others) in order to exchange feedback to artificially increase your feedback score is not permitted.

EBay will view the recurrence of listings which are uncharacteristic of a reasonable business model to be in violation.”

Violation of eBay's feedback manipulation policy may result in the following actions:

  • Listing cancellation
  • Limits on account privileges
  • Account suspension
  • Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
  • Loss of PowerSeller status
  • Feedback removal

Threatening to leave negative or neutral feedback for another member unless the other member provides goods or services not included in the original listingBottom of Form

]]> Tue, 20 May 2008 06:45:16 PST 10 Persuasive Words That Will Make People Buy From You http://www.bizcovering.com/E-Commerce/10-Persuasive-Words-That-Will-Make-People-Buy-From-You.113508

  • Free:

    This word is a stimulus to encourage people do business with you. Offer free information, books, services, and other incentives.

  • You/Your:

    Make people feel important by addressing them directly, in a personal manner. With this, they will be encouraged to read all the content.

  • Fast:

    In your ads, use more words that relates to fast. E.g. fast effects, prompt delivery, fast ordering. Understand that most people desire fast results for investments. Time is an essence, more important than the money invested.

  • Testimony:

    Most people want to see believable confirmation that your product is good before they buy. Use testimonies from people who have tested the product.

  • Discount:

    People love prices they can haggle or negotiate. Create this opportunity by offering rebates, discounts, free offers, etc. Most importantly, let these offers sound limited!

  • Guaranteed:

    When people invest their hard-earned money, they want to be confident that the result will be worth the money spent in buying your good or service

  • Limited:

    Create the impression that your product is scarce to come by. People assume that rare items are more invaluable.

  • Easy/Simple:

    The easier it is for people to purchase, download, or use your product, the more the chance that they will prefer your product to close substitutes

  • Important:

    People are likely to stop by when they come across this word. They will not like to miss any important information.

  • New:

    New products or services attract people more than junk ones. Make your ad current by reviewing it often especially if dates are included in the content.
    • ]]>     Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:04:46 PST     How to Make Your Business and Profits Grow http://www.bizcovering.com/E-Commerce/How-to-Make-Your-Business-and-Profits-Grow.59553 Reinforce Your Profits
    1. Research your target audience's needs and wants. Even use a little imagination and consider their heartfelt desires. Desires are a lot like dreams. So use a bit of extra flair and delve into what you think your potential customers dream about doing or owning.
    2. Do not, and I cannot stress this enough, absolutely do not make any extraordinary or unbelievable claims in your ad. People aren't as gullible as you may like to believe, and they don't like having the wool pulled over their eyes. Not only will they not believe you, but they won't purchase as much as a tinker toy from you, ever.
    3. Go over your ad with a fine-toothed comb and anticipate any questions your visitors may have about your product or offer. That way you will be ready with a quick and competent reply when these matters come up.
    4. Select a Good name for your business and product. A good name has to do more than stand out in your ad, it has to grab your potential customers' attention and be easy for them to remember. It should also conjure up a vision of the product you're offering that will make people want to own it, or at least find out more about it.
    5. Always resolve customer complaints immediately and in a friendly, gracious manner. That way your customers will feel that you genuinely care about them and want them to be satisfied with your product or service.
    6. Never stop seeking ways to better your product or service. This will let your customers know that you aren't just satisfied with the status quo, but want to improve your product or service and thus its value to them.
    7. Market yourself as well as your product. The more people get to know and trust you, the more sales you will make. There are many things you can do to accomplish this. You can write articles or ebooks and publish them online, you can post a profile of yourself on your website, you can offer free consulting, etc.
    8. Find new outlets for selling your product or service.
    9. Create an affiliate program through which interested parties can work for you and sell your product or service in exchange for a percentage of the profits.
    10. Take advantage of the many offline ways to promote your business. You can print up fliers or press releases, send out advertisements in the mail, etc.
    ]]>     Sun, 18 Nov 2007 09:13:41 PST