Q&A: Should I ask buyers for feedback?
QUESTION: I've been selling books online since 1999, but started getting serious about selling on Amazon a year ago. My sales are not huge, maybe 30 or so since August, but my feedback is lame -- only four in that time. At least I'm at 100 percent.
Should I ask for feedback on Amazon? I usually do on Half.com in my e-mail that notifies shipment. I always say "I've left you positive feedback and hope you will do the same for me if you are happy with your purchase". I have had good luck with that. On Amazon, with no option to give feedback to the buyer, I am reluctant to, well, beg.
ANSWER: My thinking on this has evolved a bit since I started selling in 2000. When I went full-time, I rigged up a system to send my Amazon customers an e-mail shipping confirmation, including a link for leaving feedback. This way I'd often receive feedback before the customer received the reminder e-mail from Amazon (as you know, Amazon sends an e-mail 21 days after the transaction, asking the buyer to rate the transaction.)
I solicited feedback, of course, because I think having a big and good feedback record makes you more competitive as a seller, making it more likely that people will buy from you.
I changed my mind on this about six to nine months ago. I realized that perhaps half of the negative feedback I was getting was before the 21-day mark. Almost always, it was someone frustrated about slow delivery of Media Mail (even though it was usually before the estimated delivery date). Eventually I decided that I could avoid a lot of that negative feedback by not asking for the feedback at the time of shipment. It's just a guess, but I figure that most of those people who are angry about slow delivery at the 10-day mark won't be angry after they receive their book and get Amazon's 21-day reminder to leave feedback -- and, hopefully they won't leave negative feedback.
If you're trying to build up your feedback, I'd just continue what you're doing, perhaps ramp up your selling a bit. There is software available for automating the process of asking for feedback, but I really don't think it's worth it. I base this idea on my own buying behavior when I'm shopping on Marketplace. All else being equal, I will usually buy from a seller who has a better average score (I like to see 95 percent positive), rather than buy from a seller with more feedback ratings, but a lower average. In other words, I'll buy from a seller with 96 percent positive and 200 total ratings before I'll buy from someone who has 2,000 feedbacks but only 90 percent positive.
As far as leaving feedback for buyers on Amazon: There is a way to do it, but it's very convoluted and not worth it. Probably 99 percent of Marketplace buyers aren't aware of buyer feedback and don't care. I think buyer feedback was important back when Amazon first launched third-party selling, and a lot of the buyers were familiar with feedback from experience with eBay. Nowadays, a lot of the Marketplace buyers have never used eBay, have never purchased from an individual online before, and some of them don't even realize they're not buying directly from Amazon.
So over time, I've gotten a lot more relaxed in my attitude toward feedback. Lately I just take care of my business the best I can, and hope the feedback situation takes care of itself.
Should I ask for feedback on Amazon? I usually do on Half.com in my e-mail that notifies shipment. I always say "I've left you positive feedback and hope you will do the same for me if you are happy with your purchase". I have had good luck with that. On Amazon, with no option to give feedback to the buyer, I am reluctant to, well, beg.
ANSWER: My thinking on this has evolved a bit since I started selling in 2000. When I went full-time, I rigged up a system to send my Amazon customers an e-mail shipping confirmation, including a link for leaving feedback. This way I'd often receive feedback before the customer received the reminder e-mail from Amazon (as you know, Amazon sends an e-mail 21 days after the transaction, asking the buyer to rate the transaction.)
I solicited feedback, of course, because I think having a big and good feedback record makes you more competitive as a seller, making it more likely that people will buy from you.
I changed my mind on this about six to nine months ago. I realized that perhaps half of the negative feedback I was getting was before the 21-day mark. Almost always, it was someone frustrated about slow delivery of Media Mail (even though it was usually before the estimated delivery date). Eventually I decided that I could avoid a lot of that negative feedback by not asking for the feedback at the time of shipment. It's just a guess, but I figure that most of those people who are angry about slow delivery at the 10-day mark won't be angry after they receive their book and get Amazon's 21-day reminder to leave feedback -- and, hopefully they won't leave negative feedback.
If you're trying to build up your feedback, I'd just continue what you're doing, perhaps ramp up your selling a bit. There is software available for automating the process of asking for feedback, but I really don't think it's worth it. I base this idea on my own buying behavior when I'm shopping on Marketplace. All else being equal, I will usually buy from a seller who has a better average score (I like to see 95 percent positive), rather than buy from a seller with more feedback ratings, but a lower average. In other words, I'll buy from a seller with 96 percent positive and 200 total ratings before I'll buy from someone who has 2,000 feedbacks but only 90 percent positive.
As far as leaving feedback for buyers on Amazon: There is a way to do it, but it's very convoluted and not worth it. Probably 99 percent of Marketplace buyers aren't aware of buyer feedback and don't care. I think buyer feedback was important back when Amazon first launched third-party selling, and a lot of the buyers were familiar with feedback from experience with eBay. Nowadays, a lot of the Marketplace buyers have never used eBay, have never purchased from an individual online before, and some of them don't even realize they're not buying directly from Amazon.
So over time, I've gotten a lot more relaxed in my attitude toward feedback. Lately I just take care of my business the best I can, and hope the feedback situation takes care of itself.
Labels: customer service, feedback
posted by Steve Weber at 1/10/2007
3 Comments:
I've followed the advice Steve listed in his book about including a pack slip that let's the buyers know how to leave feedback with all of my orders, and it's worked well for my first year of bookselling. I've never asked for feedback when I send out my email confirmations, I keep it simple and only tell people their order has been shipped and provide tracking info. Like anyone selling on Amazon I've had a few bad apples in the mix, but I don't let them get me down and keep my focus on building up my business more.
I just ran my feedbacks versus my sales over the past 11 months I've been selling, and I calculated that 18% of my buyers have left feedback, which seems pretty good to me. I've also maintained a steady 100%, but I work very hard to keep it there! :)
I NEVER solicit feedback in any manner. While I ship every day, grade my books very conservatively, and answer all emails within 24 hours, I feel that asking for feedback is asking for trouble.
I have had people email me complaining that a book didn't have enough pictures (I don't write the books! :) ), or that the color of the cover in the stock photo on Amazon looked brighter than the cover on the copy they received from me (ugh!).
I am sure for every ten people who are happy with an order and would gladly leave positive feedback, there is one crackpot who will rip me if I show him/her the way to do it.
I am happy having less feedback at 100%, than having more at 95%. I am sure the 100% makes a difference to some buyers out there.
Unfortunately, the crackpots always seem to figure out how to leave you their sour feedback anyway. So I dont' think you can actually avoid negative feedback by not sending out feedback request.
However, sending out packing slips with feedback request to the many newbies and gentle, but clueless souls is really useful. ("I didn't know feedback was important?", "I wrote to Amazon and told them I liked your store") There are just tons of people out there who haven't quite figured out what this feedback business is all about, and so this is positive feedback you otherwise simply wouldn't get.
And the more positive feedback you receive, the more the negative ones blend in. I maintain 100% positive, but that doesn't mean there isn't a 1 star feedback in there, it is just well camouflaged.
So I really believe in sending out packing slips to ease people along....
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