Answering Bidder Questions

The more auctions you run, the more likely you'll run into potential bidders who have questions about what you're selling. eBay lets bidders email sellers during the course of an auction, so don't be surprised if you get a few emails from strangers asking unusual questions. And, as a responsible eBay seller, you need to answer these queries.

When you receive a question from a potential bidder, you should answer the question promptly, courteously, and accurately. It's in your best interest to make the questioner happy; after all, that person could turn out to be your high bidder. Remember, you are running a business, and all good businesses go to great lengths to respond appropriately to customer queries.

Potential bidders ask questions because they don't understand something about your listing or have some qualms about placing a bid. You need to not only answer the stated questionas thoroughly as possiblebut also anticipate any additional questions that customer might have. Your goal, after all, is to sell the item you have listed, so anything you can do to better present the item to buyers will help you make the sale.

When you respond to a buyer's question, you have the option of displaying the question and answer as part of the item listing. This is a good option to check, especially if you think other potential bidders might have the same question. You should opt out of displaying the Q&A if the question is more idiosyncratic, or not necessarily applicable to a larger number of potential bidders.

What happens if you get a lot of questions from potential bidders? I have no great advice for you here. There is no secret auction tool that can respond automatically to specific customer questions. You have to craft each response individually, answering the questions as posed. You may want to batch all the query emails into a bunch, however, and answer them once a day. (Although this might not be prompt enough for bidders asking questions in the waning minutes of a live auction.) But you shouldn't worry too much about this; for most sellers, the volume of customer queries will be small and easily manageable.

Note

If you're getting a lot of questions about a particular auction, it's a sign that you're not including enough information in your item listing. Consider revising the description to be more descriptive, and definitely keep this issue in mind when you launch future auctions.