| In this article |
 | |
Communicating with buyers
Buyers often have questions before, during, and after a sale. When they do, they click the Ask a question link in your listing. As a seller, it's important for you to respond quickly and thoroughly to keep the buyer interested in your listing and help you to get positive Feedback.
Direct contact is more personal and directed towards the buyer's specific question, but it takes time. Instead of direct contact by email, you can also generate responses to routine questions and answers immediately from your listing information and with questions and answers (Q&A) you create. Posting automated Q&A saves you time and helps buyers know sooner whether they want to bid or buy.
Consider these three ways to answer buyers' questions:
Allow buyers to contact you from your active listings – Your buyers enter their questions into a form, which are then emailed to your Messages inbox in My eBay and to your personal email account. You can choose whether or not the buyer sees your personal email address.
Show Q&A – Your buyer sees Q&A generated automatically from your listing and any Q&A you create.
Set up a third-party Q&A application
– You subscribe to a certified third-party application and provide your Q&A to the application. You can subscribe from the Applications tab in My eBay.
What are automated answers?
Automated answers are Q&A that eBay generates automatically from the details you provide when you create your listing. These answers provide your buyers with key information they may have missed in your listing. When you use eBay or PayPal shipping labels, the tracking information appears in post-transaction Q&A.
The text you use in the Describe your item section of the Sell Your Item form isn't included in the automated answers, so it's important to fill in as many fields as possible when creating your listing.
Sometimes the answer to a question has to do with an eBay policy, and eBay provides the answer.
Examples of automated answers
Here are some examples of answers generated automatically from your listing:
Q: What is the condition of this item?
A: This seller has listed this item as used.
Q: Have you received my payment?
A: Yes, according to our records, the seller received your payment on March 7, 2009.
Q: How do I return an item and get a refund?
A: This seller doesn't accept returns.
Before the transaction
Eric is selling a train set and only wants to ship within the United States, so he specifies that in his listing.
Todd thinks the train set would be perfect for his little cousin in Paris, and wonders if he can have it shipped there. He clicks Ask a question in the listing. He clicks Shipping and selects: Do you offer international shipping? The automated answer is generated from the information Eric provided: "This seller doesn't offer international shipping."
During the transaction
Sally understands that buyers want to know when they'll receive an item. When she listed her belt for sale, she made sure to provide complete shipping information, and when she shipped the item, she used an eBay shipping label which automatically generated a tracking number.
Hayley buys the belt and pays online. After a couple days, she wonders when she'll receive the belt. She clicks Ask a question in the listing and then selects Shipping, and Where is my item? This automated answer is generated from the information Sally provided: "The seller received your payment on March 12, 2009, and your tracking number is <1234567890>. Your delivery estimate is March 20, 2009."
After the transaction
Audrey finds the perfect pair of black pinstripe pants. Excited, she clicks the Buy It Now button in the listing. But then she realizes that the pants are the wrong size and wonders if she can cancel the purchase. She clicks Ask a question in the listing and selects Payments, and How do I cancel my purchase?
Since eBay policy defines whether a buyer can cancel a purchase, the answer is provided by eBay: "You can’t retract a purchase made through a Buy It Now listing. Once you confirm your purchase, you are obligated to pay the seller."
Setting up Q&A
You set up your Q&A in My eBay. Your Q&A applies to all your listings.
To set up Q&A:Go to My eBay. You may be asked to sign in.
Place your pointer over the Account tab, and then click the Site Preferences link.
Under Selling Preferences, click the Show link next to the Manage your communications with buyers section.
Next to Manage your questions and answers (Q&A) Page, click the Edit link. The Manage your Q&A for buyers page appears.
Select the Show Q&A check box. When you select Show Q&A, the buyer sees automated answers and any Q&A you create yourself.
If you use a third-party application to manage your Q&A, you'll have two additional options:
Use Q&A that you manage on eBay
Use Q&A that you manage from a third-party site
Select a topic to see the automated answers.
Automated answers are generated for each of your specific listings, so you won't see the answers on this page. After you create a listing you can see your automated answers by clicking the Ask a question link. You'll see your Q&A with the answers corresponding to that listing.
If you don't have information for a certain question, remove it from your Q&A or it will state that you didn't provide an answer. To remove the question, click the Don't show to buyers link below the question.
To create your own questions and answers, click the Add a question link. Enter the question, select the topic from the drop-down menu, enter your answer, and then click the Save button.
Note: You can also save your question in a different topic. (For example, you can start a question on the Shipping page and save it in the Payments topic.)
To edit or remove questions and answers, click the question, and then click the Edit or Remove link.
To save your Q&A, click the Submit button.
Converting your older Q&A
If you created questions and answers before we launched the new Q&A system, we'll convert them to the new system. You'll need to go in and organize them into the appropriate topics.
Responding personally to buyers' questions
When a buyer clicks the Ask a question link in your listing, they can send an email to you through your eBay account. You'll receive the message in your Messages inbox and your personal email account. When you respond, you can choose to hide your email address from the buyer, send a copy to your email address, and post the question and answer to your listing so all buyers can see it. Once you post the answer, you can't change or remove it.
Must use Buy It Now and PayPal.
