There’s an excellent discussion going on over at the MLPArena about feedback right now. While I was typing out my response, I realized it would make a great blog post!
Feedback is an extremely important part of any online transaction. Not only does it provide an accurate record of how many transactions you’ve completed and your history as a buyer/seller, but it gives closure to the transaction. Once feedback has been left, ideally by both parties involved, the transaction is 100% complete.
Sometimes, however, people don’t leave feedback. It could be because they forgot, they don’t think it’s important, or they like to wait until they have several to leave at once. I know I’m guilty of the last one at times!
I do a few things that I think really help me get feedback. I’m mostly a seller online and try very hard to curb my spending, so most of these tips are from the seller point of view. I hope they can help you get the feedback you deserve!
1) First Contact
First off, I put some verbiage in my private message (PM) to the buyer when they are inquiring about shipping and payment details. It says "Feedback is always left once I know the ponies were received and you are satisfied with them." That lets the buyer know that I will leave them feedback, but they have to continue to communicate with me and let me know that the pony arrived and everything is good. It also lets them know to contact me before leaving feedback if there's a problem! And, it very subtly tells them that they won't get feedback unless they give it to me as well.
2) The Notes in the Mail
2) The Notes in the Mail
The second thing I do is include a little note with the package. I actually printed out a bunch of these that have my Etsy store name and link on them (advertising for my other business! Still pony related, though). The note has Thank You printed real big at the top, a picture of my persona pony, and a "Please don't forget to leave feedback!" at the bottom. There's also space for me to hand write a note. This provides a nice personal touch and gives another gentle feedback reminder.
3) Hey! You forgot something!
Usually, my first two steps are enough to bring in the feedback. But, if those don't work, I'll send a nice PM along the lines of "Hey! I know it's been a while since our transaction, but I just wanted to make sure your pony arrived safely and everything is to your satisfaction. The DC number shows she was delivered on xx/xx. If you're happy with everything, I'd appreciate it if you could leave some feedback for me and I'll be sure to do the same for you."
If that doesn't get the buyer off their rear and over to the feedback forum, then there's not much more to be done. Honestly, I give up at this point if my PM is ignored. After all, if feedback was important to them, they'd be sure to follow through on the transaction.
4) Dear Princess Celestia...
4) Dear Princess Celestia...
Now, I can sometimes be slow with the feedback. Ideally, I'd just head right over to the feedback forum and leave a little blurb the moment I got the "pony arrived, Thanks!' message, but I admittedly don't. Sometimes, it's just more convenient to wait until I have three or four to leave at once. To help myself with leaving feedback, I have created an Access database. This database shows me when the item was purchased, how much I paid for it, where it’s listed (some ponies are listed on the Arena, Ebay, and Klect at the same time!), who it sold to, how much it sold for, and if feedback has been left or not. I have a nice query set where I can just search for transactions where feedback has not been left and make sure I take care of that. I check this database about every other week, so feedback does get left regularly, if not right away.
No, go out there and get the feedback you work so hard for!
