According to economics researchers at the Universities of Bonn and Aachen, an eBay seller’s favorable feedback is positively correlated to higher final sales prices. Oliver Gunter and Christian Grund concluded that a one percentage point increase in eBay feedback translates into an average final bid price increase of four percent.
VNU Network reports that the two professors analyzed DVD sales of six popular films last fall, including Madagascar, Star Wars, and War of the Worlds.
This is something most of us have suspected, however, now we have the data to back up the hunch. Interestingly, the study also found something that contradicts one of my personal maxims about selling on eBay… Always close your auctions in the evening.
The study suggests that evenings are no longer the best time to close an auction. The researchers hypothesize that although bidding activity is highest at that time period, the sheer volume of auctions closing at this time period (as sellers attempt to cash in on the bidding frenzy) exceeds the demand. According to Gurtler, “Our study shows that the returns in the evenings are even lower than normal.”
Hmmm… Some fascinating things to think about. What do you think about the research findings?
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3 Responses to “Study Shows that Higher eBay Feedback Means More Revenue”
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I’m a new user of ebay and I’ve sold around 10 items. I’ve received payment for them all and posted the items promptly.
The problem is that it’s been more than a week since those sales, and none of them have left feedback for me.
I sent them a feedback reminder a few days ago, but nothing still.
I have left feedback for them (perhaps I should have waited) already…
Is this a normal waiting time? Am I doing something wrong?
thanks so much
Unfortunately, this is not entirely uncommon. I, too, find it extremely frustrating when buyers and sellers I deal with on eBay can’t be bothered to post feedback. As the study shows above, feedback has a tangible effect on your sales.
I know that many sellers will withhold posting feedback on a buyer until the buyer has posted feedback on them. The purpose of this is to maintain the ability to post a negative feedback in response to any less than postive feedback posted by the buyer. I have mixed feelings about this. After all, once I’ve made a timely payment, my part of the transaction is complete. I’ve fulfilled my obligations, and, strictly speaking, the seller should post a positive feedback on me. However, I also understand why some sellers would feel more comfortable waiting until the buyer has indicated he/she is satisified with the transaction before leaving the feedback.
What I don’t understand is why the seller would never bother leaving feedback at all. When I am considering bidding on an item, I will check the timeliness and quantity of feedback that seller has left for others. If the seller shows a trend of not bothering to leave feedback, I’ll often move on to another seller who does.
Personally, when I’m selling, I leave favorable feedback as soon as the bidder has paid.
When someone doesn’t leave feedback in a timely manner, basically all you can do send a reminder, respectfully requesting them to leave feedback. If they can’t be bothered with it, let it go. If you pester them, you might just get the kind of feedback you don’t want!
It might also pay to be proactive. Enclose a handwritten thank you note with the items you ship. In the note, request that the bidder leave a postive feedback if they were satisfied with the auction. You can find an example thankyou note here.
The site looks great ! Thanks for all your help ( past, present and future !)