eBay: Building Positive Feedback

One of the most popular forms of online business is selling on eBay. However, before you begin selling items on eBay, it's important that you get at least some positive feedback. Mostly, this is so people are aware that you are a legitimate eBay user. There is some debate about what a good feedback rating is to start selling at, but it is generally agreed that the lowest you positive feedback rating you'll want to start posting items for sale at is 10. The reason for this is that you get a gold star (yes, we're back in kindergarten!). This star label next to your name makes it quick and easy for potential eBay buyers to see that you are a real life person with some real experience on eBay.

Now, normally, you gain this positive rating by buying or selling items on eBay, gradually increasing your positive feedback. But as a small business owner looking to sell on eBay, you probably don't want to take a casual pace. So here are some tips for building that positive feedback as quickly and effectively as possible.

1. Buy things that are relatively cheap. Though you are not "buying" feedback, you should still view these purchases as a business expense. Don't spend $700 on a laptop unless that's something you would have done anyway. Since you can easily buy under $100 worth of eBay products to get this rating, you don't want to purchase the costlier items.
   
   
2. Buy things you need, want, or will use. For example, you've just started your online
   business. Chance are, you have or will have a home office to make running this easier. So buy some office supplies! Organizers, a printer if you don't have one, pens, sticky notes, etc., can both help your business and increase your feedback rating. Items like pens can be purchased for as little as 1 to 2 dollars, including shipping!
   
   Beyond purchasing items for your eBay business's home office, consider the following types of purchases. Birthday presents, gift cards or gift certificates for places you normally eat or shop, items for your favorite hobbies, and more. The end point is -- don't get things that you're going to throw away.
   
   
3. Don't buy "positive feedback boosting" items. Once upon a time, people were advised to buy recipes on eBay to boost their positive feedback. These recipes would cost as little as ten cents, and were e-mailed for free to the buyer. The payment was made, the positive feedback was given. So what's the problem with this? People can see the items you've recently purchased. If someone looks at your feedback and all you have is recipes purchased, then you will look worse than a new user in regards to legitimacy.
   
   
4. Buy from different sellers. If you get positive feedback multiple times from the same user, it will generally not count towards your positive feedback rating. Be sure to purchase from different eBay stores and users to make sure you get the positive feedback you're aiming for.
   
   
5. Pay right away, give positive feedback to your seller. There are two things you can do to make certain you get your positive feedback as a buyer. First, as soon as you win or buy an item, pay for it. Then, when you receive the item, unless there is a major flaw with the item, leave positive feedback for the seller. If you do these two things, there should be essentially no reason for them to give you non-positive feedback.

Once you've hit ten positive feedback, or more if you'd like, you can safely start creating items to sell on eBay. Of course, at this point there are many, many other tips, tricks, and tactics that can help you maximize your sales, and give you the most money for your time, effort, and investment.

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