subject: Sage Advice for the Budding Home Business Entrepreneur [print this page] Sage Advice for the Budding Home Business Entrepreneur
Since the phenomenal popularity of online auction houses such as eBay a lot of people are finding they can turn their old possessions into money as the saying goes: "one man's junk is another man's treasure" and many people have made significant sums of money selling their old items online. There are other avenues as well such as Amazon's Marketplace and Play.com's PlayTrade allowing people to set up their own online equivalent to a market stall.
Much like a high street brand you will quickly discover that your reputation as a seller on Amazon, eBay and any other sites is key to drawing in your customers. Most of these sites have seller ratings where your customers will rate you on aspects such as communication, trustworthiness and speed of dispatch.
Sending items that you have sold can be one area people can get unfairly judged on, quite often you will have customers who want their items to be delivered much quicker than you'd expect and you do have to go some way to ensure they are happy with their buying experience so you can attract more business from them and others who read their reviews.
It is best to be up front about delivery times and make sure that if there has been a delay in you sending the parcel to them that you keep them informed. If you have a genuine reason for the delay most customers will understand as long as you keep them informed of the situation.
Sending your parcel via a reliable courier company is a must if you can get decent prices on the delivery, small items can be cheaper to send but if you are sending larger items you may need to consider which services are best suited for larger, heavier or awkwardly shaped deliveries.
When you send your parcel there is a good chance you'll be given a tracking code to keep an eye on the progress of the delivery, giving this to the buyer is a smart move as it allows them to see where the parcel is and shifts some of the responsibility away from yourself. This way if there are any delays and you have chosen a reputable company then the buyer will be much more understanding with regards to any delays. It also means that you can keep a close eye on where your parcel is and if it has been delivered successfully as some dishonest buyers may make false claims that their delivery never arrived.
Make sure you don't leave your business and reputation to chance and use reputable shipping services for your parcel delivery whether you are sending a parcel here in the UK or an international parcel to another country.
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