If you are going to sell on eBay, that means you are going to be dealing with customers all over the world. Just like a regular business, you will occasionally run across a customer that is very hard to deal with. 90% of all the customers you will have on eBay are an absolute pleasure to deal with. Its that 10% that can drive you completely crazy, if you let them. It is how you deal with that 10% of troublesome customers that really shows what kind of business person you are. Sometimes these difficult customers can turn into your best customers.

Probably the most common problem with buyers on eBay is failure to pay for an item. On eBay, when you bid on an item or “Buy It Now” you are responsible to pay for that item. That isn’t always the case. When you do try and get payments from a slow-paying member, remember to remain professional at all times. eBay products like Selling Manager Pro send automated payment reminders and usually get the job done. After a certain amount of time, if payment isn’t sent by the buyer you can follow eBay’s procedure to get a credit on your lost fees and will put an unpaid item strike against the non paying member’s account.

There will always be a number of your customers that won’t be happy with the actual item they bought from you. Just as in life, you can’t make everyone happy. Make your refund policy perfectly clear in your auction descriptions and stick to it. It is much easier to click 3 buttons in PayPal to issue a refund than fight to remove a negative feedback from your account. The first thing to do is say you are sorry when a customer isn’t happy with their item from you. Then offer to do whatever it takes to make it right, including an alternate item or free gift. At that time, offer a refund and issue it if requested.

The speed that an eBay buyer gets the item remains a concern, as well. Do the absolute most you can to get an item out fast. If you are sending items from your home or business, don’t wait to send them once a week. Make a trip to the post office every day you have a sale. If you sell through a dropshipping company with your eBay listings, do whatever you can to ensure speedy delivery. Some dropshipping facilities are located in foriegn countries, meaning it will take quite a while for shipment. If you do have lengthy shipment times because of your dropshipping supplier, explain that fully inside your auction description. Sometimes there is just nothing you can do about shipping complaints. I sell eBooks on eBay. eBooks are delivered instantly through a download link in eBay. It is not uncommon for me to get complaints by customers of not getting their item, when the download is sitting in their eBay account. I am sure that sellers with other types of goods have other problems related to their specific products.

Remember to always guard your feedback rating on eBay. It is the way that customers see you and decide to buy from you or not. Also, in the eBay PowerSeller program, your feedback ratings can lead to fee discounts.

Just like in the real world, there are tough customers to deal with on eBay. Some people are just that way. It is how you deal with these tough customers that makes or breaks you as a seller on eBay. Remember to remain professional at all times and you will be able to deal with almost all the problems that come up while selling on eBay.

Times are getting tougher with the economic downturn. The recent credit crunch is one of the most serious financial crisis in recent times, and that has gotten many people worried. Employees are worried about losing their jobs and not being able to meet their mortgage payments or meet their bills. Business owners are worried about nose-diving profits. Entrepreneurs are worried about not being able to raise the capital that they need for their start-ups. After all, banks have gotten a lot more cautious about who they lend their money to these days.

Fortunately, in times of crisis, there are still abundant opportunities available. For example, someone losing a job may be able to spend time upgrading his or her skills. The individual may even come upon a new opportunity that may help replenish the loss of income.

Online surveys.

Online surveys are regularly conducted by established companies and institutions. This is an opportunity for anyone who would like to make some extra money to get over the tough times ahead. An online survey may be conducted by a government agency to get opinions, or it may be conducted by a business to get consumer feedback. Such surveys are usually outsourced to professional survey companies who specialize in conducting surveys. These companies are also known as survey panels.

Getting to know survey panels.

There are many survey panels available online. When you join a survey panel, what actually happens is that you join their database of consumers. You will be required to reveal some personal information about yourself such as age, gender, and country of residence. When the opportunity arises, and your profile matches that of the survey requirements, you will be asked to complete a survey online.

Every survey will have its own rules and instructions. Be sure to be clear about the instructions before proceeding. You will be paid a sum of money, usually in the range of $20 to $80 for completing the survey. The amount depends on several factors such as the length of the survey and the number of participants. For example, if you belong to a high income group, you may be paid higher, since it’s more difficult to obtain opinions from people in that income group.

How to complete surveys.

Read all questions carefully and give honest answers. Some questions may be optional, so you may skip those if you like. If you fill in bogus responses for the survey, you may risk not getting paid. Usually, there is no time limit for completing a survey. A survey can take up an hour to four hours of your time. You can make a guess as to the amount of time required to complete a survey based on the number of questions.

Beware of scams.

This is unfortunate but some websites offer bogus survey sites that do not actually pay you. These are sites that you want to avoid. The best way to determine if a site is legitimate or not is to search for reviews on community sites. If reviews are positive, you may then wish to join as a member and earn some extra income.