Don’t forget this crucial point about your customers over Christmas…

By Sharon Fussell, December 22, 2016

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” as Andy Williams sang.

Christmas is quite a hectic period for many people, that’s for sure.

Shops and sellers can often fill their boots at this time of year – although the retail sector is changing in that more and more buyers purchase online.

That’s great for us online sellers. I find the vast majority of books sold are used copies, not necessarily for gifts.

But when buyers go to Amazon or eBay to purchase Christmas gifts, they often decide while they are online that they will buy a book to read over the Christmas holidays!

That’s my theory, anyway.

I dread buyers purchasing books only described as “good” for gifts. The expectation is so high and they’re soon emailing with demands for refunds stating: “Don’t you know this is for a gift!?”

Telepathy is not one of my strong suits, I must admit. And I would never recommend any buyer purchasing a used book for a gift.

I also think there are people who do are not regular online purchasers, apart from at Christmas, so their expectations might be a little high. On the whole though, most customers are lovely.

I do hope the Royal Mail strikes haven’t impacted your business. I also hope customers receive their items on or before the expected date.

As an online seller, you may find your orders dwindle away over the Christmas period.

I look at this time as an enforced holiday, but I really like the downtime.

I’m hoping to read a few books myself and have the latest Linwood Barclay ready to go but I’m resisting it at the moment… as once I pick a book up, I can’t put it down… and I have too much to do!

One thing I do when work is quieter is to refresh prices and tidy stock from my inventory. Sometimes I add stock to boost the numbers and hopefully interest in January leading to increased sales.

You may find you benefit from increased interest on Amazon as buyers return goods they don’t want. Again, perhaps buyers are also perusing for themselves as they’re going through the returns process. I do hope so!

All that remains for me is to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you in 2017!

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What do you think?

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