Should eBay Sellers Use Thank You Cards?
This question has been argued on eBay forums forever. The problem is that sellers are usually arguing about two completely different things and calling them both a “thank you card.”
One of the most debated topics among eBay Sellers is always the same: “Should I put a thank you note in my eBay orders?”
Our answer is both yes and no.
If you mean a handwritten note that says, “Thanks so much for your purchase!”, definitely not.
If you mean a professionally printed card targeted at gaining feedback, absolutely. No question.
Those are two different things, and that is why sellers keep arguing about this as if there is one correct answer.
A Thank You Note and a Feedback Request Card Are Not the Same Thing
This is where you have two or even three factions arguing on eBay community forums or reseller groups on reddit and Facebook.
If you shipped the correct accurately described item, packed it properly and got it out fast, you already showed the buyer that you appreciate their business and are grateful for the transaction.
That is five star service.
A handwritten note saying “thank you” may seem nice from your standpoint, but it does not really do anything for your buyer or your seller account? It is essentially extra trash.
A feedback request card has a function, a job, a specific mission to accomplish.
It reminds the buyer that you as a seller actually need and want positive feedback. That you would truly appreciate it if they could do you the small favor of leaving feedback. Most of the time they just don’t know or think it matters to you.
You have to let them know with a personal touch and in return, many buyers will leave the feedback they never would have bothered with if it hadn’t been for your card. Just ask.
Personal, But Totally Pointless
A handwritten or home-printed note whose main purpose is simply saying “thank you for your purchase.”
A Business Tool
A professionally printed insert that reminds the buyer that their feedback matters and gives the transaction one more chance to build your visible seller reputation.
Do You Need a Handwritten Thank You Note?
We think it should be avoided at all cost.
In fact, we think it is amateur and unprofessional and may make you look like a spare bedroom or garage operation. You might as well be shipping in recycled cereal boxes at this point.
If I buy something online, I expect it to arrive in a proper box or mailer, packed with real packing materials, shipped quickly. It should either be from a professional business operation or if I know it is a small time eBay seller, at least looking like it came from somebody who knows what they are doing.
I don’t want a recycled cereal box, newspaper stuffed around the item and a handwritten note from the dining-room table.
How did they even have time for this? Handwriting notes is time wasted.
That may sound harsh, but presentation matters.
If you are trying to build a real resale business, your packing process should look like a business process.
And if you are going to put something inside every package, there should be a reason or function such as gaining more feedback.
So What Should Go in the Package?
A professionally printed feedback request card.
Not because the buyer needs another “thank you.”
Because a successful eBay transaction has value after the package arrives.
The buyer got what they ordered. It matched the listing. You shipped it quickly. Everything went exactly as it should.
And then, most of the time, the buyer does absolutely nothing.
They open the box, take the item out and move on with their life.
That is the most common outcome.
A feedback card gives you one last chance to say: “Hey, this transaction mattered to my business. If you’re happy with it, your feedback matters too.”
A card cannot fix a bad listing, slow handling, poor packaging or the wrong item. The card only works after you have already done your job. Think of it as the reminder at the end of a successful transaction.
Feedback Is a Long-Term Asset
This is where many sellers tend to underestimate what they are building.
You start at zero.
Then you get 10 feedback. Then 100. Then 1,000.
If you stay with eBay long enough, that number can eventually become several thousand or tens of thousands.
And yes, buyers notice it.
A seller with a long history of successful transactions always stands out above the others. Giving up at a hundred or even few thousand puts you at a disadvantage to those with tens of thousands when a buyer is just speed shopping glancing over results. Never stop growing your reputation.
Buyers may not sit there studying every feedback comment, but that reputation number is sitting right next to your name every time they consider buying from you.
The bigger and stronger that history becomes, the less hesitation there is.
That is why we look at feedback cards as a long-term reputation tool. The cost per order is tiny, well worth it in the long run.
You are trying to keep more of the reputation you already earned instead of letting a perfectly good transaction disappear without a trace.
What Makes a Bad Feedback Request Card?
A lot of feedback cards are written as if the seller is terrified of the buyer.
You have probably seen cards that say:
“PLEASE contact us before leaving negative feedback!”
We don’t love that approach.
We do sell some designs with similar language because plenty of sellers like it, but personally we think it introduces a problem that probably wasn’t even in the buyer’s head.
Why remind a happy buyer about negative feedback?
If you are running your business correctly, the overwhelming majority of your transactions should go exactly as expected.
Your card should sound confident.
Your card is not about a “good or bad” experience. You’re positive it was good because you are a professional seller and you are now asking for one thing, for the buyer to go leave that positive feedback you earned. You don’t want to escape you. It works, ask and though shall receive.
What Should a Good Feedback Card Say?
Keep it simple.
The buyer does not want to read an essay while opening a package.
A good card should:
- Stand out
- Acknowledge the order
- Tell the buyer that feedback actually matters to your business
- Directly ask them to leave feedback
- Be easy to understand in a few seconds
- Be professionally printed
That’s it.
You do not need to beg. You do not need five paragraphs. You do not need to sound scared of a negative.
You already completed the transaction. The card is just there to make sure the customer knows that feedback is valuable to you.
Most Buyers Don’t Know How Much Feedback Matters to Sellers
This is something sellers forget because we live inside eBay every day.
Buyers don’t.
A lot of buyers simply don’t think about seller feedback once the package arrives.
As a buyer, do you spend your evening worrying about whether the seller got another feedback point?
Of course not.
The transaction is over in your head.
But many buyers are perfectly happy to leave feedback once you remind them that it actually matters to the person on the other side of the transaction.
That is the entire point.
Why We Care So Much About the Wording
We did not come up with this sitting around brainstorming greeting cards.
We are sellers.
Over the years we have worked directly with many fellow online sellers across multiple platforms about what they want the card to look like and say.
And after a few questions the answer is not: “I just want to thank the buyer.”
The answer is always: “I need more buyers to leave positive feedback.”
There is nothing wrong with saying that out loud. I do not care about thanking the buyer. I want more feedback.
Well, the good news is our carefully crafted cards do both, thanking the buyer will pulling in more post-sale interaction feedback.
eBay Feedback Cards and Amazon Review Cards Are Completely Different
Do not use the exact same strategy everywhere.
eBay and Amazon are different marketplaces with different rules and different review systems.
eBay Sellers
On eBay, the goal is seller feedback.
Your card can explain that feedback is important to your seller account and remind the buyer to leave it after a successful transaction.
What you should not do is offer money, discounts, gifts or other compensation in exchange for feedback.
Amazon Sellers
Amazon is a different ballgame.
Amazon’s rules around review requests are much stricter, so the wording needs to stay neutral.
You do not ask specifically for a positive review, and you do not try to steer unhappy customers away from reviewing.
That is why we make Amazon-specific review cards instead of pretending one card works everywhere.
So, Should You Put a Thank You Card in Every eBay Order?
If by “thank you card” you mean sitting at the kitchen table writing “Thanks for your purchase!” fifty times with a pen, it is insane if you are doing that. Stop it.
Spend that time listing the next fifty items.
But if you mean putting a professionally printed feedback request card into every shipment, that is completely different.
You have to be doing this to maximize feedback received from your sales.
Don’t let positive reputation for your account get away.
Pack the item correctly.
Ship it fast.
Make sure the listing was accurate.
Then remind the customer that their feedback matters.
Profit.