Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Leaving TpT Feedback {how and why}

As a seller on TpT, I thought it would be good to go over the reasons why feedback is so important in the TpT world.

Lately when I see this pop up on my phone, I'm hesitant to open it, because I never know what I'm going to see with the feedback left. As sellers we want to make our products better, but when poor feedback is left with no explanation why, it's hard for us to make anything better. Let me lay out how to leave good feedback as a buyer.



1.Leave feedback. First off, you earn credits towards other purchases of TpT. Why wouldn't you want to leave feedback? It's free money! Also, it allows other buyers to see how much you love the product you purchased. Most of my products only have a 1/3 of the buyers actually leave feedback for the item they purchase. Food for thought!

2. Leave constructive feedback. If you do not leave a 4.0 rating for an item, make sure to tell the seller why! I have seen so many buyers leave their feedback as "thank you", "great", "love it", but then leave less that perfect ratings. Sellers are totally fine with receiving less than 4.0 ratings (if warranted), but if we don't know how to fix it, then we are up a creek without a paddle.

3.Check it out. This happens before you even purchase an item. Look at it carefully. Read the description carefully. Look at the preview carefully. Get where I'm going? Do your research. Compare it to other items like it. If you buy something on a whim without really looking at it, you are possibly setting yourself up for disappointment.

4. When you are disappointed. I understand that sometimes you buy something expecting one thing, and when you download it, it isn't what you wanted. ALWAYS contact the seller before leaving negative feedback. We all want to help make your purchase the best it can be and most of us are willing to do that! But once the negative feedback is given, sellers are less likely to want to help.

5. Printing/downloading problems. When you have trouble with printing or downloading, don't leave negative feedback. The problem rarely lies in the sellers hands. Here is a great blogpost by Jamie at 2nd Grade Stuff to refer to whenever you come across an item that you are having technological problems with. If all else fails, contact TpT.


6. Feedback left for what it isn't. Don't leave negative feedback for something that the product never claimed to be. For example, if you wanted the product to be editable, but it isn't, and the seller never claimed that it was, do not buy it then leave feedback stating "I wish it were editable". Leave feedback for what the item claimed to be, not what you wanted it to be.

7. Think before you click. Once you click submit, you can't change that feedback. Feedback is very important to sellers and sometimes even if you rate it a 3.9, it weighs heavily on the overall score of the product. I've seen products that had lots of feedback left, and ONE rating of 3.9, brought the entire overall product score to 3.9/4.0. So make sure you are sure of your feedback before leaving it.

I hope you found this post useful as you continue leaving feedback from the amazing sellers you are buying from! Now, off you go! Go leave some amazing, constructive feedback and earn some TpT credits towards other purchases! :)
 photo FlyingHighSignature3_zps4182a214.png

14 comments:

  1. Excellent post! I get the mixed feeling too when I see that message pop up on my phone. I love it when people send me an email when they have a specific question, and you are right, I am way more helpful and will do whatever I can to solve the problem if they email me. When people post, "I wish this was editable" all I can say is, "I'm still learning!" I don't know how to do that yet! Thanks for making this so clear, it's very helpful for buyers and sellers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the sweet feedback on my post! If you ever have questions too, don't hesitate to contact me, I'd love to help you learn! :)

      Delete
  2. Thank you for this honest and insightful post.... :)
    I'm a certified teacher in Toronto, Canada but am homeschooling my young children at the moment and LOVE all the wonderful products the teachers on TpT provide. I ALWAYS leave positive feedback as I have been so pleased with everything I've purchased. I thoroughly research what it is that I'm looking for and then check out the seller's download preview or look at a post related to the product before purchasing.
    Just wanted to let you know that we do appreciate you all putting in such hard work during the day to educate our "future" and then come home to work just as hard to create wonderful and unique products for us all to implement in our classrooms. I hope this encourages you! I'm very thankful for teachers/bloggers like you. Blessings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for kind feedback! It really warms my heart. I'm glad you've had such positive experiences with TpT. That's what every seller hopes for!

      Delete
  3. Thanks for the great post! I have recently had this experience where someone gave positive feedback but then left a low rating with no explanation of why. It is very frustrating because I want to make the highest quality product that I can. I am glad to read that other sellers have had the same experience.

    Thanks!
    Kristy
    The Phonics Phenomenon

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knew I wasn't the only one dealing with this! I'm glad I could write something that helps you realize you're not alone! :)

      Delete
  4. This post is perfection! Thank you so much for reminding the community on the importance of feedback, as well as the know hows.

    Marcy
    SearchingForTeacherBalance

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very useful! And your blog design is gorgeous!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad the blog post is helpful! And thanks! I love my blog design too! :) It's my happy place!

      Delete
  6. Thank you for telling everyone to think before they click! :) I accidentally gave a product an "F" on one item and BARELY caught it before I clicked! :) Wonderful post, thank you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am actually "late" to this party/post, but this is awesome! Just what I needed the night before a sale! The other thing that bothers me is when people give low feedback on a free item. I pride myself on quality free items, but in the end it's FREE so why complain? Sorry, just had a slight rant moment (hehehe). Best wishes and I love your blog colors!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Just found this post through a group - it's perfect! Thanks so much for putting it together. I'd love to mention it in my own blog.

    jennifer
    everythingjustso.org

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is a great post. It is concise and well written. Seller feedback is so frustrating when constructive criticism isn't left with it. Recently we got a 2.5 rating and the only comment was an exclamation point. Ugh! Thanks :-) - Lisa

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting!