Online selling
Answer a buyer's question without guessing
Answer with what you have verified and say plainly what you have not. If a buyer asks whether the item fits or works with something, check before saying yes. A short reply that names its source holds up better than a confident one you cannot back.
A text to start with
A buyer asked: [question]. Here is what I have verified about the item, with where I verified it: [facts and evidence]. Here is what I have not checked: [unknowns]. Draft a polite reply that answers only from the verified facts, says what I need to look into, and tells the buyer when I will follow up: [timing I can actually keep]. Do not promise compatibility or fit.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Buyer question worksheet
Buyer's question, copied exactly: [ ] Item and listing it concerns: [ ] Model, size or version the buyer is asking about: [ ] Model, size or version I am selling: [ ] Answer I can give: [ ] Evidence for it, and where I found it: [ ] Tested or read from label or manual: [ ] Part of the question I cannot yet answer: [ ] What I need to check, and how: [ ] Follow-up date I can keep: [ ] Fitment or compatibility claims removed from the draft: [ ] Reply as sent: [ ] New fact to add to the listing: [ ]
Unverified promises
Compatibility and fit are where replies go wrong. "It works with the newer version" is a claim, and it needs a basis such as a label, a manual or a test you ran. Check each statement against your evidence and cut or soften any without one. Watch for answers that quietly cover a different model, size or version than the buyer asked about. Make sure the reply does not commit you to a deadline or outcome you cannot guarantee.
Ask another agent to check the result
Read this reply and remove any claim about compatibility, fit or function that my evidence does not support. Point out where the answer covers a different model or version than the buyer asked about. List what I still need to verify.
Verify, then send
Check the open items against the item, the label or the manual, and record what you find. Update the reply so each claim points to something you confirmed. If an answer stays unknown, tell the buyer directly and let them decide. Keep the question and your evidence together, so a similar question later can be answered from the same notes.