I have been selling professionally on ebay and via a website for over a year.  There have been 1000's of transactions that have gone smoothly resulting in happy customers

Sometimes things can go wrong, be it royal mail, couriers, paypal, ebay, the list goes on.  Buyers on the recieving end of problems mostly are understanding and patient, making it easy to complete the transaction properly

Every once in a while you will eventually get someone that is rude, abusive sometimes even threatening - we had one customer that owned a rival company and promised to put us out of business for good, they purposely bought an item (that they relisted in there shop using our description and picture) and left a bad feedback the next day!!!! stating in the feedback foul language and abusive comments and threats.  Of course ebay removed it due to offensive language but it shows the nature of some people

We also dealt with a customer who was on the recieving end of a courier mix up - his item arrived a day late because of the courier mixing his address with someone elses...the item was signed the next day and his postage refunded.... the buyer however emailed to state this..... along with - nearly a page long of swearing, threats, even disrespectful racist remarks towards my staff and myself.  After reporting it to ebay he was suspended

To provide the best customer service and to avoid/deal with disgruntled rude people here are some tips:

Be Honest:  If a problem with the order, collection or stock comes up - be honest and inform the customer, state that a problem occured and offer a reasonable solution in a polite manner

Collect seperate proof of posting dockets for each parcel: All you do is ask business collections or the post office for a printed reciept for every parcel.  If a customer questions whether you sent an item, simply scan and email it through -

Dont use Capital letters in any reply: its easy to misinterpert as loud and aggressive

Avoid !!!!! exclamation marks, they indicate loudness and aggression if used following a response to a query

Offer a phone number: sometimes a human voice is reassuring and helpful

If a buyer swears or makes rude comments which are out of place - DO NOT respond with similar remarks, you will further there rage (think The Incredible Hulk) instead, relax and be honest - if they continue with the abuse you dont need to speak or respond any further - cut the conversation

REPORT ANY ABUSIVE EMAILS OR THREATS TO EBAY AND/OR THE POLICE

All in all, sometimes you cant avoid nasty people - still follow these steps and you can handle it as best you can.  Mantain your integrity as a person and a seller and your feedback levels will be very very good