Recording problems/incidents over time to see trends, if any

[sea.n.van._60]

In the past I never bothered to keep a record of problems (such as INRs or items reported as defective or INAD etc) - I just dealt with them and forgot about them - but I saw a comment which mentioned it in passing and I think I'd like to keep track of such incidents myself. My question is what is the most efficient method to minimise data entry - I don't suppose there are ways to download a spreadsheet of these cases directly? And also, what information is worth recording to look for trends in the data?

Maybe: Date of sale, Product, Problem item value, Date of report of problem, Buyer ID, Postcode, Buyer feedback, Nature of problem, Did original method of delivery include delivery confirmation?, Outcome?

[ojewellery]

I love data and do a fair bit of monitoring.  I've spent a fair chunk of the weekend cleaning up my stock managements system and adding extra product information columns so I can run fast monthly reports by product sales/ group/ overall stock value for that group/ sell through rate/ overstock/ low stock.   I have about 850 active products and then bundles of those so potentially around 1200 listings.

There is always a risk with setting up clever systems that you're creating a busy task.  Are your issues so high that creating a system could potentially identify issues and change outcomes? 

I skim review returns and issues volumes quarterly.   I just look at orders and cancelled Historically mine have been very low, lower than peer average.  I did identify last year that non delivery (or claimed non delivery no scan) was increasing as an issue and this tipped me into using fully tracked for everything prior to peek season.

I just went into eBay orders and in a few minutes pulled up cancelled orders, returns and disputes last 90 days.  Are you sure you need more of a system than a quick monthly/ quarterly look?