eBay Sellers Who Ignore Messages

[+sixersfan105]

Curious as to everyone's take on this. I sell items on occasion on eBay and I know there are more "professional" sellers here on the Forums, too, and it just baffles my mind when I come across eBay sellers who flat out ignore messages that I send. My messages could be about a question on the description, price, etc., and without fail, there are sellers I have come across who just never respond. I get that everyone's busy, but it just seems so strange to me when messages go ignored. I suppose not everyone sees the value in customer service like I do, but what do you all think?

[kennybrooks]

I have found most people that ask questions are more likely to be unhappy with a purchase.  Plus, ebay itself provides terrible customer service, why should the people who pay to use it be any different?

[+sixersfan105]

6 minutes ago, kennybrooks said:

I have found most people that ask questions are more likely to be unhappy with a purchase.  Plus, ebay itself provides terrible customer service, why should the people who pay to use it be any different?

Really? That's interesting. I've had plenty of great conversations and transactions with sellers that likely would not have even been possible without conversing via messaging. It's possible that people who ask questions might be pickier about things, but is that really a reason not to respond from the get-go as a blanket rule? Seems silly. I agree that eBay customer service isn't good, but that's terrible logic to not run your own business with pride and provide the best service possible. None of us can control eBay's customer service or lack thereof, but we can each run our businesses to the best of our abilities.

[zzip]

I have a tendency to list things, and then come back in a week to see what sold, and ship it out.   There have been messages that I don't see in time,   I mean, it's kinda rare that I even get messages, so that's why I'm not really watching for them

[doubledown]

Generally the only "ignored" messages I've come across occur when the seller is a generic re-seller (not a collector or "knowledgeable about the item" type person).  Usually its regarding some sort of "rare" item or large lot of stuff, whereas I'm asking a specific question about the item (working condition or the likes), or I've requested better pics of a specific item in the lot (to verify its physical condition), and I get absolutely no response.  The only items I sell on ebay are (for the lack of a better word) "collectible" items and I usually have great knowledge about the item and if a question comes my way I'm more than happy to answer it.  But again, I'm not listing 1000 items I bought at garage sales hoping to get $2-$3 per item.  

[+Starwander]

I agree it is more common than you think and it is very frustrating. When I used to sell heavily on E-Bay I would answer every question even the ones where I would roll my eyes doing so.  

[Tanooki]

I've had it happen with increasing frequency, not exactly as often with just a blind question asking about something that wasn't clear (picture or text) about an item, but when trying to make an offer.  Is it that hard when you put up say a $20 item, if I offer $15 to either tell me to piss off with a straight up denial or send back some counter?  It's becoming fairly often I'm now seeing people abuse the BIN/offer setup since it's free to just try and goad people into ticking up their offers until they're only like a dollar or two off full price being total time wasters.

[+sixersfan105]

I agree, @Tanooki - super annoying! Then again, recently I had someone accept my $40 offer when their list price was $75. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised!

 

If I haven't heard from a seller on an offer I have made, I will often message them towards the end of the offer window, and often they thank me, saying they never got a notification of my offer.

[R.Cade]

On 11/12/2019 at 11:52 AM, sixersfan105 said:

Curious as to everyone's take on this. I sell items on occasion on eBay and I know there are more "professional" sellers here on the Forums, too, and it just baffles my mind when I come across eBay sellers who flat out ignore messages that I send. My messages could be about a question on the description, price, etc., and without fail, there are sellers I have come across who just never respond. I get that everyone's busy, but it just seems so strange to me when messages go ignored. I suppose not everyone sees the value in customer service like I do, but what do you all think?

 

If people ask me questions that are easily answered from the actual listing, or from brief research they should be doing anyway, then I assume they are stupid and won't answer. If they ask a legitimate meaningful question, no problem.

 

Are you asking "Hey, what is the exact model number or that?" then that is fine. 

Are you asking "What is the least you will take for this?" then that is annoying. There should be a starting bid or a buy it now that answers that. 

Are you asking "Dumbass, Where did you get that price?" then that is annoying. Don't bid and wait until it gets lowered, or I will keep it.
 

Maybe it's just the kinds of things I sell.

Many sellers are just junk dealers and don't know and it isn't worth bothering answering your questions. Just move on or research and take the risk.

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2019 by R.Cade

[HoshiChiri]

I don't buy from sellers who don't answer questions, period. If you don't care enough to both a)make your listing as clear as possible, and b) keep tabs enough on your account to get back to me in a reasonable time, then I don't trust you to care enough to pack & ship my item carefully & quickly. 

 

As for 'obvious' questions- I'm sure some are definitely stupid questions, but some people are gun-shy due to sellers outright lying about things. I recently bought a boxed copy of Starhawk for Vectrex whose listing said 'box top is grungy'. Yeah, no- box top was MISSING. Not a big deal for me, becuase studying the picture I went in expecting that (it was quite cheap for a boxed Vectrex game). Doesn't change the fact that the guy lied. Asking a dumb question is a good way to avoid a dealbreaking listing error/lie, as well as find out if the seller is paying proper attention to their account.

 

I'm with Tanooki on the BINs- getting ignored when you submit an offer is infuriating. I'm not just gonna sit around while you wait to see who's got the best offer! Say yes or no so I can either pay or shop elsewhere!

[Tanooki]

Well I've given the Civ for Switch dude a couple tries, I'm done giving a crap.  I was able to catch a deal on Dragon Quest 11S for $40 so that's going to suck my time up instead while that clown is still sitting on his unsold game that has been up for weeks.  I get sitting on stuff for a bit if you feel it's worth it, but at some rate you drop it, keep it, or remove the BIN if you're that stubborn as it's as stupid as it is rude.

[Flojomojo]

I'm an occasional eBay seller. Most of the questions I receive are obnoxious offers to end the auction and sell to them directly, usually at an insultingly low price. I reply politely that I would prefer to let the auction play out, and wish them happy bidding. I always click the "post it on the auction page for others to see" which seems to cut down on stupidity. 

 

If someone can't answer questions about the stuff they're selling, they might not be worth sending money to. 

[VectorGamer]

Here's an example of a message I ignored

Quote

Is there any chance of re-listing these auctions as I'm interest in all the 7800 carts but the Global Shipping Program doesn't allow for combined shipping!
Each cart would cost me US$30 to in postage!
Please?

 

 

[R.Cade]

FYI, I know this used to be the case, but recently I had a buyer somehow combine the shipping. It was beyond my control, but somehow GSP did it for him.