Messages ignored by sellers

[neiwheat]

One thing that really is getting worse is seller communication, not responding to messages and basically treating buyers as a nuisance!

 I find this very odd and now will not buy from someone who can't be bothered to respond or interact even if I want the item.

I have messaged a few sellers numerous times and no reply, rude, unprofessional and disrespectful.

Your thoughts please!

[Anonymous]

That's why in all my ads I put loads of measurements in photo form with tape measure (as even if it was a size say 16, a size 16 from Topshop and a size 16 from wallis are way different!)

Personally I think it should be compulsory to do this

That way by providing all these measurements people can make a more uniformed decision and if they buy from you are more likely to buy again from you

I always provide chest ,waist, hips ,length measurements ,if someone wanted say a shoulder to hem measurement and I hadn't put one in photos  I would provided a photograph with tape measure for the person enquiring

Not a hardship to provide measurements!

[ozmonaut]

You are my ideal seller! As I mentioned in an earlier post people like you make it so much easier to buy from on eBay. As you say sizes from different manufacturers, although stating the same size, are actually different measurements. All I have to do is look at your photos and with the measurements already there I can decide straight away if something will fit me and if so I can bid or buy it. If only more sellers were like you.

I honestly don't know why someone would photograph and list clothing without measurements and expect to sell it when they also can't be bothered to answer any questions about size. Best to just move on from sellers like that as I'm not about to buy anything and take a chance that it fits to then have to send it back.

[Anonymous]

As I said I think e bay should make putting photos on cupulsory especially for items that no returns are accepted on Also 2nd hand items can shrink or stretch with washing and wearing over time I personally answer any questions that are from customersOr if its a measurement already available in the photos,I just politely point them in the right direction, if you want to sell something and someone shows a interest but need a bit more Info or say for example a dress measurement done from the back to the hem ,I am definitely going to provide that  information,  I mean if someone is too lazy to do that as a seller then they don't deserve the sale do they , and the buyer will move on to sellers that will bother with them 😊Sent from my Galaxy

[lyndseteste-0]

I have the same problem  . I paid for and item on 04/08/2023 and it’s now 13/08/2023 and still no item so I sent the seller a very polite message . I stated that I know life gets the way sometimes and comes to test us at times , I also hoped the Seller was okay and sent my best regards to them. Unfortunately I have not received a reply and therefore have no alternative but to open a case to try get my money back. All I know is that if I had won a bid and not paid then I would of been contacted and bombarded with calls and messages by both seller and eBay and would of probably been sanctioned for my actions yet because I have chose the “buy now” option I’m just ignored by the seller and left to try get my money back and the item I so badly wanted I can now no longer look forward to receiving😡

[Anonymous]

That's terrible,I would never treat a buyer like that  ,to me a happy customer could potentially be a returning customer I answer any questions from buyers as wellAs long as they aren't too bizarreI know what you mean though Some sellers are bad unfortunately you get thatOr you get bad buyers after a freebie so they lieIt's sad though on both fronts Sent from my Galaxy

[sharrelwright1970]

I'm the same especially when you've already asked questions about the item they ignore you yet send you an offer to save money on said item,

I don't do business with any of them.

Just imagine going in to a store and you ask the proprietor a question about this or that and he just ignores you while walking around doing nothing 

[arkwebus]

I have never seen the need to send messages about items. 

If the listing does not show the details I would move on.  If an item does not arrive when eBay say the latest date is I'd open a case for non receipt.   There is no point in contacting a seller who will have no clue as to the details of RM.  I suppose rarely the seller could say "oh yes - sorry - it slipped down behind the bookcase I'll send it at once"

If something is wrong with a delivered item then - again - open a case.  

There was a post "do you know in which country the watch was made?"  "I'd be tempted to reply "Yes thank you"   [acknowledgement to @jacl1957]

@neiwheat

[har-422267]

I also sent messages to sellers also e bay and yes NO REPLIES I may stop using E Bay !!

[nigel_paul_wright7557]

Not everyone has all day to answer messages on ebay.

Some sellers are selling hundreds of items a day.

[ozmonaut]

If they're so busy selling hundreds of items that they can't answer questions maybe they need to hire staff to do it for them or open a proper shop. To be perfectly honest, whether they're busy or not it's just downright rude to ignore people. However at the end of the day, as I have done when a question gets ignored, just delete the item from my watch list move on and buy elsewhere from someone who makes time to answer. I don't buy from ignorant people. As someone said earlier on this topic, would you go into a shop, ask a question about something in there, have the owner just act as if you weren't there and yet still buy from them? I think not.

[jckl1957]

I don't sell many items, although I am a busy person and value my time.

I don't always answer messages, especially the ones that ask questions that are covered in the listing or are subjective.

Do I combine postage?  Says I do in every listing.

How big is the brooch?  Have you looked at the photo of it next to the 10p piece and/or the ruler?

How bad is the tarnish on the back?  I have said there is some tarnish and there are clear photos.  It costs £3.75, not £375.

Etc. etc.

Experience has taught me that most people who ask questions (and I do mean the overwhelming majority) will never actually make a bid on an item.  Responding to questions is wasting my time.

The most annoying question?

'Will you be relisting the item?'

You mean the one that was up for sale for 10 days, that I have relisted three times already?  I certainly will.

I had one of those last weekend.

I did relist the item.

Has the enquirer (who, by the way, got a very polite reply and a thank you for taking an interest in my items) made a bid?

No.

Time. Wasted.

[ozmonaut]

Well, This morning I deleted another listing from my watch list. It was a shirt I was really after and would have paid the buy it now price but I messaged the seller over 4 days ago about the chest size (which wasn't listed in the description or photos) and they haven't had the courtesy to reply. Do they really think someone will say "Oh yes I really like that shirt, I'm going to buy it and just take a chance that it fits," then just buy it? The shirt costs over £50 second hand and I'm not going to waste that kind of money with them if they can't be bothered. Funny old thing but it is the only thing they have listed so obviously they are strapped for time and don't have a minute to get a tape measure out!

I have asked questions about an item then not bid on it because it turns out that the answer proved that it wasn't what I was looking for. I have also asked a seller if they are going to relist something because I came across it for the first time and it had less than a minute to go on the bidding and all I had time to do was add it to my watch list, I didn't know they'd relisted it so many times before!

Unfortunately it's a buyers market not a sellers one. I regularly buy items for way less than sellers who have them listed with buy it now want (I also watch stupidly priced buy it now items do the rounds of ending and then getting relisted, I use them as a reminder of what I'm looking for at a decent price.)  Sometimes it takes months or years but that certain thing will come along and I'm very patient.

[ozmonaut]

In fact after quite a few years on eBay I've now decided that if a listing doesn't give measurements anywhere in the description or photos I'm not even going to entertain watching bidding or buying it, I'll just move on. I'm not going to waste MY time asking the question. Some sellers consider Small, Medium or Large to be a universal indicator of actual size. Sellers loss!

[bits_n_bobs_heaven]

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@neiwheat wrote:

One thing that really is getting worse is..........................

eBay failing messaging system that sometimes send out messages and sometimes not. The same is also true with replies sent and received. I sometimes have to send a reply message 2 or 3 times because when I check my sent messages, no reply message has been sent from me, even though I've sent one!

It's so easy to blame both sellers and buyers for not communicating, yet no one seems to believe that eBay could possibly fail in sending messages, but it does regularly!

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[ozmonaut]

Failing message system excuse doesn't quite cut it when you have sellers on this forum topic that have openly stated that they don't reply because they consider it a waste of time. Sorry.

[locoscripters]

This is very true and has happened to me many times.We don't get email addresses now, even with an order, something they copied from nasty, grasping,  paranoid azanon. So we are stuck with a sub standard messaging system which doesn't always work.

[mrq-private]

"Failing message system excuse doesn't quite cut it when you have sellers on this forum topic that have openly stated that they don't reply because they consider it a waste of time. Sorry."

A very fair point in my view; they don't deserve the business... particularly if they're doing it as a business.  It's donkey-headed foolishness to ignore even the most 'trivial' of enquiry; treating people well and fairly in business is how good paying regular clients are won!

However - as a buyer ( I gave up trying to sell anything on eBay years ago - and am increasingly discouraged by all the nonsense they put people through)   ...I do not 'see' messages unless I manually open my messages folder.  - i.e. there is no little number  (which used to appear) in the messages tab; nothing notified in that daft red bell thing which I rarely open because it's full or irrelevant twaddle etc.  

Quite often i discover there have been 'offers' made by sellers which are long-expired by the time I see the message... most of these offers are complete rubbish; but once or twice I've seen some that I might have taken up but misse dout. 

It's entirely possible that many sellers - particularly amateur sellers - just do not see incoming requests for information.   ...Just one of the many 'schoolboy error' coding erors that litter the platform. 

[locoscripters]

I understand why some sellers ignore questions, especially if they are obvious ones, but I just think it looks bad if you don't respond.  Somehow unprofessional.  

Every market has its time wasters but we can't assume everyone is. And personally my mantra is "no reply, don't buy". 

A recent example: a part for my car comes in two sizes. Ebay claims both will fit my vehicle. Thus I will ask the seller's advice, same as if I  walked into a motorist's store. 

And you just can't expect people to read the small print because none of us have time to.

[Anonymous]

I have been a seller ( auctions) since 2012 , I ALWAYS respond , it's rude not too, I mean for me it would be like going into a shop to buy something and the assistants ignoring me, plus each potential answer to a question is a possible sell!

I always on clothing do lots of Photo Measurements as then  people can see for themselves if it will fit them,(I think e-bay should make that compulsory btw!)

Just because a dress may be from say TU ,doesn't mean it hasn't got baggy or shrunk a bit with washing!

I will always answer questions , have had a few weird ones ,like " will this dress fit me "?( I don't know you so I can't tell!)

And I always send items out washed and wrapped not just shoved in a postal bag !

If you look after customers they will come back!!

[bmmoh38]

 I bought 2 items each 10.97 in April unused till this month I start using after few days it stopped working when checked battery fluid found inside . I contacted seller and ebay many times no Answer.  

Please don't buy from ebay. I was buying 20 years . After some time you don't get Answer or help or your money back .

If you buy from local store can change or get refund but ebay and dodgy sellor would not respond your emails. 

Thanks for taking my money £22.00  for 2 items and sending me faulty dangerous Chinese stuff  items. THANK YOU FOR NOT RESPONDING. 

PLEASE STOP BUYING STUFF ON EBAY .