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!

[ozmonaut]

I don't doubt it and I have said in a previous comment that I'm one of the only people where I work that really uses eBay. Everyone else uses Facebook marketplace and the like.

I do find it a shame when a seller doesn't respond as I do read the description and view all photos before I decide to ask a pertinent question so only ask if the details aren't on the auction page and I do pay immediately.

I suppose eBay are their own worst enemy.

[nigel_paul_wright7557]

I have used facebook market place twice.

First time was fine.

Second time I was scammed out of £100.

He sent me a paypal email address and I paid.

Then he denied every getting payment.

I managed to get paypal to return the money.

[ozmonaut]

You were lucky. My work colleague bought something from there and the guy asked for a PayPal payment to friends and family then didn't send the goods. There is no recourse if you do it that way without putting it down for goods and services.

[insidethe93]

eBay says to wait 1 to 2 days for a reply.

If a planned holiday's going to be longer than that it's a good idea to use holiday settings, then buyers and potential buyers will know.

If a seller routinely can't reply within the advised 1 to 2 days, are there ways for them to put a message to that effect on their contact pages? Certainly there are some sellers who have the useful info on their pages that they respond to messages within 24 hours.

[gen_hire]

Spread the word that they are rubbish to deal with maybe

[sticky-art-uk]

And what does that achieve?

Buyers aren't going to remember loads of sellers name every time they go to order.

You'll also get added to sellers ban lists to stop you ordering from them and many sellers share the ban lists!

[nigel_paul_wright7557]

I found most business sellers have automated feedback setup.

Within 2 minutes of me leaving feedback I get feedback from the seller.

Either that or I get feedback the moment I make the purchase.

[ozmonaut]

You can do that through bad feedback. Unfortunately I have ignored some sellers bad feedback, instead deciding to give them a chance and it has come back to bite me. In the long run this has ended up with me suffering the same fate as the others who left bad feedback for the same reasons.

I have kept my own list now for a few years and it has sellers such as the one who sold me a genuine signed celebrity photograph that, on closer inspection, turned out to be a print of a genuine signed celebrity photograph and then didn't want to let me return it for a refund.

It's a shame that I have noticed some of these sellers have managed to get bad feedback left for them removed by eBay but then again I can imagine eBay doing this to keep sellers happy and try to get them to stay on the platform.

[lyndyluc1603]

I had that very thing happen to me a while back. I messaged the seller 3 times politely asking for measurements (which I also feel should be compulsory if the measurements are not photographed). So, I sent them 3 messages over the course of a couple of weeks, and had nothing back whatsoever.  The day after I'd sent my 3rd message to the seller I got an offer on the item. I was already frustrated at them so when I got that offer I was really p*ssed! So I declined the offer and left a message for the seller, spelling out exactly why I was declining the offer, saying 'If you can't be bothered to put very relevant information on your listings, then time and again not bother to reply to legitimate questions when the information given is so scant, then why bother listing anything?!' 

I wish there was a way we could put a mark or something against the sellers name, such as 'unreliable' or 'uncommunicative seller', that would show up on our screens when we view sky of their listings further down the line, so that we were reminded about them being like that, so that we didn't have to go through all those shenanigans again with them! 🤔🤨

Thank goodness most are not like this!

Happy New Year and happy buying! ☺️

[lyndyluc1603]

Hear hear! 👍

[lyndyluc1603]

Absolutely! Never did understand why measurements go up in two's! Crazy! 

[wildduck24]

I completely agree and it has nothing to do with what else is going on in the world.  Sellers are selling - buyers are buying therefore the buyers have questions.  Just answer even if it’s a day or two days just answer.  A seller selling clothes which she said was one size on the label but thought it came up small so I asked if she could measure.  I was told she doesn’t do measurements.  🤔

[eternalgazeratstars]

Three years on from your post, it is yet worse, it has become endemic - trying to get a reply from a lot of sellers nowadays, is like trying to get blood out of a stone. I agree, it is very odd, also very rude, extremely unprofessional & wholly disrespectful. I have sent messages to four sellers in the last week, I've received no replies - my being met with radio silence is frustrating & infuriating - I think they do it on purpose. I even currently have one seller, who has ignored my original message, then, sent me a 5% discounted offer on the CD, then, ignored my resending of the original message, to which I STILL want & need a reply, before I part with my cash. When I saw, on the offer message, the "this is your chance to get this for a great price" spiel, that it was in Polish, I used google translate, to resend my message again, in Polish, only to be ignored, again. All I wanted, was confirmation, that it would be sent via Royal Mail Large Letter, only. The guy that delivers the parcels for Royal Mail here is a rampant kleptomaniac - I wouldn't trust him with a soiled nappy - he has stolen CDs, DVDs, clothing, perfume, I am not buying any more gifts for that clown! He pretends that transit damage happens all the time - he tears the packaging, takes what he wants, then delivers the remains in an RM "apology" bag. Since it's a different guy that delivers the letters, and, he is, it seems, trustworthy, as items sent via Large Letter generally arrive intact, I simply want confirmation, that the CD will only pass through the hands of someone that works for Royal Mail, that can be trusted with other people's possessions. I give up!

[eternalgazeratstars]

Yes, especially high-value items, but, also, items that are as rare as rocking-horse doings, as, whether it's expensive or not, if it went walk-about, it would be nigh-on impossible to replace it for the same, often lower price offered, by that particular "C.B.A. to reply" seller. I don't think it cheeky to test the water - 'caveat emptor' has never been such an important thing to observe, as it has become nowadays. A cost-of-living crisis breeds greed on levels previously unseen. Fine, by me - they don't want my money - just move on & find someone who does. N.N.T.R. - No Need To Reply, is something I have always said, at the end of effusive messages of thanks to sellers, that I realise, can be either too busy to reply in full, or, embarrassed at being praised so & don't know what to say in response. It lets them off the hook, so they can get on & do their selling. After a sale, we are not entitled to expect a reply, if there is no problem. Before the sale, we are entitled to & should expect, a response in 48 hours, or less. What gets my goat like you wouldn't believe, are the amount of sellers that are not only sparse in their listing information (I scour the ENTIRE thing, BEFORE messaging), but are also failing to check messages in the couple of hours, or minutes, before their auctions are ending. C.B.A. is a contagious disease - I think I'm now infected.

[lyndyluc1603]

I hear you! I've had exactly the same experiences - VERY scant info given and nothing back from my extremely polite questions on size, (more & more sellers are even omitting that important detail!) condition of the item, (simply ticking a box saying 'Used' is hardly any help!) and measurements. Some sellers are just plain lazy. Thank goodness for the ones who are great. I even had a seller reply to a message yesterday saying she would give me the info required as soon as possible, but at the moment is in hospital, bless her! Now if she can acknowledge a question in that situation then there is no darn excuse for others not to reply!
I, like has been said, have also had auto offers sent on items I'm awaiting information on and even when replying "Thanks for the offer however I can not accept until you give me the information I've previously requested" -and still no response! I guess they're just thinking they'll get some sucker to buy anyway without having to give the relevant info!