Ebay automatically opens dispute when buyer asks question

[rafael.xavier]

Lately I see people opening dispute just to ask question is and it's getting stressful.

So I tried to ask a seller question "I haven't received my item yet" and when pressing the link or buttong to "Contact seller" it goes straight to Resolution Center with fields ready to open a dispute. 

This behaviour is not present on Canadian Ebay, here it goes to email form like before.

Micromanagement at it's best. I hate it.

[brandeentertainment]

I am not on dot com but this has nothing to do with you ... It happens when the buyer goes about it the wrong way . Supposdly the proper link to ask the questions is there somewhere ....

This happens to me ALOT and I have brought it up on these boards MANY TIMES... It's got nothing to do with you and ebay has stated there will be no changes so enjoy the ride

[brandeentertainment]

I can't believe this is a topic and people are answering him in this manner considering it has not only been brought up in Discussion board but also weekly boards atleast 2 or 3 time by myself and once or twice by others....

There is a way for the American buyer to ask you a question WITHOUT FILING CASE .....

[pjcdn2005]

The poster that you replied to last posted in 2013 so I don't know if they will every see your response.

Yes, there is a way for a question to be asked without opening a case but it is not always obvious to the buyer that a case is going to be opened if they follow the path that ebay directs them to.

[cumos55]

Lots of comments about this

ask a question and open a case

on ebay.com.

Sellers are very unhappy... It appears.. for now... eBay will not be changing things

[38e_avenue]

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Then what is the problem? Is it the word "case" instead of "email".

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Well, here is the problem: email counts not as a defect. An opened case - YES!

Happened 4 times to me recently! 

[38e_avenue]

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@pierrelebel wrote:

"Hence the stress."

Let me be blunt: if you stress because a buyer questions when and how you shipped an item, mail order through eBay or elsewhere may not be for you.

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Really? I am selling here since 12 years and I am still and always STRESSED if I get a "where is my item" question.

However, if a seller doesn't care about the quality of the service provided, stress will be not present.   

[rose-dee]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

Yes, there is a way for a question to be asked without opening a case but it is not always obvious to the buyer that a case is going to be opened if they follow the path that ebay directs them to.

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I agree -- if this weren't so, then why would there be so many incidents of buyers apologizing for having inadvertently opened a case? 

The true answer seems to be the one given by an eBay.ca staffer in a recent Wed. discussion -- the current seller/buyer communication setup on eBay is deliberately designed to accommodate big volume sellers who neither have the time nor the inclination to respond to every customer query. 

Such sellers also have the sales turnover to absorb the occasional defect when a misdirected question opens a case, so the trade-off works well for them: far less direct buyer contact in exchange for the odd "accidental" case.  In other words, eBay would rather buyers not find the "Other" option first -- route them to an automated answer rather than to the seller directly. 

Since it's motivated by broader considerations, I agree with 'brande' that it's doubtful eBay will ever change this.