Unsolicited email from sellers

[nojusticenopeace]

It's not happening every time, but it's happening often enough to make it irksome. Vendors seem to think buying from them is an open invitation to add your email address to their email advertising lists. The spam laws are lax enough that they give exemptions for companies with whom you have a "pre-existing business relationship," but it's still obnoxious as hell to start filling someone's in-box with advertising they haven't specifically requested. eBay doesn't seem to have any policies about this and there doesn't seem to be any way of blocking sellers from seeing my email address through the Paypal payment. Is this happening to other people too? Should I be sending a note with every purchase which says DO NOT SEND ME UNSOLICITED E-MAIL ADVERTISING?

[00nevermind00]

I've had it happen to me too (although not recently) and I agree that it is highly irritating. I don't understand what can possibly be gained by solliciting people who don't want to be and who may well start resenting you.

Look at the emails carefully: there should be an "Unsubscribe" link somewhere, although it may be difficult to find. Click that, and you should (theoretically) stop receiving spam from that specific source.

If the problem becomes too serious, you could create a throw-away email address that you use only for eBay. Once you start getting to many spam emails at that address, ditch it and create a new one. But hopefully it won't get to that point.

[lady.stark]

I also had the same problem with some sellers I bought from (mainly photo sellers or autograph sellers). Luckily, I was able to unsubscribe, and the system asked me the reason why I was unsubscribing. I always choose "I never asked to received these emails" or something along that line. It usually resolve the problem. Although I agree that it is very irksome and time consuming.

[nojusticenopeace]

Do you folks think it's fair to leave negative feedback for sellers who send you unsolicited advertising?

[pierrelebel]

"Do you folks think it's fair to leave negative feedback for sellers who send you unsolicited advertising?"

Most definitely NOT.

[nojusticenopeace]

Care to explain your rationale?  Junk email is theft of services.  We pay for our bandwidth.  Sending junk email is like send postage-due junk mail to your mailbox.  You'd be pretty mad if you have to give the mailman 2 cents every time he dropped off a flyer you didn't ask for or want.  Sending negative feedback seems to be the only way to provide a practical disincentive for spamming people who buy from you.  And it warns others that if they buy from this vendor, they'll get junk email.

[pierrelebel]

"Care to explain your rationale?"

Not really.

You asked a simple question and I gave you a simple answer.

In my book you are overthinking it.  You purchased an item and are satisfied with it - you leave positive feedback.  End of story. Time to move on.

Leaving neutral or negative feedback for such "issue" could very well backfire on you as many sellers would be reluctant to do business with you.  Many may even put you on the BBL (blocked bidder list).

You are new to eBay.  Please take some time to learn how buyers and sellers interact with each other.  Leaving negative feedback is done in last resort when a transaction goes bad.

[00nevermind00]

Pierre is correct. (Nothing new here.)

The feedback you leave for others says at least as much about you as it does about the recipient. Since buyers can only receive positive feedback, sellers check buyers' "Feedback left ror others" in order to assess who they will potentially be dealing with.

Don't let your irritation with junk emails mar your buyer reputation. You are not obligated to leave feedback. If you feel like leaving anything less than positive due to this issue, it's probably better not to leave any feedback at all.

[femmefan1946]

If you are getting unsolicitied emails, you can open your Junk Folder and deposit them in the Spam bucket.

Future spam will end up there not in your Inbox.

[nojusticenopeace]

Do you understand why junk email is not only forbidden by the TOS of every reputable ISP, but actually illegal in most countries?  It's not because it's annoying (it is).  It's because it's a theft of services.  Every piece of junk email you receive -- and even the ones you don't receive because your ISP has filtered them for you -- has cost you money.  Your ISP takes the cost of paying for the bandwidth and adds it to what you pay every month.  In 2012 in the US alone, junk email is estimated to have cost $20 BILLION.  That's not peanuts.  All so that spammers could make about $100 million in profit.  In other words, for every $1 in profit spammers make, they cost everyone else $200.  And that is why sending junk email is not acceptable.  I ran the spam desk at my ISP for five years.  I know from personal experience just how damaging junk email is.

[2011limey1]

Oh boy this bugs me too.  Only a few, when you press "Unsubscribe" actually work.  I've checked and re-checked my account re this but they still get through and when you try to Unsubscribe you get all kinds of pages from "Oops something went wrong" - try again later, etc.

Then I reply in huge bold text, not being very nice and sounding like a lawyer (Cease and Desist) etc. - lol and that if I get another one I will be reporting them to ebay and I cannot say what the ramifications will be for them LOL.   It seems to work!!

[lady.stark]

---

@pierrelebel wrote:

"Do you folks think it's fair to leave negative feedback for sellers who send you unsolicited advertising?"

Most definitely NOT.

---

Even though these unsollicited emails are irksome, I agree with Pierre. Simply because it doesn't have anything to do with the transaction itself. A buyer must leave feedback on the transaction experience only.

[nojusticenopeace]

The point of feedback is to provide guidance to other buyers, right?  I know that I, as a buyer, would never do business with anyone who intends to send me junk email.  The reason for feedback isn't to shill for the merchant, it's to assist other buyers.  Right?

[reallynicestamps · Accepted solution]

Well, both really.

It never hurts to give a compliment to someone who deserves it, even if he was just doing his job.

And if getting unsolicited emails really ticks you off, you can add a Response to any feedback, your own or the seller's, indefinitely.

While the most effective Responses are calm and factual, they are not required to be positive.

'Purchase fine, unsolicited email flood not appreciated. Please stop."

This doesn't affect the seller's FB percentage, and FB no longer has an effect on sellers' accounts, but it stands out on a page.

[nojusticenopeace]

Alright, given how serious sellers appear to be over negative feedback, I decided to send them positive feedback that said I didn't appreciate the unsolicited email ad...  and they sent me an unsolicited email ad in response.  Well, live and learn.  I'll never do business with that seller again.

[femmefan1946]

A Response is not a feedback.

It is a .... well, response to feedback. Either the seller's or your own.

Responses can be left indefinitely, and for sellers have the 'advantage' that they need not be positive.

Sellers cannot leave negative feedback, for good reasons since feedback is really only read by future customers, but Responses can give the seller's point of view for a negative transaction.

Which has nothing to do with your problem, but these Boards are read by more than just those posting.