Blocked For Seemingly No Reason

[k.blac_63]

Hi folks, I purchased some cigarette holders from a seller. I placed two orders within the past year, roughly. The first order hadn't arrived and I contacted the seller about two months after I had expected to receive it, requesting an update on the status of the delivery. They resolved the inquiry, I ended up receiving the order and all was well. I then lost one of the items and placed a second order of similar items to replace it. The second order arrived promptly, within the estimated time frame. The second order also included a "thank you" note and an option to sign up for a mailing list to be entered into a draw. I didn't sign up for the mailing list. All of the items purchased were "buy now" and paid upfront. I went to the seller to place another order and found out that I had been blocked. The only correspondence I had with them was to ask or answer basic inquiries, ie: requesting an update and receiving one or having them request clarification on shipping info from me and me providing it. I didn't leave any negative reviews or anything. I run a business so am quite careful to be polite and respectful, as I correspond with customers on a regular basis so am familiar with business communication. I was surprised and disappointed to discover I had been blocked, and there is no option for me to contact the seller. Has anyone else had something similar happen? Does anyone know why this might have occurred? I'm overly sensitive about communication and being polite as it is and I want to at least make an effort to understand what might have happened so I can avoid it in the future if I've possibly commited an eBay faux pas of which I'm unaware. I don't shop on eBay regularly and am somewhat unfamiliar with the culture and site, thus I would be grateful for any information regarding this sort of situation. Thanks kindly!

[marnotom!]

Only your seller knows for certain why they blocked you.  Here are a few observations from my end.  You don't show a lot of feedback on your profile despite having registered as an eBay user about three and a half years ago.  You appear pretty new and not very established.  A lot of scams are perpetrated by buyers who have zero or very low feedback.  The fact that you waited two months after expected delivery before bringing your issue to the seller's attention may have raised the seller's suspicions.   You also haven't left any feedback for your sellers, which this particular seller may have considered strange, and the fact that you declined to sign up for their mailing list may have just been the straw that broke the camel's back.

In short, your seller may have decided to nip things in the bud and cut their losses (and any other cliche that may be applicable here) out of concern that they may be looking at a rerun of the missing item scenario somewhere down the line.

(For what it's worth, I do my buying with a different eBay ID than this one.)

[imbuzzy]

Unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing you can do besides honouring his/hers competitors.

Sellers on eBay can block any buyer that they choose, and do it for any reason whatsoever.  This is a powerful tool that many sellers cherish and rightfully so.  I can't speak for other sellers, but I can give some insight...

Since I am a high volume, low value seller, I go under the idea that any problem transaction results in a net loss - no matter what - 100% of the time.  Even if the transaction is successfully completed with the buyer getting their item and me getting paid for it,  the amount of time and energy spent resolving the issue and communicating with the buyer costs much more in time away from making new listings than any profits from the sale likely produced.  Your formal selIer might have deemed you as high maintenance and might fear a repeat in history.  I don't block customers for this reason, but some may.  I prefer to work with the customer and look forward to a ongoing sales relationship with much repeated business.

For me, all buyers who get refunded due to non-delivery issues get blocked* unless they are repeat customers of mine.  I go under the assumption that if the item didn't arrive once, it won't arrive again to that same address.  Your seller might have a similar train of thought as me, but were to eager and quick to put you on the blocked bidders list and they might have forgotten to remove you from that list - this going on the fact that you stated that you did have one transaction that was slightly problematic.

Maybe you judged the seller too harshly in the star rating system in the feedback given.  I have blocked buyers for that reason in the past since the low value sale was not worthy of the blemish to my selling record, which could reduce my Top Rated Seller status and the financial perks that are rewarded with it.

I also block buyers that haggle me too much and try to really have my items for next to nothing and are persistant about it.  They obviously don't value my time.  Allowing best offers with no restrictions incurred helps me weed these type of buyers away from future wasted time.

There are countless reasons why sellers block buyers.

You are best off just adding the item to your saved searches and having eBay notify you when another one comes up for sale from someone else.

*blocked after at least 6 weeks have gone by to avoid late delivery issues and to allow communication lines to remain open in the meantime.

[lady.stark]

The first item that did not arrive after 2 months... did you open a case of Item Not Received? Did you get a refund? And more importantly, if you got a refund, did you pay the seller back when the item arrived?

I am not saying this is case here, but sellers do have the ability to block buyers with 2 non payment strikes within one year.

[femmefan1946]

For me, all buyers who get refunded due to non-delivery issues get blocked* unless they are repeat customers of mine. I go under the assumption that if the item didn't arrive once, it won't arrive again to that same address.

I agree. While it is just as likely to be the shipping service as the buyer, I don't want to take a chance.

Maybe you judged the seller too harshly in the star rating system in the feedback given. I have blocked buyers for that reason in the past since the low value sale was not worthy of the blemish to my selling record, which could reduce my Top Rated Seller status and the financial perks that are rewarded with it.

I don't think either feedback or DSRs are used by eBay to assess member accounts since so little is actually left and since most buyers don't understand either system. To my mind, they are just  pink fuzzies to make members feel good. Including those who leave negative feedback, but never open a Dispute which could actually resolve the problem.

[zee-chan]

I block buyers for similar reasons; delivery problems with address, demanding, unreasonable haggling, track record of negs etc.

And "politeness" is subjective. I work in a call center where I get demanding clients who say things like "I'm trying to be polite here" and what not, and they can be more difficult than people who actually used foul languages. Not saying that's OP but, just sayin'

[manscaveonline]

As a Power Seller eBay, the moment my spidey senses tell me someone is going to be a High Maintenenance customer I BLOCK !  Nip it before it becomes a costly time consuming problem. !!