question about blocked bidders

Can a blocked bidder still leave me a personal message on ebay ? In other words does blocking  bidders only prevent them from buying from me ?

 

I ask this because I blocked my last buyer and since I haven't heard from him since (regarding the sale), I had a nagging thought that it might have blocked him from even writing to me through the ebay messaging system.

Message 1 of 60
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59 REPLIES 59

Re: question about blocked bidders

Yes, I definitely received your message, Tyler. 

Message 21 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

Digging up a not-quite-zombie thread...

I just blocked a "buyer" who made a fair offer (12% off) on one of my books. I was planning to accept the offer but oh boy, that feedback left to others history was painful to read. 10+ years eBay buyer & seller, was around when sellers were still able to leave buyers negative feedback. They left many negs to buyers and left many nit-picky negatives/neutrals to sellers. Complained about things having scratches, sellers over-charged shipping by a few dollars, or that sellers were slow to ship... They still left neutrals to those that they got refund on. And half of those sellers aren't NARU'ed sellers either. So I decided to block this buyer and declined their offer. Hopefully they won't try to make a new account to buy, or try to message me... I certainly don't want to deal with this person judging from that feedback left history. The potential headache is not worth it.

Message 22 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders


@zee-chan wrote:

tyler@ebay

 

However, direct message via username page's "contact" link (where you indicate your question isn't about an item) worked! So I guess Maureen was right; people could still direct message even when they are on Best Buddies List sob


I use this solution sometimes when a seller block all other countries except the US. I just want to ask them if they would ship to Canada. Most of the times, they agree. So please do not change that for us buyers!

 

Although I agree that if the seller has blocked you personally, you should not be able to use that method.

Message 23 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

tyler@ebay

Sadly this buyer that I just blocked has sent a direct message to me asking why they couldn't buy it via buy-it-now (I have declined their offer). So clearly this hasn't been fixed, and I have checked my account setting / site preference and made sure I did have that box (blocked bidder cannot message me) checked last night.

I'm trying to decide how to reply, or if I should simply ignore the message......

And Tyler, another off-topic thing that I would you to look into fixing, is that if I edit my message with my phone, the tyler@ebay would disappear so I had to retype it in.
Message 24 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

tyler@ebay

Oh what the heck! I looked at the message again and realized that the message was sent via asking a question about the listing itself!! It wasn't a direct message!! I never communicated with this buyer, and when I declined the offer, I left the message box blank. Did the Offer history counted as previous purchase?!?! It's stupid that a blocked buyer can message me!!!!!! Argh what a way to ruin my weekend after working 60 hours with sore legs. Why does eBay let a blocked buyer message sellers even when no previous transaction was done?!

Looking for opinions on what to do.

1. Ignore the message
2. Tell them that sorry, I have reviewed their location and I can't mail to their location
3. Tell them that sorry, as per our store policy, we cannot sell to buyers who have left over 10 negative feedbacks to sellers
4. Tell them upfront, that sorry, your feedback left to others history sounded like a nightmare, so I don't want to deal with you
5. Simply tell them sorry, I cannot sell to your account (without giving any reason)


Obviously I'm tempted to pick #4 haha, but that'd create new headache ..... *Sighhhhhhh*
Message 25 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

This is an ironic discussion, I also this week got a message from a buyer I've previously blocked, it has been years since that last happened.

 

My golden rules around blocked buyers:

-I do not keep the reason around why I blocked them**

-I never* respond to emails/messages from them asking why they can't purchase something afterward.

 

*I have twice now in the last 20 years "reinstated" blocked buyers, both for different reasons which are too long to discuss here, and in both cases everything was fine afterward with them.

 

**I do this so if it ever does happen that I respond I can advise that I don't remember why they were blocked.

Message 26 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

Yeah. I think I'm gonna take the ignore approach for now... If the buyer messages me again, or if they try to buy a different account, then I'll see what to do then.
Message 27 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

Ignore them now and ignore them in the future.

 

Their feedback won't change and become nice.

Message 28 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

The issue with blocked buyers being able to still contact sellers will never be fixed; it’s been existing as long as I’ve been selling, and the mobile version of eBay Community doesn’t allow tagging members or uploading photos from screenshots, both of which are inconveniences.
Message 29 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders


@zee-chan wrote:
tyler@ebay

Oh what the heck! I looked at the message again and realized that the message was sent via asking a question about the listing itself!! It wasn't a direct message!! I never communicated with this buyer, and when I declined the offer, I left the message box blank. Did the Offer history counted as previous purchase?!?! It's stupid that a blocked buyer can message me!!!!!! Argh what a way to ruin my weekend after working 60 hours with sore legs. Why does eBay let a blocked buyer message sellers even when no previous transaction was done?!

Looking for opinions on what to do.

1. Ignore the message
2. Tell them that sorry, I have reviewed their location and I can't mail to their location
3. Tell them that sorry, as per our store policy, we cannot sell to buyers who have left over 10 negative feedbacks to sellers
4. Tell them upfront, that sorry, your feedback left to others history sounded like a nightmare, so I don't want to deal with you
5. Simply tell them sorry, I cannot sell to your account (without giving any reason)


Obviously I'm tempted to pick #4 haha, but that'd create new headache ..... *Sighhhhhhh*

Hi @zee-chan - a buyer can ask a question on an item, even if they're on your blocked bidder list. The intent here is to offer a recourse in the event that they were in a transaction or purchase with you, or needed some other avenue to contact you to consider an appeal. 

 

A buyer should not be able to send you a direct message not tied to a specific item (though in past testing that seemed to work sporadically, a report for tech on that one). 

 

I agree with @ricarmic's way of thinking on how to handle it from here, now that they're blocked.

 

Sorry to hear about your sore legs, hoping there's a nice warm bath in your future!

Tyler,
eBay
Message 30 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

Update: So I never replied to their previous message and they never sent a new message. Today the book was sold at listed price to possibly this same buyer (same zip code, same city)... their "second" account also has a rather high feedback score (first account 600, second account 300) and was created 15+ years ago. It also has left a bunch of negatives and neutrals to other sellers.

Oddly enough, despite I set free shipping to both Canada and US, they paid $5 shipping (what I charge for international) and still gave me a US shipping address... trying to decide what to do now. I thought this is against eBay's rule to buy with a different account when you're blocked?

1. Refund and block again
2. Proceed to ship as usual (no, I'm NOT paying an extra $10 out of pocket for tracking)

 

tyler@ebay  do you have any advice for me?

Message 31 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/unwelcome-malicious-buying-policy?id=4375

Clearly states: You can't use another account to buy or bid on an item if you're on a seller's blocked bidder or buyer list. Unfortunately on the "Report Buyer" list, this isn't one of the default options I can select. 

Message 32 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

@zee-chan 

they paid $5 shipping (what I charge for international) and still gave me a US shipping address... I'm NOT paying an extra $10 out of pocket for tracking)

 

Well, actually, wouldn't that be $5 since they overpaid shipping?

 

How's your Cookie Jar Insurance looking these days?

 

 

Message 33 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

If I don't look at the 4 INRs I got a few years ago, then my cookie jar is doing quite good! I even had a $300 sale last week from a repeat buyer so my cookie jar is thriving thanks to her lol. 

$5 or $10 is not quite the point here... the thing is, there is no guarantee that this buyer won't trash my DSR and leave me a negative feedback just because I used tracking. It simply means they can't file an INR or give me a late shipment defect, and that's about it, really =\ They did leave negative feedback to sellers who are slow/doesn't respond to messages... and I ignored her message last week, so I could already foresee this woman leaving me a negative for ignoring her previous message. 

 

I'm still 50/50 about to proceed to ship or to refund and cancel slight_frown

Message 34 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

IMO you should absolutely cancel the sale, then block this second user ID.

Then delist the item and set it on your shelf for a few months to a year before relisting it.  Otherwise, that blocked bidder will find another friend to buy it.  And because of the trouble they had to go through, they will instantly neg you.

Message 35 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders


@zee-chan wrote:

Update: So I never replied to their previous message and they never sent a new message. Today the book was sold at listed price to possibly this same buyer (same zip code, same city)... their "second" account also has a rather high feedback score (first account 600, second account 300) and was created 15+ years ago. It also has left a bunch of negatives and neutrals to other sellers.

Oddly enough, despite I set free shipping to both Canada and US, they paid $5 shipping (what I charge for international) and still gave me a US shipping address... trying to decide what to do now. I thought this is against eBay's rule to buy with a different account when you're blocked?

1. Refund and block again
2. Proceed to ship as usual (no, I'm NOT paying an extra $10 out of pocket for tracking)

 

tyler@ebay  do you have any advice for me?


Hi @zee-chan - I definitely do! Please contact CS and have them look this over so they can take appropriate action. 

 

Please do not cancel the transaction until after you've worked with CS on this. I prefer the social media team for CS issues as they are very good at what they do and you can send them a private message with the information and they'll work on it and get back to you (no waiting on hold listening to hold music that, let's be frank, is never good). 

 

You can contact via Twitter or Facebook, and they'll usually reply within a few hours. If you send them a private message with your registered email address, first and last name on file and post code in addition to the other details of the situation they'll be able to quickly find your account and be able to assist. Thanks!

Tyler,
eBay
Message 36 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

@zee-chan 

, there is no guarantee that this buyer won't trash my DSR and leave me a negative feedback...They did leave negative feedback to sellers who are slow/doesn't respond to messages...

 

FWIW- neither DSRs nor FB mean anything when eBay is assessing your selling account.

And of course, any customer could do that, right out of the blue because they can.

Small comfort when future customers see that ugly red donut on your FB page.

 

 

Message 37 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

I know that feedback and DSR don't impact seller dashboard, but I had my 100% feedback ever since I started on eBay, and now that buyers rarely leave feedback, one negative feedback would probably knock my percentage to like 90% 😞
Message 38 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders

I've messaged them on Twitter and I'll see if I get any reply. What I want to know is, if I do decide to cancel the sale (and I'll message the buyer a link to the unwelcomed buyer policy), and the buyer decides to give me a negative, do I have any grounds to request eBay to get that negative feedback removed?

tyler@ebay
Message 39 of 60
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Re: question about blocked bidders


@zee-chan wrote:
I've messaged them on Twitter and I'll see if I get any reply. What I want to know is, if I do decide to cancel the sale (and I'll message the buyer a link to the unwelcomed buyer policy), and the buyer decides to give me a negative, do I have any grounds to request eBay to get that negative feedback removed?

tyler@ebay

Hi @zee-chan - it's hard for me to make you a promise before feedback has been left, but should that happen I would definitely want you to contact me or CS for review. 

Tyler,
eBay
Message 40 of 60
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