Sellers: When a Buyer Asks a Question

[gilliankehler]

I was reading on the .com forums that some sellers get pretty irked when a buyer asks a question. One seller in particular blocked a buyer when he asked her for the chest measurement of an article of clothing! There were a lot of sellers in agreement with her on the same thread (I would have just responded to that thread but an ebay page error sent me here!).

I encourage my buyers to ask any and all questions before buying because I don't want them to be disappointed when the item shows up in the mail, and having to refund them. And as an ebay buyer, I most definitely WILL ask questions and ask for measurements about the item before buying for that very reason! However I have noticed a disturbing trend of sellers not responding to my requests for clothing measurements and other item specifics (fabric content etc). Is this actually a thing? Are some sellers wary of inquisitive buyers, and why? I mean, I can see if the buyer is asking like dozens of questions - in that instance I personally would just block them! - but one or two questions should be expected. I'm surprised actually that I don't get more questions, because as a buyer I'm quite willing to ask any question I might have.

Any thoughts on this?

[ricarmic]

I welcome questions from buyers.

Normally buyers asking questions is helpful to insure satisfactory experience from the buyers perspective.

However, once one has been a seller long enough, one gets to know which questions predict upcoming problems from the person asking questions, and in extreme circumstances may warrant preventing them from buying.

I cannot remember the last time I blocked someone based on questions they asked so it would be rare indeed (at least in my category).

I suspect the sellers you are seeing are reacting the same way as those who block a country after they lose a package to that country, perhaps they had a buyer that asked questions and then was a problem so from that point on they don't answer questions.... 

PS I know of buyers who purposefully ask questions before they buy. If the seller responds professionally and politely they buy. If the seller does not respond or isn't professional they don't buy.

[rose-dee]

I completely agree with 'ricarmic's' comments.  I would never out of principle block a buyer simply because they asked a question to get more information about an item.  

It's possible there was more to the story concerning the complaining seller on the .com board.  

As 'ricarmic'  says, I suppose there are situations where a buyer asks a bizarre question or makes an unusual comment (such as "is that a loose thread I see hanging from the sweater?"), or asks questions over and over in different ways, that might lead one to suspect this buyer is going to be a particular problem.  I would say that if a buyer starts out by complaining before buying, it might be a consideration to block them. 

However, I've never actually had to block a buyer for that reason in all the years I've been selling on eBay.  I'm very glad to get a request for further details, because it means the buyer is likely to be happier with their item. 

[pjcdn2005]

You might not get a lot of questions because you provide good details in your listing already. But then I often get questions when the answers are already available in the title, specifics or description. To be honest I may shake my head when I get a question that is already answered but I always reply with the correct answer politely but I really do want people to ask any questions that they may have.

I don't block someone when they ask questions, however, it does seem that when a potential buyer asks a few question...they often don't buy anyway. Or...they end up being a pain when they do buy.   I think that some sellers assume that this is going to happen when a lot of questions are asked so they block. I wouldn't do that but I am wary when someone asks many questions.

Some sellers block all questions. I won't deal with a seller if they refuse to answer my question.

You were probably reading a board on ebay.com and couldn't reply there because you were signed into .ca rather than .com. If you want to reply to a post there, just sign into ebay. com.

[femmefan1946]

I respond to all questions, and if the question is about something I missed, I will post it so that other potential customers can see it.

The customer who would get blocked would be one who starts out by complaining, or who seems very 'off' in her questions (drunk or unbalanced). I once long ago randomly looked at a questioner's feedback and Blocked him before he could bid, because he had left nothing but negative feedback, ignoring his positive transactions.

[mr.elmwood]

Ebay states that the majority of people who ask questions never buy.

My car parts fit a specific make, model, and year. If you are asking a question about fitment, you do not know what you are doing.

A technical question about operation is different. Some parts break in ways the average seller is unaware of: "Do the window switches spring back to the neutral position" is a not uncommon question. 

[zee-chan-jpn-books]

If the buyer asks a really out of the blue question,combined with their feedback history (ie leaving lots of negs and neutrals for sellers) then yeah I'd instantly block.

[jt-libra]

I welcome questions as well but, as ricarmic stated, sometimes you get a feeling that a transaction is going to be problematic.  I've never blocked on that basis but I have provided minimal information to perhaps discourage the purchase.

I do recall, however, that eBay, a couple of years ago, issued a policy or a bulletin regarding communication between seller and buyer.  I can't put my hands on it right now but the gist of it was that if a seller had a 1-day handling time and uploaded tracking information promptly and had no communication with the buyer, they would automatically get a 5-star DSR for Communication.  I know there were many threads on the subject because it didn't make sense to most of us  It's possible that that may be the reason why a lot of sellers don't acknowledge questions.

[gifts_of_elegance]

I answer all questions but I do get really annoyed when the answer is right there in the listing.  I try to limit my description to 2 lines and that includes description, measurements,  condition,  brand, hallmarks, packaging, and guarantee of Authenticity if its a brand name.

If they can write then why can't they read?

[pjcdn2005]

The policy you are referring to is still in effect as far as I know but questions from 'potential buyers' wouldn't affect that. It only comes into play once a purchase has already been made.

[zee-chan-jpn-books]

---

@jt-libra wrote:

I welcome questions as well but, as ricarmic stated, sometimes you get a feeling that a transaction is going to be problematic.  I've never blocked on that basis but I have provided minimal information to perhaps discourage the purchase.

---

The funniest question by far I have had was someone asking if the cookie-shaped keychains I was selling were edible. 

Others unreasonable ones I have had was whether I would "include" translation for the books I sell. There were a couple people who asked this question, and once I replied no, or quoted a price for translation, they'd of course stop responding and not buy.

Other more common questions were whether or not I'd accept an offer of XXX if they buy multiple items. Those are my favourite questions and most of the time my answer is yes 

[momcqueen]

It depends on the question and the history of that buyer's Feedback Left For Others.

If the question is something already covered in the listing, I sigh and answer it very politely using the information that is already there.

If the question is something I haven't covered, I post the Question and Answer to the listing so others may see it.

If the question is, 'Can you sell it to me for 90 per cent less than your posted price and give me free shipping?' or 'Do you take trades?' or 'Why don't you (something obscene) instead of asking those prices' then my standard response is 'Thank you for your kind offer, however, at this time I must decline' and then I block them.

It would be nice to see who is blocked that way from purchasing in the Buyer Requirements Activity afterwards but it seems only to show Unpaid Strikes and Countries I Don't Ship To.

Now, Feedback Left For Others.....

I really don't think that the people leaving feedback give any thought to how it looks on them, only how it looks on the person they're giving it to. I used to comb through feedback left for my counterparts looking for off-balance comments and blocking those IDS proactively but ebay ended that fun when they made all feedback-leaving IDs anonymous to outsiders. I wish they had not done that. It was very useful. A member who leaves deranged feedback for more than one seller is likely to leave it for all sellers, and I don't trust the system in place to catch it quickly enough. At least, not from what I've seen.