@zee-chan wrote:
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
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.
@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!
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 
@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!
@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.
