how to block a member sending me messages

[m3399]

How can I block another member,sending me unwanted mesages?

[dmil8030]

<< How can I block another member,sending me unwanted mesages? >>

I will assume that kindly asking the person not to contact you further has failed and that the incoming volume is

so great that simply deleting unwanted messages would have you clicking your fingers to the nub.  

To begin, I trust you have added this person to your 'blocked bidder' list.  If not, do it now:

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/manage_bidders_ov.html#block

If that does not seem to do the trick (such as if the person has bought from you before and is using past messages

to launch a new quest until that option wears off), then at the bottom of every message you will see an info box:

Marketplace Safety Tip,  from which you can click to Report an inappropriate email.  

Most people will go away if they sense they are being nudged out the door.  But there are always odd-balls in the 

world, so if you have someone who is clearly making you nervous and none of the other means to close the door 

to this person seem to work (such as the person getting a new ID to contact you afresh) you may need to call ebay 

and report the whole mess to them.  

For now, however, try what you can, -- and always be kind to irritating people.  They can't help the way they are 

and most do not try to annoy you on purpose.  (Unless you've got some weird stalker,  . . . that's different).

Best of luck. 

[momcqueen]

In many cases, you simply cannot.

It is unfortunate but if you have ever done business with them, as a buyer or seller, they will be able to continue to contact you no matter what 'block' you attempt to use.

What you can and should do if the messages are profane and/or threatening is call ebay Customer Service to report them as a member. Don't use the Report a Buyer function, it affects nothing of importance that I can discern. You must call and have those messages flagged in ebay Messages for the CS Rep to see. 

And take the high road, don't goad the person. Most of the time, these types are looking for fuel to their fire.

Report, breathe deeply and move onward. Ignore it as best you can.

But do report it to Customer Service. If the person is doing this to you, he or she may be doing it to others and eventually ebay will take action but only if they know about it.

If the messages say, however: 'I know where you live and I'm coming to beat the %$^& out of you!' then that's a call to the police. First, the police and then ebay. 

I've been in your shoes, hang in there. 

[momcqueen]

 ....If that does not seem to do the trick (such as if the person has bought from you before and is using past messages

to launch a new quest until that option wears off), then at the bottom of every message you will see an info box:

Marketplace Safety Tip,  from which you can click to Report an inappropriate email.....

---

That link is dead now. The last time I had to use it, it lead only to Help Pages. A member can either call Customer Service or ignore it completely. 

[dmil8030]

<<That link is dead now.>>

Are you sure?  I've never had reason to use it but I just now clicked on it from a recent message in my

Messages Inbox.

The next page shows a yellow bar across the top with Contact eBay Customer Service

and boxes to fill in.  It asks for:  

Your User ID

User ID you are reporting

Reason for complaint (a drop-down menu to choose from, one of which is "I am being harassed by this member")

Additional Information (a box in which to add our own words)

Copy of message you received (copy & paste the offensive material).

Then a blue 'Send' button on the bottom.

Do you have a recent incoming message you can test it for yourself?  

[momcqueen]

I can tell you from experience that there is at least a 50 per cent chance that as soon as you complete that information and hit send, it will lead to a page directing you instead to the pertinent Help Section and/or direction to call Customer Service. I raised it with ebay staff two weeks ago, the last time I had to report a threatening message from another member who leaves me profane messages on a regular basis.

You will either be lead to a page that says, 'Thank you. Your report has been sent' which has yet to actually reach Customer Service as you will find when you call to report the member yourself OR you will be lead to a Help Page on ebay.com that outlines the rules for inter-personal communication between members stating essentially that you can say whatever you want to each other as long as you don't follow through on those threats and if that threat looks likely to instead call police. 

It depends on what site upgrades they are doing at the time.

Regardless, if the messages are truly worrisome as opposed to merely irritating, contact eBay Customer Service. The online Reports affect nothing of consequence, as they do not appear to be logged in the same manner as actual calls to real people. Perhaps they are monitored by bots.