Is lack of responsiveness a sign that the seller might not ship?

[framboyan-7846]

Hello! I'm pretty new to eBay and wanted to get people's thoughts on something. If a seller doesn't answer messages, or if their most recent reviews are from 6 months or a year ago, could that be a sign that they're not active on the site and won't ship if you buy something from them? I know eBay has a Money Back Guarantee policy and that sellers aren't obligated to engage when buyers send a message or make an offer. But if a seller doesn't respond to messages, doesn't accept/reject offers, or doesn't have very recent reviews, would that give you pause? Would you not buy from them? Just wondering if you all consider a lack of responsiveness coupled with no recent reviews a sign that you may not receive something you buy. 

Tips for a newbie eBayer are welcome, and thanks for any insight!

[12345jamesstamps]

Sometimes a seller will sell an item...but hasn't sold anything in months...so there might be a hold on the funds of your purchase...but seller is suppose to ship your item in the required time stated with or without tracking.

For the item purchased there is an "estimated date of delivery"...you can open a claim after that date.

Would I purchase something from someone who is only selling one thing and hasn't sold anything in months.

My answer would be no. I prefer to see some feedbacks of sales or purchases of a seller. 

There is that money back guarantee...but that money getting returned to the buyer doesn't happen over night and buyer will have to wait a while to receive his refund.

[kensgiftshop]

Sellers are not required to answer messages.

As far as offers, some sellers don't want them on their listings, but Ebay put's them there anyway.

They have a few options on offers, accept, decline or just ignore.

As far as recent feedback, a lot of buyers don't leave any feedback, so you can't tell much by that.

Look at their sold listings and see if they've sold anything lately?

Check the feedback they leave and see how that looks.

Is the item you're looking at very expensive?

[mudshark61369]

@framboyan-7846,

"If a seller doesn't answer messages, or if their most recent reviews are from 6 months or a year ago, could that be a sign that they're not active on the site and won't ship if you buy something from them"?

What you need to make sure of when checking a feedback profile page is that you are viewing the person's feedback As a seller and that you change the Sort by box on the right just above their first comments from Most relevant to Most recent.  If the seller has not received any feedback for selling before or in over a year they probaby do not know about the 21 day hold ebay places on all new or returning sellers first few payments, or how to deal with it to complete the transaction, and get the funds released.  That is a fairly common problem with new/returning sellers.

As for communications, not every seller can be on their computer/phone 24/7 and it may take one a few days to answer questions. Occasional sellers may not be checking their messages as often as they should, so that is not really an indication of how reliable they are. Given the time of year that it is, the seller could even be away, and didn't think to pull their listing(s), before leaving.

As @kensgiftshop , wrote buyers often do not leave feedback for purchases these days, and some sellers do not leave feedback unless they receive one first. 

  So to see if they have sold anything recently click on the Advanced button to the right of the main Search search box at the top of an ebay page. 

On the page that opens check the By seller option on the left.

The page will refresh and take you to a box where you can add the seller's username [do not include their (  ) ] feedback number. its best to copy and paste it in. 

When you have added their name the check box for Show only items from will be highlighted.  Scroll back up the page and check the Sold listings box, then click on the search button. (you do not have to add anything to the key words or category boxes) If the seller has sold anything in the last 90 days they will be displayed.