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Blocking zero-feedback scam sellers?
Why isn't there a way to block seeing ads from zero-feedback scammers? You know the ones -- zero feedback, selling popular higher-value items for about 1/2 market value, using only stock commercial photos? This is especially prevalent in high dollar items, like digital cameras. Most often, these scammers are brand new (less than 1 month old accounts) and have a dash, underscore, or random number in their username. It is hard to find items when over HALF of your search results are filled with garbage scammer ads from sellers like that.
Why is there no option to filter out zero feedback sellers in my searches?
3 comments
eburtonlab
Mentor6 months ago@kent5368
eBay does not allow users to block sellers by feedback number.
If you want to know eBay's reasoning, you will likely have to ask someone at eBay. The response would probably be something like: "If eBay were to allow all users to block new sellers, how would new sellers ever becomes experienced sellers?"
That said, if you are using a desktop browser, it is not that difficult to set your search preferences to show seller feedback in the search results, so that the feedback number and percentage appear. That makes it easy to skip over search results that do not meet your minimum requirements.
In most cases it is very easy to spot such scam new seller accounts right now. If eBay allowed buyers to block sellers with little or no feedback, how hard would it be for scammers to get the minimum amount of feedback necessary to get around such blocks? Right now it is not uncommon for some scammers to sell a few keychains or trinkets to build up feedback quickly, then list a bunch of high-demand items at fire-sale prices and rake in many sales before negative feedback begins to appear after the promised items fail to arrive.
If you find it difficult to weed out such sellers' listings from your search results, try setting a price range so that abnormally low-priced listings are filtered out entirely.
kent5368
OP6 months agoThanks for the info. I found the setting you are talking about -- helpful! It's not great but it sure beats having to click into each and every ad just to see if they are zero-score scammers.
I know, *some* scammers would sell trinkets to get over the zero barrier, but most probably would not go to that much trouble, as scammers at this level are pretty lazy, and would likely find other methods of stealing that don't require any effort. So I believe the overall number of worthless scammers here *would* drop.
eburtonlab
Mentor6 months agoScammers are as lazy as their victims allow them to be.
The more effective a filter is at weeding out scammers, and the more users taking advantage of that filter, the harder some scammers will be willing to work to get around such a filter. A few marginal scammers may be discouraged, but their listings will be replaced by additional listings made by more motivated scammers willing to work harder to take their market share.