Seller blocked me for asking about shipping?
Hey I know as a seller you can choose what you sell how you sell and to whom you sell but this person sent me several offers on items that I was watching. Their listings said that they were shipping from Texas and I’m in Louisiana so I ask if I bought 4 different listings that totaled about $70 in shipping all items could be boxed together and shipped around $20 but I didn’t get into all of that just asked if they’d combine shipping on the items I sent a snapshot of my cart and 1 of the offers expired I asked if it was possible to get the offer again if combining the shipping is an option then I sent my zip code to do a shipping price calculation. No response so today I decide to just accept 2 of the offers because I couldn’t bundle the shipping and now I get an error that the seller isn’t accepting bids or offers from me.
 
So I’m going to try to find the same items elsewhere. Just a heads up if you deal with this seller DO NOT ASK TO COMBINE SHIPPING OR TO RESEND AN OFFER THAT EXPIRED! Or you will be blocked! A bit drastic I’d say but we all have our own way of selling. Buyer beware. ;(
ittybitnot
·2 years agoSo I’m going to try to find the same items elsewhere.
@thrift_store_guy
Though it is unfortunate that you got blocked when asking about combined shipping, there are a lot of things at play here.
When a seller "sends offers" they don't get to know who they are sending them to. Also eBay is rolling out the feature where ALL OFFERS SENT by a seller are going to be "immediate payment required". That disallows combined shipping/invoicing should a buyer receive more than one of these offers from the same seller. All of these will eventually need to be paid separately at full shipping cost. For one that expired, the seller cannot send it to you again. Even if they could, and have the "respond with offer" feature with a message from you about the same item, it is going to land in your lap with IPR, and can't be combined.
For BUYERS that send offers there is the issue of the settings eBay gave everyone set in default to YES. These are the number one "combined shipping killers" for offers made by buyers and YOU USE THEM yourself.
See here:
https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/buyerrequirements
Buyer Rules:
*Require buyers to provide a payment method before they place a bid.
*Require buyers to provide a payment method before they make an offer.
In this situation, every offer you accept will be auto billed immediately at full price with no opportunity to combine. Many won't bother to make offers or bid when these restrictions are in place. Some may ask, if you combine shipping, but you actually can't. Yes, items can be put in one package, and you CAN refund a portion from each listing, but there is no requirement that you do so.
There is also the issue of the eBay cart. A good portion of the time it doesn't work anyway.
So I understand, why a buyer would ASK the seller, and I am sure that these sort of questions are ON THE RISE in such a frequency that they become annoying. Some sellers are not interested in having multiple sales to the same buyer, or are clueless about what is going on here.
So yes, we need to shop elsewhere. I do. The internet is a big place.
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoThis has nothing to do with "immediate payments". The sellers reason of blocking them was the actions of the OP asking a question. (possibly because of the offer that expired) Sellers should welcome any and all questions as those are opportunities to establish a relationship/sale. Unless there is more to the story the OP is leaving out, i find it a poor business decision by the seller. (their choice) Yes Ebay has rolled out some confusing/disappointing changes but sellers should be able to adapt and still be able to reply to a cordial message without blocking or having a hissy fit. JMO Should be no excuses for that behavior (IMHO) but it is there right to act that way if they choose. Proper communications between both parties resolves most if not all of these issues.
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoMany sellers seem to be a little fragile/sensitive these days and it does feel like it is a trend . The only reason i can think why so many choose to act this way is because many have not run their own business (brick and mortar) where customer interactions are unavoidable. Some users choose to block you if you ask a question or even send a message about price/offer but will complain about the lack of sales. 😂
It was a bit drastic and everyone does have the right to conduct business they best way they feel. Did they really expect to charge you $70 in shipping if you did purchase all 3 at once?
Maybe everyone should watch Glengarry Glen Ross as a sales tutorial. 😂
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoSometimes sellers will block a buyer for any sort of question. It happens a lot.
I wouldn't really tell or ask a seller how to package an item or anything...just ask "is there combined shipping?" and no repeated emails.
Sounds like maybe 'offer expired'...even
And that 'sorry for getting all mixed up. LOL.'...some sellers can be so serious like some who response to posts here. Some are just very touchy.
thrift_store_guy
OP2 years agoHah, thanks for the response. Yeah I’m a seller too but I don’t have multiple accounts to buy and sell because I really don’t buy anything on eBay that I sell. I’ve blocked maybe 2 buyers. Which were scammers other than that I’m outgoing nice understanding jump through hoops for everyone but then again I’m just a little bitty seller so I guess it’s different.
Anyway appreciate the comment same as the other reply that I got ultimately I was showing them a list of items and the prices that were offered and asked if I buy them all if they’d combine shipping? If not I would’ve been fine and just purchased the ones that I wanted the most.
I see what you’re saying though my response to them. Then they may have thought that I was trying to con them or something maybe I guess. I would’ve just checked my messages to see what I actually sent as an offer but again we all handle things differently. Oh well I can’t buy it and others are too expensive lesson learned. Take care y’all have a great night.
house*of*paws
·2 years agoHi @thrift_store_guy
Once you've been blocked by a seller ... eBay automatically blocks your messages to the seller, so the seller isn't aware that you're contacting them.
eBay policy is that shipping cost is nonnegotiable with offers. In fact, there should have been a statement in the original offer that explained that offers are for the Item price only ... that whatever shipping cost is in the listing will be automatically added onto the accepted offer.
Many buyers either miss that statement ... or try to negotiate shipping anyway ... and then get mad at the seller for not changing the shipping. One way to avoid the possible negative consequences is to block the buyer who is asking you to do something against policy.
I'm sorry this happened. In the future, if you're interested in several items from the same seller ... then send them a message asking them what they would charge for shipping if you purchased ALL of the items. That way, you're not making official offers that prohibit changing shipping.
janet9988
·2 years agoThe OP did not make any offers.. The seller sent the OP the offers.