Sellers that don't respond to questions
Summary: sandyscloseouts2012 expressed frustration over sellers on eBay not responding to inquiries about an expensive item they wish to purchase. They noted that multiple listings appear to be from the same seller due to identical photos and descriptions. eburtonlab and msha3839 advised caution, suggesting that non-responsive sellers might be unreliable, especially when the price seems unusually low. sandyscloseouts2012 acknowledged the advice, expressing reluctance to purchase under these conditions, and mentioned the challenge of finding the item locally. pickapaper added that eBay does not require sellers to respond, noting this only affects the sellers' chances of making sales.
I'm in the market for a fairly expensive item currently. There are several vendors on eBay selling what I am looking for, but by all appearances, it could be the same seller with multiple accounts, because the item location for all of the listings comes up in the same place, and the item pictures and description are all identical across all of the listings.
I've tried to contact each of the sellers multiple times with some very simple, basic questions about the item for sale- details that are important, but not stated anywhere in the listing.
I've contacted each one three times over the course of a week or so, and since all of the user accounts are registered in either China or Hong Kong, I also sent my request translated into Chinese, just in case it was a language barrier issue.
It's not a huge list of questions, just some basic details that are important for anyone looking to make this type of purchase. I'm not asking for the world, just a few details.
Not a single response from any of them... I tried; I really tried.
So- what do you do when every seller who has the item you want to buy ignores your questions? Am I missing something here?
The cost of the item is well over a thousand dollars, but the pricing on eBay is considerably better than what I can find anywhere else, so naturally, I'd like to buy it here, but not without a response from the vendor- that's just asking for trouble...
Any ideas?
Thanks
mudshark61369
·2 weeks ago@sandyscloseouts2012 ,
When you try messaging those Chinese sellers they probably cannot answer your questions because they do not have the items in their possession. They all drop ship from Chicom Govt. owned warehouses, some of which are in this country. They select what items they want to sell without ever seeing them. That's why the listings probably all lok alike and use the same photos and descriptions.
"The cost of the item is well over a thousand dollars, but the pricing on eBay is considerably better than what I can find anywhere else, so naturally, I'd like to buy it here".
Those lower prices are usually an indication of a scam of some sort.
Those items are probably counterfeit or cheap knockoffs of the real ones. If you read the listings carefully and look in the Item Specifics you may often see Brand: Unknown - Country of origin: Unknown or China - MPN, UPC, Model#: N/A, Unknown or left blank.
If the listings say 1-2... year warranty, you will never get a warranty form and ebay's protections end 30 days after receiving the item. Even if you did get a warranty form and fill it out, the terms usually say Must be returned to Mfr. (in China at your cost) for inspection. Then they will not find anything wrong with it, but to get it back you have to pay for that as well.
Pay more money: buy it locally so you don't have to deal with international returns or warranty claims.
msha3839
·2 weeks agoIn this case if seller ignores your questions, count your blessings and run as fast as possible..you plan to buy expensive item from seller in China?… If I would give you my honest opinion about your approach to purchase, eBay would ban me for life on forums..you really tried to be separated from your money…unbelievable…🙉🙈🤯
sandyscloseouts2012
OP2 weeks agoOh, no worries there- with no response, I'm not about to spend a single cent. I was just wondering if there was some trick that I missed to contacting sellers.
I'm very wary of buying high dollar items from anyone that lives too far away from me to go knock on their door if a problem arises, but the item I'm looking for isn't very easy to find locally- in fact, it's impossible.
While I truly do want and need the item, I may have to learn to live without it or pay a lot more for it elsewhere- even though it will most likely come from the very same factory...
Oh well...
...as an aside- ebay should do something about vendors who fail to respond to product questions...
pickapaper
·2 weeks agoeBay does not require sellers to respond to messages and they are not going to change this. With that said, you have already figured out that sellers who do not respond are only hurting themselves. You just don't buy from them.
msha3839
·2 weeks agoLogically speaking, if item that you are interested in hard to find anywhere but available from Chinese sellers, something wrong with this scenario…unless it’s stolen Ming dynasty vase…👀🤷
eburtonlab
·2 weeks ago@sandyscloseouts2012
A seller that won't answer basic questions about an expensive item is probably not a seller you want to be dealing with. Particularly when multiple overseas sellers appear to be selling the same item using the same stock photos and the price seems to be much lower than the same item sold elsewhere. None of those sellers may actually have the item at all; some might be intending to purchase the item from someone else if an eBay purchase is made. Some might only have a photo and nothing else.
Purchase from an experienced seller with a proven history of delivering what was advertised, that already has the actual item in hand, and that is able to provide the answers you need.