Are buyers bored?
Summary: La discusión gira en torno a la pregunta de por qué los compradores hacen consultas sin seguir adelante con una compra. chapeau-noir comparte una lista humorística de posibles razones por las que un comprador podría cambiar de opinión. theteamsetguy y otros continúan agregando razones más divertidas y absurdas, como compradores distraídos por Pokémon o un cliente que realmente es un gato sin billetera. Otro participante menciona cómo en el pasado los vendedores podrían hacer públicas las preguntas y respuestas, lo que motivaba hacer una pregunta inocua primero antes de entrar en negociaciones serias para evitar que se publicara en el listado.
Once a week.
Buyer: "Hi, yes I am interested in this item, can you tell me if it works and you've tested it?"
Me: "yes, it works perfectly, tested it myself".
Buyer: seemingly falls off the face of the earth and does not buy it.
jdbelt1960
·4 months agoIt is not unusual for a buyer to ask a question about an item. Sometimes they buy, sometimes they don't.
itsjustasprain
·4 months agoThere used to be an ulterior motive for asking some really basic question up front. Years ago sellers had the option of having questions and answers with prospective buyers posted to the listing for all to see - just below the description on the main page. Sometimes you would not want that to happen for fear of tipping off competitors or drawing attention to whatever you were asking about (such as some detail that would distinguish a rare example from a common everyday version).
You could not easily see in advance whether your question would or would not get posted in public (it was a seller preference) - but it was only your FIRST message to the seller that they could publish. If you replied to their reply then conversation from that point on could not be published in the listing.
So of course I would ask some polite and innocuous question first. Nothing to offend the seller or raise suspicions. It was easy to find SOMETHING you could ask about - and once you got your answer you were all clear to reply with your serious negotiating without having to worry about someone else seeing it. 😎
bennotbill
·4 months agoI see any buyer email as a good thing. Even unsolicited junk offers.
I've found that when an item receives some email enquiry it often sells within a day. It's almost like the email gives the item some sort of visibility boost.
fullers_uk
·4 months agoFishing trip, wanted you to hit reply with offer.
bonanza125
·4 months agoThat is fairly common in selling online. I don't believe it's boredom many buyers on all selling platforms are hesitant to make purchases for multiple of reasons which include trying to get the best price possible. They are basis just browsing and just ask questions to many sellers until they find the item at the right price. I find it that the more questions a buyer asks or even if they ask just 1 question the least likelihood they will be the buyer who will land up making the purchase. Most purchases are actually made by buyers who do not ask a single question. That's at least from my experience not sure about other sellers.
ccomic
·4 months agoBuyers are bored by definition, especially any that go to the live channels. Does anyone shop eBay out of necessity? I feel sorry for them if they do.
A better question would be. Are forum posters bored? 🙂
tobaccocardyahoo
·4 months agoSome of those buyers message every seller who lists that item and then chooses one from those who respond to buy from.
Silence is the answer for the rest of those sellers. That is why I answer the important questions in my listings and ignore the PITAs who message me and all the other sellers. It also contributes to why I do not list items with more than a handful of offers.
theteamsetguy
·4 months ago@quadcitypickers ,
Maybe the buyer,
1. Found one cheaper from another seller on ebay.
2. Found one local.
3. Got sick.
4. Didn't get permission from the spouse to buy it.
5. Loss their job.
6. Got hit by a bus.
7. Ran out of money.
8. Kids needed new shoes.
9. Didn't need it anymore.
10. The buyer died.
11. Had to pay the rent.
12. You didn't respond fast enough.
13. Went out of town.
14. Got incarcerated.
15. Got deported.
16. Got divorced.
17. Got cold feet.
18. Buyer bet all of their money on the OKC Thunder winning tonight.
19. Buyer only buys from sellers with 100% feedback.
20. Buyer thought the item was counterfeit.
21. The dog ate the credit card.
22. Buyer no longer a registered user.
23. The buyer was looking for a different answer.
24. You live too far away.
25. The buyer got addicted to buying Pokemon cards.
26. The buyer was drunk.
chapeau-noir
·4 months ago27. The buyer was actually a cat with no wallet.
inhawaii
·4 months ago28. The initial inquiry was a ebay glitch. "I never asked that!"
chapeau-noir
·4 months ago29. It was actually the buyer's goldfish who asked but then promptly forgot.
toomuchstuffagain35
·4 months agoGoldfish do tend to have very short attention spans.
chapeau-noir
·4 months agoIt had forgotten in like 3 seconds.
iamalwaysright
·4 months agoAaaaah! You beat me to it. I should really read all the replies to a thread before responding.
Btw, your reply immediately reminded me of this hilarious video that went viral around the pandemic https://youtu.be/lGOofzZOyl8?si=J0wHD8PTE8PfpEuX
lol. “I’m not a cat.”
iamalwaysright
·4 months ago27. It was the buyer’s cat who stepped on the keyboard and messaged you that question. The actual buyer has no interest in anything about your item.
toomuchstuffagain35
·4 months agocardsforauction
·4 months agoThe buyer is probably considering buying this item from you or someone else. They want to know if it works. If the item description mentions the item is working and tested, then I would wonder why they ask that question. Maybe they sent a bunch of these messages to many sellers with the same item, and to see which ones meet their criteria. Now they have the information with the prices. Maybe they will buy, maybe not.
shire123
·4 months agoI would say well over 50% of inquiries like that just disappear.
a_c_green
·4 months agoSounds like somebody who never found your description, and was hoping you would say you didn't know and would be conducive to bargaining.
Unavailable member
·4 months agoMaybe the guy had a bet with a buddy on whether or not you respond to the message.
meme6253
·4 months agoMaybe they wanted you to give them an offer, Or they wanted one that wasn't working so they could fix it themselves because they are bored.
chapeau-noir
·4 months agoAt least they didn't say: "So does it work? Have you even tested it?" 🙄
theteamsetguy
·4 months ago@chapeau-noir ,
LOL!!!!!
hartungcards
·4 months agoWell...they were just interested to know if it works.
chapeau-noir
·4 months agoThis isn't anything new, at least in my experience. I politely answer the question, but never expect a sale.
mattva
·4 months agoThat's why I typically end my responses to potential buyers after answering their questions with "Thank you for your interest". I don't expect a sale all the time but I'm glad people are actually showing interest in what I have for sale.
chapeau-noir
·4 months agoHeck - I'm grateful they even found the item!
reallynicestamps
·4 months ago@mattva And that View and question gave you a teensy little boost in Search.
inhawaii
·4 months agoHow about this...
Buyer: "Does this item work?"
Me: "Yes it does. It's brand new in box."
The buyer does not buy it.
Perhaps the buyer was looking for one that didn't work?
itsjustasprain
·4 months agoThis is EXACTLY the situation that I look for because I do look for items that do NOT work. I have no use in my restoration/repair business for items that are fully functional because those will eventually sell for full value and there would be nothing that I could add to the equation by buying those. I look for ones that I can fix up and resell for profit.
I specialize in an area where vintage New Old Stock examples die in the package after many years but sellers who scored unused ones at estate sales or wherever have no idea that they are selling an item that will be Dead On Arrival. I try to gently (and politely!) nudge them into actually testing the item themselves and THEN offer a lower price after they find that I know what I am talking about and I am not likely to return it for a refund later on.
inhawaii
·4 months agoYou are probably much smarter than my potential customer.
If you were looking for something not working, to repair yourself,
you probably wouldn't be shopping for one "new in box". 😉
itsjustasprain
·4 months agoSomeone here has a favorite saying of 'You make your profit when you buy it - not when you sell it'. I can see why that is but in the areas I specialize in a vintage New in Box goes for WAY more than a typical used one so it is worth it to me to pursue a New example if one comes along. The problem is that the seller usually thinks it is perfect when the reality is that it is anything but. They want to charge NOW what I would want to charge LATER (after I have restored it to working condition and can say so right in the listing).
I see plenty of used ones and I can make those much better for resale too but New In Box gets way more attention any day.
iamalwaysright
·4 months agoI’d be suspicious of your over eagerness to please. I only asked if the item works. I didn’t ask if it’s new let alone still in its box. Why are you trying so hard to make this sale? Whaaaaaat are you up to 😒? You must be hiding something by trying to misdirect me. Well not today buddy! SCAM!!!