Buyer leaves excessive poor feedback - should I communicate why I won't sell to them?
Recently a buyer made an offer of a little over 50% off of one of my items. My spidey senses were tingling so I checked the feedback they've left for others. Out of the 12 feedback they've left, 6 were negative, neutral, or cases of feedback misuse where they left a positive feedback score but wrote a complaint in the message. A lot of the complaints were about shipping being too high, and one of the neutral feedback was left simply because of this. I assume they knew what shipping would cost before agreeing to the sales. I'm thinking about declining their offer along with a politely-worded message communicating why I don't feel comfortable selling to them. Any thoughts?
49 comments
wheredidiputthatremote
·2 years agoNope. I would just block. In one of the last updates the devs were kind enough to make it when you block they can't message you anymore either.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoThe retail industry standard is supposed to be one failed transaction in 100.
So any negs over that percentage indicates a Bad Buyer.
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@resting_kitsch_face
I cancelled bids from a Buyer recently who had left 7 Neg FB out of 29 Total FB ... the issue in reading their Neg FB was it was pretty clear they don't try to work things out with the Sellers, they just slap down the Neg FB ... that is not the intention of the FB system ... I almost sent them a message to explain but decided against it.
ebeths_eclectic_collectibles
·2 years agoUnfortunately some buyers believe that if shipping isn’t free it must be too high. Doesn’t matter how big or heavy the package is. They will never be satisfied unless it is free!
epowerbargains
·2 years agoI don't do free shipping but I do have the best offer option. I recently had a buyer lowball me by over 50% using best offer on something that weighed 6 oz and then wanted what they called "economy" shipping. My shipping was already running at a bit of a loss at $3.65. The buyer then went on to say - send it by reduced economy shipping as your shipping rate is and I quote, "insane." Declined, Blocked and added to my BB List. So many people are out of touch with the cost of shipping w/tracking even light weight items. I am actually never bothered by lowball best offers - but please don't call my at a loss shipping "insane" LOL!
rugerskick
·2 years agoDo not email them back. Block them right away. It will be a problem order and could harm your account.
Don't reply otherwise after blocking they could still send harassing emails for 30 days.
joliztoyco
·2 years agoBy all means "Kick the can down the road".
Let another seller (hopefully one on here giving you the sage advice to "do nothing") deal with a Neg they probably don't deserve. It's called karma.
Here's what I'd do:
I'd end the auction. (You can put it back up in a week when "Mr. Nasty Feedback" has forgotten all about you and is lowballing someone else.)
Block the potential buyer.
Send a RESPECTFUL message like:
"Greetings!
Thank-you for your offer. After reviewing the feedback you have left for other sellers, we feel it is not in our best interest to conclude this transaction with you.
Thank-you again for your interest.
Respectfully, Joliztoyco
You keep it short and simple. You don't tell them you have blocked them. You don't insult them.
But maybe...just maybe, Mr.Lowball will come to the realization that other sellers can SEE the crappy feedback he is leaving and that might be the reason no one is negotiating on his "offers".
Hey! It's worth a shot!
And you might even help a fellow seller by doing it.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoDecline without comment and Block if you feel like it.
Don't poke the bear.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoThe 50% off offer would probably put me off, anyway.
Also, sending a message means that if you have your block set with no communication, you're stuck with whatever messages they want to send for 30-60 days or whatever (don't remember) as that would circumvent the block.
Nah - life is too short.
BTW, "Resting Kitsch Face" is an INSPIRED ID! ðŸ˜ðŸ‘
resting_kitsch_face
OP2 years agoThank you! 😊 Opted to just block, decline, and move on
wastingtime101
·2 years agoNope @chapeau-noir . Not since eBay changed it this year. When a buyer is added to your BBL their messages cannot get through to you and it takes effect right away. On their end it looks like the message goes through so the buyer thinks the seller is ignoring them.
Read about it here ->
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Changes-to-Buyer-Blocks/td-p/33977166
chapeau-noir
·2 years ago@wastingtime101 Thank you for this! I missed this change.
So in other words putting a buyer on your blocked buyer list automatically blocks communication? It seems that they've divided the contact scenarios into buyer requirements or blocked buyer list.
On their end it looks like the message goes through so the buyer thinks the seller is ignoring them.
I'm not sure that's a great idea. It needs to be honest and just tell the buyer that they've been blocked from communication instead of the passive-aggressive 'ignoring' (which potentially could lead to all sorts of problems if one has a vindictive enough buyer).
ajs_coins_and_alchemy
·2 years agoSome of the many reasons the idea of auto-blocked communication of BBL-ed buyers is an awful idea.
Give sellers the autonomy to choose if they receive communication or not (even if it means being able to block comms with some and not with others). Let the buyers know they've been blocked from comms ... then again, that may encourage the buyer to contact via a 2nd account... if they think they're ignored they may be more apt to move on and less likely to circumvent w/ new account.
Ehh, it all stinks anyway.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoMight encourage them, as well.
If I block a buyer, I don't want to deal with them - that includes messages. I'm done with them - that's it. So change doesn't bother me.
ajs_coins_and_alchemy
·2 years agoI agree but I had a buyer recently who was ... not the brightest ... I wanted to block purchases but needed to communicate re a return and the buyer decided to do a return on their own outside EBay buying retail at PO so I literally needed to communicate w/ them since it wasnt just sending a label thru a case.
Awful awful awful
As wastingtime has said before, wanting to block a buyer from further purchases but continue to provide good customer service. Can't do both. Gotta pick one w/ this new system
wastingtime101
·2 years ago@ajs_coins_and_alchemy @chapeau-noir
Yeah, I'm not a fan of this change. I'm one of the sellers that had my preferences to allow comms from blocked buyers. This new system is creating problems for a lot of us. If you ever run into issues with it, or see others on this forum experiencing issues because of it, please post them on that thread I linked above and tag Kyle from eBay. He's been passing on the FB.
inhawaii
·2 years agoI would, in this order....
Decline.
Block.
Ignore.
erikstuff
·2 years agoI had one of those recently. My item didn't have a "Make Offer" thing... he sent an e-mail. His "feedback left for other" included many for long-time sellers with hundreds of good feedbacks whose ONLY negative feedback was this guy's. Some of the complaints were along the line "It was hard getting this dealer to finally accept my offer. Greedy." None of his negatives pertained to the item. Just politely reject... and block.
frecklesfinery88
·2 years agoI would decline the offer and then block them. You owe No explanation if you feel the bid is too low. Just look at it as saving yourself the headache. Happy Thanksgiving!
simba6
·2 years agoI would just decline the offer. No need to explain why.
adkhighker
·2 years agoSome buyers only leave feedbacks when they're not happy with their purchase, while leaving no feedback for the greater majority of their purchases that they are satisfied with. Did you check to see approximately how many transactions they've had by looking at their "All received feedback" numbers? Was the total number of feedbacks they received only 12? If so, then yes, that buyer could mean trouble. OTOH, if the number of bad feedbacks they left is just a very small fraction of the number of total transactions they have had in their FB, then you should have little to worry about when dealing with them as long as you do a good job with your description, photos, and packaging. I once had a buyer who only left negative feedbacks, something like 8 red apples and no positives, but when I checked their "All received feedback" I could see that they had over 300 transactions at the time. I breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't get any feedback from that buyer.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoWhen I am really on the fence about this I have contacted the sellers who the buyer left the negs for and sometimes that answers my question about letting them purchase completely after that.
gurlcat
·2 years agoLOL I've done that a couple times too. Or just asked a seller if they would provide the full user handle of an obviously bad buyer so I could add it to my BBL, or if they could clarify something stated in a neg because it sounded like defamatory nonsense to me. It's kinda fun giving a fellow seller an excuse to unload about all the bull a buyer put them through, but knew better than to use feedback to address it. One of those enjoyed our little b-fest chat so much she wound up buying some stuff from me!
resting_kitsch_face
OP2 years agoThe buyer does have about 40 received feedback, which I suppose means that the total "bad" feedback they've left is a smallish percentage. However, leaving neutral feedback and complaints over shipping gives me red flags, so I opted just to block, decline, and move on. Not worth the risk to me personally.
lonebuck-books
·2 years agoBlock and decline. It's pretty easy to do and no communication is necessary. I do it from time to time. If you are really worried about them buying on a different account, jack up the price for a while and then drop it once you think they have moved on.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoI always read a buyer's feedback. It's about the only protection a seller has these days.
This buyer has not a good standing of feedback.
My own opinion...and no one else's....I would immediately block this buyer from purchases and not send any emails out to them. I get enough of drama in real life and don't need a buyer adding to it. Just my own opinion.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoThey are big trouble when you see way more complaints than positive responses.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoHave to assume that you mean that you always read the FB a buyer has left for sellers.
There would be no point in reading the FB a buyer has received because the buyer can only be given positive FB.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoNope.
If a buyer is buying lots of coins from other buyers or a lot of post cards from other buyers we kinda know it's a good buyer you can trust. If a buyer decides to buy a $500. gold coin and has never bought a coin ever what would you think? Or a buyer decides to buy a $1000. stamp for the very very first time I would be a little suspicious. This works very well for those who sell the same things all the time. Think about it.
ajs_coins_and_alchemy
·2 years agoABSOLUTELY!
I absolutely scope a buyer's feedback for what seller's they are buying from. Feedback left for others tells you their complaining patters, not buying patterns. I want to see in some cases, who a buyer buys from. If I see a lot of coin dealers, thats good... If i see a laundry list of top coin dealers, then I know the buyer is a no non-sense buyer, you don't buy loads from top dealers unless you're willing to buy NICE coins and pay PREMIUMS. Tells me you're not trying to haggle 24/7 and scrape the bottom of the barrel flea-market style.
resting_kitsch_face
OP2 years agoThanks everyone for your thoughts. I guess my reason for doing this is the hope that the buyer would realize that sellers do look at their feedback given, and that their offers are being declined because no one wants to deal with them. It's probably unrealistic to believe that they'd change their behavior, but my hope was that I could stop them from doing this to future sellers who didn't happen to check feedback. I'll definitely be adding them to my BBL, and will do so before taking any action.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoYou have come to realize that it's not a seller's job to educate a buyer about his practices.
Block and decline.
Also, explaining to that person your reason for declining could easily result in his making a purchase, perhaps from another ID, and trashing your FB beyond belief.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoBeing able to look at a prospective buyer's feedback (left for others) is the best thing about having a b.o. option and I can't count the number of bullets I've dodged because of it.
But I never let someone know that their feedback history is why I decline or ignore their offer. I just add them to my BBL. I also don't remove anyone from my BBL. Even if I don't remember when or why I blocked them, I did it for a reason and they remain blocked.
On the one-time rare occasion that a wannabe buyer (with whom I'd personally never done business) contacted me to ask why she was blocked (based on the message that popped up when she tried to buy), I did tell the truth as gently as I could. Her subsequent rant and threats to report me to ebay told me that my block was valid. (BTW, if she reported me to ebay as she'd promised to do, it never went anywhere!)
chickadee8618
·2 years agoIts kind of a Catch 22 though isn't it. You have the advantage of being able to screen some buyers, but those types wouldnt even come around if you just have it set to Buy it Now. Most low ball types only really come for the Best Offers to see how cheap they can get it.
tinsoldierunderground
·2 years agoTrue, but for a long time on here, sellers would get the best offer option on their BIN listing whether they wanted it or not. And it did provide a platform for every misbegotten cretin to create problems .
gurlcat
·2 years agoWhen was that???? Must have been longer ago than the approximately 6 years I've been selling, because that would have IN-FUR-I-AT-ED me.
ajs_coins_and_alchemy
·2 years agoNope, you clearly haven't received enough messages from buyers making offers or asking for discounts on listings with "Buy It Now" Only. A lack of Best Offer feature does not deter them... they still find a way...
ajs_coins_and_alchemy
·2 years agoI've always wondered if these stories actually occur, thanks for sharing it, that satisfies my curiosity!
And now sadly we can't repeat this occurrence as we can no longer receive messages from wannabe buyers that are blocked ... the curiosity to know if blocked buyers are attempting to contact you will never be satiated as eBay has decided for all sellers that buyers who are blocked are blocked from messages. Awful decision. Absolutely awful. Sellers can make that decision for themselves. Give us some autonomy, eBay!
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoDon't send any message. Just decline.
And before you decline, put them on your blocked bidder list so they can't decide to purchase it at full price (potentially just to neg you because you didn't accept their offer).
bennotbill
·2 years agoBest not to poke the bear. Just decline.
moldy5
·2 years agoI would just click on decline offer with no counteroffer. Unless the decline already took place due to your preset choice to decline. then block. no need to engage them. they for sure know the offer was pretty rude!
luckythewinner
·2 years agoWhat in the world would that accomplish?
On a platform where a buyer has the power to damage a seller's finances and reputation, there is no way I would provoke a buyer unnecessarily.
evry1nositswindy
·2 years agoYou don't owe an explanation. BLOCK them first. Then go to the offer, write a note in the offer "no thank you but thanks for messaging me", and then decline it.
epowerbargains
·2 years agoSmart suggestion to block first then decline! I learned that the hard way. I received a lowball offer and declined it without comment. Then received a second lowball offer and declined it and then went to block as the offers were both way below 50% off.......and I had looked at the feedback and this was a buyer who - to put it politely was not easily satisfied and the majority of feedback was negative or "false" positives. As I was doing the block well you guessed it the item sold for full price to my about to be blocked lowballer who immediately paid - so I packed and shipped ....and waited. Sure enough 15 days after delivery I received a return request - oddly it was "changed mind". As soon as I received the return I immediately refunded. The buyer became extremely upset because shipping was not refunded as she checked "changed mind." She then stated that the item - a brooch was defective (it was perfect) and contacted eBay and to make her happy eBay refunded her shipping as a courtesy to the buyer. The item sold 2 weeks later to a buyer who loved it. Somehow it felt like Karma - and as a bonus I learned a valuable lesson.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoSome do the low ball, get the item, then try to get you to partially refund them more with the complaints. If you see very high numbers of soft positives, feedback like “seller worked with me on problem†BLOCK AND MOVE ON.
gurlcat
·2 years agoLOL I wonder if this was the brooch lady in another thread I was in, last week. Did she neg you?
epowerbargains
·2 years agoShe did try to leave a negative but eBay removed it.
fern*wood
·2 years agoIf I did not want to take the offer, I would just decline. I personally wouldn't go into their feedback or your feelings.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoExactly. Why pick a fight? Or tip the buyer off so they stop leaving FB and sellers no longer have the red warning flag?