Buyer msg re: ended listing. New scam?

Question

If a pot'l buyer contacts a seller on an ended listing asking "will there be more of these for sale.." are we (as sellers) obliged to answer? This some new scam? Never been contacted before on a past sale.

eburtonlab · Accepted Answer

Some buyers miss an opportunity for a purchase or only find a listing after it has already sold, and some of those buyers are understandably interested in knowing if the seller might have other items on hand but not yet listed for a potential sale.

Sellers are not obligated to answer at all, though if you intend on selling similar items in the future you now have the opportunity to encourage a potential buyer to add you to the buyer's Saved Seller list or to check your other items for sale later.

"Thanks for your inquiry. I do not have any more XYZs in stock, though I do have some ABCs currently listed and I intend to list some DEFs you may be interested in next week."

kensgiftshop · Answer

No, you don't have to respond to their message, but a good seller would. They might ask you to contact them if you get any more of that item.

soh.maryl · Answer

Before I read any of the other responses, was just going to remind you that you're not required to respond to any questions; however, there are some excellent points being made here. Someone IS interested in something you had listed. What kind of a scam could possibly come from: No, I am sorry, all out of ABCs, but, do have some DEFs you might like. Or, Thank you for the inquiry. Do expect to get another shipment next week. If you'd like, you can mark me as a favorite seller. Or just check back along about Wednesday.

sin-n-dex · Answer

@ewsupply wrote:
If a pot'l buyer contacts a seller on an ended listing asking "will there be more of these for sale.." are we (as sellers) obliged to answer? This some new scam? Never been contacted before on a past sale.

I think there's a lot of overreacting and everyone thinking everything that happens on eBay is some kind of scam.

Your buyer may have missed out on purchasing for whatever reason and wants to know if you'll sell another one soon so they can buy it. That's all I'm getting from your synopsis.

C.

az93 · Answer

Take it as a compliment that someone liked an item you sold so much that they contacted you to see if you have more. I fail to see how this could ever be misconstrued as a scam.

bennotbill · Answer

I've asked similar myself. If a seller is selling many of the items and appear to have just run out, if you want this item it makes sense to ask if they are getting any more.

slippinjimmy · Answer

This seems like an incredibly normal question, I can't think of any possible reason why you can't reply with a simple yes or no.