The Seller Is Not Accepting . . . More Money?
Earlier this week there was an item I wanted and absolutely would have bought – a 1953 South Africa £1 – but first I needed to ask the seller a question. I composed the question and clicked Send. “The seller is not accepting messages.â€
Checking Sold Items, I find that the item brought $1275. I would have paid much more. So, sellers, don’t block messages. You might have to tolerate an occasional bonehead, but blocking messages could cost you hundreds.
Today, I tried again to send a message to the seller, and guess what, it went through. Too late for me, too late for him, too bad for us both.
And by the way, why the heck doesn't eBay tell us the seller isn't accepting messages before we get it all typed up and everything? Like immediately after clicking the "Send seller a message" button.
smilekc
·6 months agoKeep searching for your 1953 South Africa £1.
One thing I've found about eBay is that one good sale somehow brings more out on to the market, & often the price on that item drops.
You may get lucky & get a good deal on what you want!
gosimus
OP6 months ago@smilekc
< Keep searching for your 1953 South Africa £1 . . . You may get lucky & get a good deal >
Thanks for the encouragement. I do search for it every day. My keywords don't include the 1953 and I find a couple of 1954 coins here on eBay, but I don't want those. 1953 was the first year that the portrait of Elizabeth II appeared on coins, so I guess that makes it more desirable to others the same as it does to me. The first portrait, created by Mary Gillick.
gosimus
OP4 months ago@smilekc
Follow up. Thanks for the encouragement. I did keep searching, and I did find one right here on eBay, in a normal auction. Not only a 53 £1 but I also got a 53 £1/2 (half pound) as well, possibly a providential compensation for my earlier frustration. They're even more gorgeous than anticipated . . . as Dave Ramsey says, Better than I deserve.
lb23cavaliersmvp
·6 months agoNot sure if this came up in the thread but a "not accepting messages" reply is usually indicating that the buyer has been blocked. Clearly might be illogical for the seller to do so but it is their prerogative.
gosimus
OP6 months ago@lb23cavaliersmvp
< a "not accepting messages" reply is usually indicating that the buyer has been blocked >
A day or two after the auction, I sent the seller another message. This second message did go through, so I wasn't blocked. In addition, the seller would have had no reason to block me, either manually or by way of the automatic block available as an option in a seller's buyer requirements.
house*of*paws
·6 months agoFYI: @lb23cavaliersmvp
When a buyer is blocked … they receive a message when they attempt to buy, bid, or make an offer. They DO NOT receive a message when they attempt to send a message unfortunately. [They have no idea that their message hasn’t gone through.]
Whenever a buyer receives a message similar to what @gosimus received when trying to send a message … it can only mean that the seller has blocked ALL messages.
onefootflipper
·6 months agoI am pretty sure that autoresponse is what you get if you are on the person's Blocked Bidder List.
gosimus
OP6 months agoI wasn't trying to bid, I was trying to send a message. Then, a couple of days later, I was able to get a message sent.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·6 months ago@gosimus I'm still trying to follow this. You sent a message...you mean you sent a message through ebay messages, or you asked the question as part of the chat during the Live session? If you actually sent an ebay message during the Live session, I'd guess the seller had that response set as a default because he was busy running a Live program.
But maybe I'm not understanding what you are saying here?
gosimus
OP6 months ago@my-cottage-books-and-antiques
I sent an ordinary eBay message using the listing "Send message" link. I think your earlier answer nailed it. The pace of the auction was sort of overwhelming, and it's possible that the seller wouldn't have time for questions. This was the first live auction I had ever seen and I wouldn't even have given it a second glance, except the coin was something I very much wanted.
12345jamesstamps
·6 months agoI had that problem.
I couldn't tell seller I got the wrong item...didn't take messages anymore...and it was a seller I buy from all the time.
I had to open a claim and go through the whole scene for a return of 10 bucks...when I know the seller could just as well send the correct item out.
Instead of my glassine envelopes I got a 'birds nest'...which I am sure the seller didn't want that returned.
simba6
·6 months agoSome sellers just think your not going to purchase. It's silly as it can cost a sale. Seen many a seller get like that at in person flea-markets too.
gosimus
OP6 months ago@simba6
< It's silly as it can cost a sale >
It did cost a sale. A shame, too, because the seller and I both lost out.
edited to correct ~ It didn't cost the seller a sale, the coin did sell. It was just that the coin sold for less than I would have given for it, several hundred less.
stephenmorgan
·6 months agoI find the bigger a seller is the more difficult it is to communicate with them.
I do not ask questions until I am ready to purchase. If no answer in a couple of days I move on. Sometimes I receive a reply a week or more later but by this time I have already purchased the item from someone else.
gosimus
OP6 months ago@stephenmorgan
< I find the bigger a seller is the more difficult it is to communicate with them. >
I believe it. This was the first live auction I'd ever seen. Coins were selling like hotcakes, it was astonishing to watch. And for pretty big money, too. Graded Morgans, American Eagles, each item would be sold within seconds, and then on to the next one. That seller must have been making a mint (See what I did there?)
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·6 months agoSo, this was not a fixed price listing or an auction listing, you were messaging the seller during an ebay Live auction? I'm not very familiar with ebay Live Auctions (although I have attended some on other platforms), but if a seller is trying to run the auction alone or maybe with only one helper, I think it can be pretty difficult to answer questions. If your question was about the note itself, you might have received an answer, but if you were asking : "When are you finally going to put this up?" , I personally wouldn't be surprised if a seller in a fast paced live auction sent a quick "not answering" sort of message. Those Live Auctions can be pretty challenging for sellers to keep up with...
gosimus
OP6 months ago@my-cottage-books-and-antiques
< if a seller is trying to run the auction alone or maybe with only one helper >
I think that's probably it. I know there was at least one helper, because, when an item would sell, he handed it off to somebody and reached for the next item. It was a hectic pace. I don't see why he disabled messages, though, shorthanded or not. He could simply have ignored them until either the event was over or he took a break to catch his breath. Oh well, it is what it is. Thanks for the insight.
< if you were asking : "When are you finally going to put this up?" >
I didn't say anything like "finally" . . . I was courteous. Remember, when I tried to ask the question, I was intending to purchase the coin. I wouldn't have done anything to aggravate the seller, I wanted him to help me.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·6 months ago@gosimus Hi, I didn't mean to imply you were rude. Just trying to figure out if your question was about the coin itself (like, a question about condition) or if you were asking about the time frame.
So, again, just trying to understand, the reason you didn't win the coin was because you did not stick around until it came up? It eventually came up, there were bids, and it sold, but you lost out because you did not---perhaps could not, due to other obligations, or whatever---stick around for the actual bidding?
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·6 months ago@gosimus As I said, I haven't tried bidding on any ebay Live auctions, but to me, one of the issues I have with a lot of live auctions in general is there is no list of the the items ahead of time, with the order in which they'll be sold. So, if there's only one or two things you want, you might need to sit through a lot of stuff to make sure you don't miss what you want whenever it comes up. I prefer a catalogued live auction, so I know what all is in the auction and have an idea of when my item(s) will come up. (Of course, I realize that isn't always practical for all sellers/auctions).
gosimus
OP6 months agoMy question was time frame, i.e., when the coin would be offered. The auction had already started before I joined (that's the word they use). I did twiddle my thumbs through a half hour of other stuff being sold . . . and you have to pay attention because they go so fast. But I gave up because I didn't know if the coin was yet to come or if it had already been sold before I got aboard. If I could have known for certain that it was upcoming, I'd have waited no matter how long it took.
msha3839
·6 months agoYou’re too generous waiting a couple of days to get a response…unless seller fell off the wagon or dead, shouldn’t take more than 24 hours or less to get a message from seller..
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·6 months agoShe asked a question about when will this item come up during an ebay Live auction. My guess is, once the auction was over and the item had sold, the seller probably figured the question was moot....by the time he could get around to answering, the item had already sold.
Yes, an answer would have been polite and better customer service, but a seller with a ton of stuff to ship out, etc, might be more focused on other things.
Personally, I think it is a shame for both the seller and the OP that she didn't end up bidding.
msha3839
·6 months agoCommon courtesy goes a long way, especially in business, any business…ðŸ¸
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·6 months ago@msha3839 I agree 100%.
gosimus
OP6 months ago@my-cottage-books-and-antiques
< and the item had sold, the seller probably figured the question was moot >
The seller never saw my question. When I clicked the Send button, notice immediately popped up saying that the seller "is not accepting messages." A day or two later I sent the same seller another message, and this time the message went through. So, I reach the same conclusion that you did that the seller had disabled receiving messages specifically for the duration of the auction. As you said, he probably didn't want to be distracted by messages, even mine which could have profited him several hundred dollars more than the bid that did win.
cardsforauction
·6 months agoOne time I got a message from a seller 3 months after the auction ended. I had messaged the seller for more details about an item and they never replied back. The only reason I think they finally replied is because the message system would keep reminding you there are (# of messages) you still need to reply to, and the only way to rid of the reminder was to finally reply. That was really annoying.
hartungcards
·6 months agoMessage me anytime if you'd like me to raise my prices for you.
gosimus
OP6 months ago@hartungcards
< Message me anytime if you'd like me to raise my prices for you. >
As Mike Hammer, played by Stacy Keach, used to say, "I'll make a note." I wish you did have one of those '53 1 lbs. On the front is Elizabeth II, the elfin portrait by Mary Gillick; and on the back is a springbok, the same antelope that's on a krugerrand.
meme6253
·6 months agoSo you would have offered even more money?, Come visit my store & tell me what you like!, I accept messages!
gosimus
OP6 months agooops, I meant @meme6253
< So you would have offered even more money?, Come visit my store . . . >
It was a live auction. I sat through a half hour of the darn thing and the SA £1 didn't come up during that time. I tried to ask if the seller could tell me about what time it would be up for bids. I thought it was a reasonable request.
If you ever get a coin like that in your store, you betcha I'll come buy it. Get two, I'll buy them both.
stuff4divas
·6 months ago@gosimus maybe @sin-n-dex would know
sin-n-dex
·6 months agoSouth Africa 1 pound 1953 is gold... I don't deal in gold, too susceptible to scams.
C.
stuff4divas
·6 months agooh, sorry @sin-n-dex