How to deal with Ebay sellers who never reply and don‘t ship to my country?

[gedijes-0]

Hello. Are there any rules that could make Ebay sellers obligated to answer customer questions/requests such as shipping option update or even ban innactive listings? I have written messages to many USA sellers that have products that interest me and even sent repeated messages but none did answer even once. And since I get a message that shipping to my location is not possible I cannot place an order to make their response mandatory.

Unfortunately I could not find this product sold by the EU and not even other countries so I have no other option than to hope they reply and allow shipping to my country (about a month has passed already or even more) or order on another platform like Amazon.

[ed8108]

EBay makes the rules that will apply.

Does ebay then recognize & strictly enforce it's rules ? 

[fm2000]

What are you attempting to buy? The item might be something that cannot be sold internationally (like certain types of knives, food items like meat or dairy which are subject to quarantine, or devices that run on unauthorized radio frequencies in the buyer's country.)

If you get a message an item cannot be sold to your country, there is probably a reason why.

[soh.maryl]

1. As has been explained here, there are some items which cannot be shipped to certain countries for various reasons.

2. In addition to that restriction, sellers on eBay can decide where they will ship.  Some prefer not to ship internationally and that's their choice.

3.  Sellers are not required to reply to messages.  For instance, if a buyer messages a seller who doesn't ship to his country and asks why or asks the seller to make an exception, there is no point in the seller replying.  His lack of response is the answer to the question. 

[ebooksdiva]

There are no rules that say a seller must communicate. eBay will not force a seller to answer your messages. 
If you sent repeated messages to those sellers, my guess is they have blocked you. 
Making a purchase wouldn't make a response mandatory, I don't know where you get that idea from. Communication on eBay is never mandatory. 
I don't know what it is you are trying to buy, it could be the item cannot be shipped to your country due to export restrictions.

[stumcneil]

Sellers sometimes look at feedback buyers leave other sellers.

[fbusoni]

@gedijes-0 

You have left 12 negative feedbacks for other sellers in the last 12 months.

I've blocked you, just in case.

[gedijes-0]

What? Yes, I do leave them because there are scammers (often chinese) or sellers that provide innacurate information. But they are justified and with evidence.

[powell-collectibles]

1. You ask a question.

2. Seller checks your feedback left for others.

3. Seller blocks you from buying and blocks any further messages.

it is pretty simple - you are not a good buyer.  You are either a scammer or you don’t understand what you are ordering.  No seller wants to deal with either.

maybe you are an honest buyer.  If that’s the case, you need to do a much better job of vetting sellers.

[1786davycrockett]

@gedijes-0 

The EU General Product Safety Regulations were set in place on December 13, 2024.

These regulations are so extremely restrictive, that I cannot imagine ANY seller in the United States currently willing to risk a sale to the EU.

Complain to the EU -- not eBay.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

---

@powell-collectibles wrote:

1. You ask a question.

2. Seller checks your feedback left for others.

3. Seller blocks you from buying and blocks any further messages.

it is pretty simple - you are not a good buyer.  You are either a scammer or you don’t understand what you are ordering.  No seller wants to deal with either.

maybe you are an honest buyer.  If that’s the case, you need to do a much better job of vetting sellers.

---

@powell-collectibles 

@gedijes-0 

One other thing that "may" be in play when it comes to sellers responding. The fact they have several message options turned off. This has been an ongoing issue for years. For certain sellers responding to messages is a tedious task. They either block or have auto response or only FAQ in use. Works the same way for some buyers. They may have been turned on the dreaded automagically method or in error. Difficult to know until eBay comes up with some system like other mails systems have with an acknowledgement that the message has been. Not perfect but better than what we have now. Then there are the sellers who like the incoming cash eBay can bring but are not a fan of provided that lil' old thing called "Customer Service'". Not all but some are that way. Just how they roll.

For other sellers and shipping to other countries they may just not be a fan of any additional customs paperwork. Personally I have never found it to be that much of a chore. 

[soh.maryl]

Just curious:  What eBay rules do you feel aren't being enforced?  

[lakefor94]

@gedijes-0

Buyers with a long history of negative feedback left for others will always find a certain percentage of Sellers located anywhere on the planet that will not care to deal with them. 

[gedijes-0]

Well I do check carefully before buying anything, moreover I always ask questions about the quality of the product. I used to look for cheapest best value products since Lithuania wages were among lowest in the EU, so I had to resort to buying from China which is very well known for corruption, substandard products and ripping off buyers. Good example flash drives look great on paper but end up not working as intended. But you can find nice quality and value prices from China too.

I'm not a psychic so how can I get what I will get? When you even check feedback first thing you see from sellers is best possible.

Now I tend to avoid chinese products and prioritize western products.

[stainlessenginecovers]

Sellers are NOT REQUIRED to 'answer messages' EVEN IF YOU PURCHASE!