Why do sellers read messages sent to them but don’t respond?

[us925261]

l am looking for a particular item which I have managed to find it here on eBay and also on Facebook marketplace although the item I am looking for has different types of models but looking at them they look pretty much the same although the models are slightly different. I found a few items that I think is exactly the item I am looking for what I should say the sticker model so when I ask the sellers what is the length, width and height and a few other questions some sellers I see that they check the messages through Facebook marketplace but they don’t respond, same thing on eBay yet they have it listed since at least June? June to December is six months and considering that it is now winter I don’t think there’s too many people looking for what they are selling so I just don’t understand why a seller when they receive a question about something that they have listed for six months why they choose to check the messages but don’t respond. When it be in the best interest of the seller to respond to a buyers question? I am a buyer and seller here on eBay (not on this account, but on another account) and whenever I receive a question regardless if it is in the listing or not I always try to answer the question to the best of my ability. 

[kathiec]

How a very large, high-volume seller handles messages may be very different from how a part-time, low-volume seller handles them. The former may get hundreds of messages a day. They may figure that what they'd pay in staff to handle them is more than the sales they'll lose over unanswered questions. All you can do is find a seller who will answer your questions.

[mtgraves7984]

I didn't even know that users could tell that a question to a seller has been read... where'd you find that feature? 🤔

ETA: ^^^ I meant, as it applies to eBay. I don't use facebook marketplace. 

[ms.rodriguez*]

Some don't care. Some are too busy.  I give a seller 24 hours to respond.  Then I look for another seller  if they are too busy to respond.   LOOK carefully at the feedback.  If the seller is located outside of the USA, often, they are not fluent in English and they are waiting for their kid to come home to translate and answer the question.

[tinsoldierunderground]

 In addition to what others have posted, as far as ebay goes, a good number of sellers see questions about the intricacies and particulars of their item as a red flag, indicating to them that a given buyer may be trouble after the sale.  That's one reason why some sellers don't respond.  Not all take this approach, but those who've had a previous bad experience tend to be wary.

[ebooksdiva]

What I am unclear about is how can you know if a seller has read your messages on eBay. 
I’ve been an eBay seller and buyer since 2004 with this ID and 2002 on another and never have I ever seen that a message I’ve sent has been read. 
ETA No one is required by eBay to answer questions. Although it’s good customer service eBay doesn’t force the issue. 

[stainlessenginecovers]

There is NO WAY to see if a seller 'saw' a message on eBay. Maybe on FBMP- but not here. 

As stated by others, many are super busy and don't get to the questions or they assume you can get sizing info from the factory and or google search. 

By the way, if the part number is different, sometimes is just how something is packaged (bubble card vs a box etc.). 

Anyway- just check the factory manufacturer or google. 

[alwaysauthentic1]

It's easy to say because I'm not a high volume seller, so responding to a message is not a big deal, because I don't get many... I struggle with the offer messages though (i don't like to leave people hanging but a response to an offer on a listing you don't have offers on is essentially a sign you'e willing to play the wheel and deal game and often times will provoke another response even if you shut it down and say I don't do offers), but when I think about it I can empathize with a high volume seller depending on the question. If it's a question that pertains to their specific item in particular that's not covered in the listing then sure they should respond (but to be fair I don't think those are the majority of questions). In which case all one has to do is look up the item on google (if it's a common item) to have their questions answered as quickly as it takes them to ask the seller the question, so it really is a waste of time to ask a seller a question that you could easily find out on your own and it probably is a sign to a seller that there's a greater chance for that buyer to jump the gun and put in a return before trouble shooting a problem because they didn't bother reading the directions (depending on the item being sold of course). 
As I said this doesn't apply to me during this stint of being a seller. I was selling 6+ years ago going back a little ways and during that time I would get buyers in my opinion trying to establish a report, so they could set the table for a partial refund or something, but during this recent stint of selling I haven't run into this once. 

[kh-vince]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.