You can no longer contact sellers that block you. Is this a good policy?

[kevhael]

I recently went to purchase an item from a seller and got the blocked buyer message:

"The seller isn't accepting bids or offers from you."

I had previously purchased a single item from this seller, paid the same day, and left 5 star positive feedback.  The only reason I can think of for why they blocked me is the fact that the first purchase was small and it was an international shipment.  If this is the case then I completely understand the block, though at the same time I would like the option to contact the seller in case they made a mistake (or are offering a more expensive item that would offset shipping costs).

I have also had a few sellers block me over the years (I believe I've been using eBay for over a decade at this point), and every time I contacted the seller they apologized and unblocked me.  Mistakes happen.  The new(?) system that blocks me from even contacting the seller means that these rare mistakes will remain permanent.  So:

1) Is this a common/significant enough issue for eBay to correct?

2) What would be a policy/system?  Maybe allow blocked buyers to send no more than a single message to the seller?

Just curious about people's thoughts on this, and if anyone else has had similar experiences.  Unfortunately, the item I'd like to purchase is an error card that I have not seen before.  It's not terribly expensive, but if I had the option to contact the seller then I would ask that they relist the item at a higher price so that I could cover the extra shipping costs.  Additionally, I'd request that they block me again after the purchase so we don't end up with a situation similar to the one that justified the block to begin with.

😕

[coolections]

Think of it as a restraining order. Would you want the person who you put on a restraining order contacting you. Once blocked the seller does not want to see or here from you again. There are many bad people out there in the world who would send terrible threatening messages. It might sound mean but it is what it is. Find another seller.

[creoleorchid]

The message you got means that the seller specifically blocked your ID. Had it been for any other reason, you would have gotten a different but vaguely worded message.

The only reason I can see is that you are selling in the same category. Some sellers don’t like to sell to resellers (their competition). Regardless of the blocking issue, it’s not a good idea to buy and sell on the same account. 

[rolenboy01]

Sounds like a good policy to me you shouldn't be trying to contact someone who blocked you.

[castlemagicmemories]

When a seller blocks a buyer, frequently they block communication as well.

Many buyers have started threads, insisting on being able to contact the seller to find out why they were blocked.  But that is not open to debate and really won't change the matter, and it won't make you feel any better about being blocked.  Unlike your experiences, most sellers do not remove someone from their BBL once they are on there, because they had definite reasons in their mind for the block.

Many buyers insist there was no reason to block them, and not saying this is you, but as more of the story came out, it turned out the block was justified.

[kevhael]

@coolections

"Think of it as a restraining order. Would you want the person who you put on a restraining order contacting you. Once blocked the seller does not want to see or here from you again. There are many bad people out there in the world who would send terrible threatening messages. It might sound mean but it is what it is. Find another seller."

I agree and think the option to block messages is an excellent feature.  I had mistakenly thought it was a new automated feature of blocking bids, and since I have been blocked by mistake a few times in the past, I was disapointed that I no longer had the option to clear things up.  

I think your analogy makes sense for the most part.  The only thing I would say is different is the fact that you can't really accidentally have a restraining order issued 😕

[kevhael]

@creoleorchid

"The message you got means that the seller specifically blocked your ID. Had it been for any other reason, you would have gotten a different but vaguely worded message.

The only reason I can see is that you are selling in the same category. Some sellers don’t like to sell to resellers (their competition). Regardless of the blocking issue, it’s not a good idea to buy and sell on the same account. "

Thank you for taking the time to post this additional info!  That's interesting about using different accounts to buy and sell, I had not considered this.  I sell roughly two items a year on average, so the extra effort might not be worth it for me. 

It makes sense that sellers would want to avoid resellers.  I have sold an item which I believe was in the same category since I purchased the seller's item, so this may be the case.  Really appreciate the extra info!

[kevhael]

@rolenboy01

"Sounds like a good policy to me you shouldn't be trying to contact someone who blocked you."

Before sellers could block messaging (I'm not sure when this feature was added), I had a lot of success clearing the air about blocks done in error.  With the message blocking now implemented, I agree that circumventing the block wouldn't be right.

[kevhael]

@castlemagicmemories

"Many buyers have started threads, insisting on being able to contact the seller to find out why they were blocked. "

"Many buyers insist there was no reason to block them, and not saying this is you, but as more of the story came out, it turned out the block was justified."

Yeah, I think I should have been more clear in my original post, or maybe added a disclaimer at the beginning.  I had incorrectly asssumed that this was a new automatic feature and wanted to discuss whether this was a good move on eBay's part, especially considering my experiences.

One of the replies I got earlier now makes sense:

"Sometimes, people come to this forum and uninentionally reveal themselves as someone you just would never want to deal with on eBay."

I'll definitely be paying a lot more attention to how I word my questions in the future.  I appreciate the reply, thanks!

[castlemagicmemories]

---

@kevhael wrote:

@castlemagicmemories

"Many buyers have started threads, insisting on being able to contact the seller to find out why they were blocked. "

"Many buyers insist there was no reason to block them, and not saying this is you, but as more of the story came out, it turned out the block was justified."

Yeah, I think I should have been more clear in my original post, or maybe added a disclaimer at the beginning.  I had incorrectly asssumed that this was a new automatic feature and wanted to discuss whether this was a good move on eBay's part, especially considering my experiences.

One of the replies I got earlier now makes sense:

"Sometimes, people come to this forum and uninentionally reveal themselves as someone you just would never want to deal with on eBay."

I'll definitely be paying a lot more attention to how I word my questions in the future.  I appreciate the reply, thanks!

---

No worries and no apologies necessary, OP, it was an entirely logical conclusion for you to come to, based on your experiences.  There was really no reason for you to NOT think that it was a new Ebay policy.  You are not privy to how blocking works so of course you would think that.  You have been very reasonable in this discussion and even put forth a reason as to why you may have been blocked, too low selling price with international shipping.  Many are not that realistic;  many just post that there was NO reason to be blocked and then when they reveal more of the story, it becomes evident why they were blocked, and this is where that post that says they unintentionally reveal themselves as someone you would never want to do business with.  Again, not saying this is you.

They also are determined to report the seller, get them kicked off Ebay, etc, while again, you were most reasonable in saying you understand and will have to find another seller.  

I commend you on your outlook.

[kevhael]

@castlemagicmemories

Thank you very much for this reply; it's reassuring to know that I was not completely off base. : )

I'll admit that I was at first disheartened by some of the feedback I recieived.  In hindisght (in large part thanks to your replies), I can see why my post initially raised quite a few red flags.  I have learned a lot from your comments and others' in this thread, so this post ended up being very much well worth it.  

Thanks again, and all luck to you for your auctions, both selling and buying.

[7606dennis]

If a seller feels that he has reason to block you or if you fail to meet his buyer requirements and are blocked from bidding or buying from him, why would he have reason to communicate with you?  So yes, the policy is justified.

[kevhael]

@7606dennis

"If a seller feels that he has reason to block you or if you fail to meet his buyer requirements and are blocked from bidding or buying from him, why would he have reason to communicate with you?  So yes, the policy is justified."

I apologize for not being clear in my first post.  I have been blocked by sellers before, and sending them a message has cleared up that the block was in error.  This is why sellers would have reason to have channels of communication available.

I have received many replies in the same vein as your reply, so I think it's safe to say that my post was poorly worded, sorry.

[7606dennis]

---

@kevhael wrote:

@7606dennis

"If a seller feels that he has reason to block you or if you fail to meet his buyer requirements and are blocked from bidding or buying from him, why would he have reason to communicate with you?  So yes, the policy is justified."

I apologize for not being clear in my first post.  I have been blocked by sellers before, and sending them a message has cleared up that the block was in error.  This is why sellers would have reason to have channels of communication available.

I have received many replies in the same vein as your reply, so I think it's safe to say that my post was poorly worded, sorry.

---

Personally, I don't usually block communications from people I block, but I'm not above ignoring them when they try to communicate if I so choose.  Of course, I'm not sure what you mean by "block was in error."  I have quite a few people on my BBL, many I do not remember why I put on there in the first place, but I know that I put them there for what I considered a good reason at the time.  Frankly, the chance of someone convincing them to remove them from my BBL is about the same as getting the Jewish people to forgive Hitler.

[kevhael]

@7606dennis

"Personally, I don't usually block communications from people I block, but I'm not above ignoring them when they try to communicate if I so choose.  Of course, I'm not sure what you mean by "block was in error."  I have quite a few people on my BBL, many I do not remember why I put on there in the first place, but I know that I put them there for what I considered a good reason at the time.  Frankly, the chance of someone convincing them to remove them from my BBL is about the same as getting the Jewish people to forgive Hitler."

I guess I just assumed the blocks were in error because I couldn't think of anything I had done wrong, and the seller was fine with unblocking me (and sometimes apologized, though an apology wasn't owed in the least).  I'm fairly certain sellers can set rules that automatically block bidders, beyond feedback threshholds and new users.  I'm pretty much exclusively a buyer, so I'm not really familiar with how the seller side of eBay works.

I'm definitely not contesting a seller's right to block a buyer, nor a seller's right to give no explanation.  My hope is always that I may have been blocked for a reason other than being a bad buyer, and that in reaching out to the seller I may get unblocked.  At the very least, I might find out how I actually was a bad buyer in order to avoid making the same mistake in the future with other sellers.

If I had been blocked by you, for example, I would have sent a message letting you know that I had been blocked, that I'm not sure as to why, and that I'm interested in bidding on one of your items.  If your reply was, "I don't know why I blocked you, but I did," I would have no problem walking away.  Now that I know about message blocking, I'd also follow up with you requesting (respectfully) that you block my messages so we don't repeat the same song and dance six months down the road.

[kattinsanity]

Is this by chance one of the sellers you left a "thanks" for while leaving most other sellers a "all 5 stars-I'd leave more stars if I could"?  If so, those "thanks" feedback appear you weren't as happy with those sellers as you were with most others.  That could lead a seller to add you to their list.