mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
@bigmotormania wrote:
Hello Alan, Trinton, Heidi, Tyler.
Been awhile since I was available to participate in the weekly chat so I don't even remember the things I was gonna ask, sad sad, however, I do have a question that's been concerning me as of late.
I've had a few people (from different countries, not sure if this is important or not, different policies etc) who have been sending me their addresses in messages asking me what I would charge for shipping. The reason this concerns me is I don't want to be caught in some crossfire on the matter. I do respond to the messages informing them that I only ship internationally through the GSP and I do not yield any information, links, numbers, addresses, emails, et cetera, but I still get worried with how drastically unreliable the bots can be that someone sending me their address or contact information might somehow have a negative effect on me.
I do not ask for contact information and even before the new policies went in and the bots started going crazy on people for giving phone numbers I refused to utilize contact information given to me, people sending me phone numbers to which I would immediately respond that I do not contact outside of eBay, as I want my own paper trail in the event something bad happens in regard to any of those transactions.
So basically my main inquiry here is as long as I don't respond in kind, do people sending me contact info or addresses have any potential to negatively impact me, who refuses to have anything to do with said contact information?
Thanks, and Happy Belated 4th to you all, firework smoke has me feeling super icky today but it was a great Independence Day regardless.
Hey @bigmotormania - fair question! As long as it's clear from your messages that you don't intend to to take the transaction off-site, you should be fine. It sounds like you're already doing exactly what we'd suggest: responding with statements that you ship through GSP or that you keep all communication on eBay.
To your specific question: don't let those messages go unaddressed, respond and let them know that you ship only through GSP. Bots could take action if an address is sent and then for an unrelated reason the listing is ended, with no messaging between you. We would see that as an indicator the transaction is taken off eBay.
To my knowledge all internet sites have shopping carts that function that way. And physical stores for that matter. The act of placing it into your cart does not create a purchase until you are ready to check out. It would quickly become a nightmare if just putting something in your shopping cart created an actual sale. We would be cancelling transactions a great deal and I could see the unpaid items increasing too.
It is annoying when you have stuff in your cart and you are ready to check out only to find something that you wanted is now sold out. It certainly has happened to me a few times, but it isn't the function of the shopping cart to act as anything but a cart to put the items you want to buy in until you are ready to purchase.
@lintbrush* wrote:
I am curious why eBay doesn't display a seller's handlign time unless it's more than 4 days.
On Monday alone there were 2 different threads - one from a buyer; one from a seller.
The seller received a message over the weekend from their buyer who purchased on Thursday and was wondering why the item hadn't posted yet and wanted a refund. The seller had a 2 day handling time and wasn't required to even ship it until Monday.
The buyer wondered why their seller hadn't marked the item shipped yet and given tracking after a day. They were upset. If the seller had a 2 or 3 day handling time, they (or we) wouldn't know.
These situations could be so easily handling if the sellers' handling times were posted on the listing - like they used to be. It would save grief for the buyer and seller alike.
These were not isolated posts. We see a lot like this that could often be easily answered (or simply not asked) if the information was provided.
Hi @lintbrush* - I just ran some searches and see exactly what you're saying. On certain listings the handling time is stated, on others it has been rolled into the estimated delivery date, but not necessarily stipulated when to expect a tracking number.
I am not sure if this is a test or a roll-out change. I completely see how that would lead to poor experiences all around. I'll see what more I can find out and update you as I get info.
