eBay

funchoice · ‎04-19-2018

Hi,

Good morning. I posted bed bath and beyond coupon (20% off for entire purchase) on Wednesday. One customer sent me three messages as below:

Is this your only Bed Bath and Beyond coupon you have like this one?

Ok how do you get these type of coupons?

Did you receive this coupon in the mail from Bed Bath and Beyond?

I answered to the first one and told the customer that it is the only one coupon that I have.

For the second question that I don't want to answer, so I just replied: thank you for watching.

For the Third question, I haven't answered yet and I don't think I would like to answer.

I think this customer is too much. I tried to be nice. Do I need to answer the third question? How do I answer that I don't want to let the customer know how I got the coupon?

Thank you for your time.

rolenboy01 · ‎04-19-2018

I've had people ask me for "pictures" of a very specific page in books or instruction manuals because someone wanted it for free but tried to play it as they needed to see if that one was "in there" to make me think they would buy the item after "seeing it".

jonathankirkland · ‎04-19-2018

@rolenboy01 wrote:
I've had people ask me for "pictures" of a very specific page in books or instruction manuals because someone wanted it for free but tried to play it as they needed to see if that one was "in there" to make me think they would buy the item after "seeing it".

LOL!

For some reason that reminds me of some of those old, old, old DOS video games. At certain points in the game, you had to enter the 5th word in the 2nd paragraph on the 9th page of the instruction manual in order to continue with the game. I guess it was an early attempt at anti-piracy, but if you ever lost the manual to the game you were out of luck!

gopetersen · ‎04-19-2018

funchoice, don't take it personally.

There are coupon scams on eBay, not every seller is honest, and the buyer was trying to make sure your coupon was legit. They are valid questions and you shouldn't blame the buyer for asking them.

rolenboy01 · ‎04-19-2018

@gopetersen wrote:
funchoice, don't take it personally.

There are coupon scams on eBay, not every seller is honest, and the buyer was trying to make sure your coupon was legit. They are valid questions and you shouldn't blame the buyer for asking them.

If someone is implying I'm trying to "scam" I wouldn't want them buying from me, they are protected by eBay so there is no need to be questioning sellers in this manner, none of those questions would even prove the coupon was legit as someone could just lie about the answers.

Anonymous · ‎04-19-2018

@gopetersen wrote:
funchoice, don't take it personally.

There are coupon scams on eBay, not every seller is honest, and the buyer was trying to make sure your coupon was legit. They are valid questions and you shouldn't blame the buyer for asking them.

If buyers are worried about scams, they should be checking seller feedback....

castlemagicmemories · ‎04-19-2018

I can understand why these questions are making you uncomfortable. This does seem to be a potential issue in the making, so if you ascribe to better safe than sorry, blocking seems to be a good idea, both on the BBL and on communications so you don't get any more of these.

I think she is looking for info on how to get these, and she can do that research herself.

I would answer her, just so Ebay knows you did. Brief, non confrontational responses such as suggested previously would work.

I am sorry but I cannot reveal my sources. Thank you.

castlemagicmemories · ‎04-19-2018

@Anonymous wrote:
@gopetersen wrote:
funchoice, don't take it personally.

There are coupon scams on eBay, not every seller is honest, and the buyer was trying to make sure your coupon was legit. They are valid questions and you shouldn't blame the buyer for asking them.
If buyers are worried about scams, they should be checking seller feedback....

Touche.

chrysylys · ‎04-19-2018

@funchoice wrote:
Hi,
Good morning. I posted bed bath and beyond coupon (20% off for entire purchase) on Wednesday.

The part I find inappropriate is when people sell things that were never meant to be sold and often contain phrases like 'Non transferrable' or 'No Cash Value'.

Forget keeping up with the Joneses. Be the Finklegrubers!
OK kids, time to get the Dodge loaded up again. I hear 'Poppy's By the Tree' calling. This trip might be a long one too.

vintagemoth12 · ‎04-19-2018

She wants her own coupons. She wants to find out how you got hers. She is just wanting information.

green-night · ‎04-19-2018

@myboardid wrote:
@dhbookds wrote:
I agree you don't have to answer the questions and I'm not usually paranoid........ but one thing I fear is how much info ebay is storing and using. ie. If you don't answer questions, is that eventually going to show up somewhere as "seller doesn't answer questions", as we've seen with the b/o "test" talked about on the board?

So I'm beginning to just send a non confrontational answers........like your "thanks for your interest", I'm sorry, but I don't reveal sources", etc. I would not say "NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS".......lol.

just thoughts
If ebay is going to come after me for not answering questions from users who could become a serious problem, then it is time to move on. And yes, that is paranoid.

Prepare yourself because if I'll bet at some point it will be a metric if it isn't (secretly already).

Here is a seller metric on another *very* popular site:

tweetystwades · ‎04-19-2018

I agree with some of the other posters, they're are trying to figure out where and how to get them. I think it's harmless. I don't take offense or block people for these types of questions. If they ask me what I was wearing or what I bought there, then I would be suspicious.

I thought we could no longer sell these types of coupons.

emerald40 · ‎04-19-2018

@chrysylys wrote:
@funchoice wrote:
Hi,
Good morning. I posted bed bath and beyond coupon (20% off for entire purchase) on Wednesday.
The part I find inappropriate is when people sell things that were never meant to be sold and often contain phrases like 'Non transferrable' or 'No Cash Value'.

Just typed in bed, bath and beyond coupon and it brought me to a page where I can download it.

And there are all types of codes to save on line.

Took 2 seconds to find.

emerald40 · ‎04-19-2018

@vintagemoth12 wrote:
She wants her own coupons. She wants to find out how you got hers. She is just wanting information.

Wanting information for what - to go on line, type in the name, and there it is. A whole page of coupons and codes.

vintagemoth12 · ‎04-20-2018

Wanting information on where she got her coupon, is what I meant.
Maybe she doesn't know she can google coupons.
If it is that easy, then how can people sell coupons on eBay and make money?

michael_atw · ‎04-20-2018

They're just grifting info from you. They aren't interested in buying anything. They're interested in how you got it and how they can get it without buying from you.

I get similar tactics employed on me in regards to vintage guitar parts: people who aren't interested in buying want to know dimensions, how to date, other info for their own use.