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Anyone with experience of how to resolve block list / ignore list circumvention?

Here are the details of my situation in a tl;dr fashion:

  • Person commits to buying an item from me on July 6th, 2018.
  • I sent two invoices and a message, they either did not reply or responded with they would pay "as soon as they can."
  • When reviewing their public profile, they had 1 positive feedback from a different seller, but it clearly stated that they did not pay and seller beware.
  • Time went on and nothing, opened an unpaid item case.
  • Unpaid item case closed the following July 15th, received final value fee credit.
  • Immediately placed the person on my block list.

 

  • Person registered a new account on September 2nd, 2018.
  • They sent me a question on a listing September 10th, 2018, I answered within 7 hours.
  • They committed to purchasing a the listing within a few hours of response, but no immediate payment.
    The eBay handle was familiar, and when I reviewed my records, it is the same name, phone number and house address of the person from July.
  • September 12th I sent a message informing them that an unpaid item case will be opened, and this is not the first time I have had this experience with them which takes away from my income, inventory and customers when they commit and do not follow through.
  • Sent in a report on the person's second account with evidence and links to prove identity and that I feel this behavior on behalf of the buyer is harassment, September 12th.
  • Sent another message on September 16th to the buyer, telling them that when the case is closed on the 16th that they need to contact eBay for options if they are unable to pay because my hands are tied due to the way eBay handles their procedures.
  • No response from buyer, closed the case today (the 16th) to receive credit, sent a message to the buyer that I formally request that they do not attempt to contact me nor buy my items on any other accounts as I will report it as harassment.

 

So, with all of this epic wonderfun and jollies, I went to send in a new report with the new details of my situation, and expressed that I am peeved that eBay's procedures enable this person to come back on multiple accounts with minimal consequence to mess with me if they so choose. I've read over the rules regarding this kind of behavior, and there is nothing there about multiple accounts being used to contact a seller or "commitment dodging" with the same seller as being against the policies that will result in losing their privilege to use the site. However, I ended up with a red-text splash warning:

ebayreportlol.png

 

You've already reported this person for the selected reason. You can report the buyer again for a different reason or select another transaction.

 

 

I was a moderator for a high-profile site for the better part of a decade. I get the deal with multiple reports and flooding the system with nonsense, and that cases take a while because of the high volume of reports, I will not be told the result of their investigation for the buyer's privacy and all that jazz. However, these are the following problems with this on user-side:

  •  There is no way of seeing a record of report.
  • There is not a way to update your case.
  • There is a lack of confirmation that the report was received or handled.
  • There is nothing to say that you can report the person again after the previous report is handled.
  • Nothing to confirm that a seller can report the same person for the same negative behavior if they choose not toblock the person's account from buying.

...among other nitpicky things, but these are the more glaring issues. Basically, I have been told that reporting something once and they will deal with it how they like, which is fine- I agree that it deoesn't seem kosher to give the tools for a smere campaign on the site. The evidence is in text and site activity, but how do I know that this report is actually to the benefit of myself and my experience on eBay? There's no how-to or a breakdown on reporting, and there is not a visible moderation team. Their system could route my report to the abyss and I'd have no idea.

So, with all of this negative, is there any real positive to reporting?

  • Can I cancel a transaction with a buyer and get a final value fee credit if this happens again because I have basically banned them from my store for (what I figure) is a REALLY good reason?
  • Am I mistaken about their reporting system and there is some hidden page somewhere that I am not aware of?
  • Is it that I'm up the creek without a paddle and am at the mercy of eBay's procedures just to break even with a subsequent loss of time and frustration...?

 

And most importantly:

Is there a way to block someone via email, house address, name, and/or phone number that I am just not seeing?

 

Any info would be great. It's pretty upsetting that eBay could allow their buyers to cause this kind of headache- I just don't feel secure with their acceptable behavior moderation with their users.

Message 1 of 12
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11 REPLIES 11

Anyone with experience of how to resolve block list / ignore list circumvention?

You can’t block anyone by name. Email or address. You can only block a user ID.

And cancelling a transaction is not the appropriate way to handle this, the unpaid item dispute is. eBay will allow members to circumvent your blocked bidder list because “they might really want your item”. Sad but true. Only if the buyer were to cause harm to your account would anything be done.



One life is all we have to live
Love is all we have to give

**Formerly known as MissJen316**
Message 2 of 12
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Anyone with experience of how to resolve block list / ignore list circumvention?

You don't seem to use auctions, why not have immediate payment on  your items?  That way it doesn't get "sold" unless they pay......

Message 3 of 12
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Anyone with experience of how to resolve block list / ignore list circumvention?

Bummer. You'd think that if they really wanted my item they would have heeded my notices that it needed to be paid for  😕

Message 4 of 12
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Anyone with experience of how to resolve block list / ignore list circumvention?

Unfortunately, there is a REALLY large learning curve with settings and whatever. From what I could tell when I did some fiddle-testing with another member, it interfered with requesting a total when purchasing multiple listings.

 

I could be wrong, but there is a general lack of how-to content in their knowledge base so all I have to go on is when I sat with a friend and asked them to try the different mechanics so I could properly inform my buyers when they were having troubles.

Message 5 of 12
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Anyone with experience of how to resolve block list / ignore list circumvention?

As suggested, do your listings as IPR, but remember that the IPR rules do not apply to "offers".  

Message 6 of 12
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Anyone with experience of how to resolve block list / ignore list circumvention?

I'm not sure, considering eBay's recent history of policy enforcement, whether there is anything that you can do about the situation.  While to attempt to circumvent a seller's block used to be an absolute no-no, apparently eBay's policy has done a 180.

 

If one has a non-paying bidder it is best to file a UID, close it 96 hours after opening it, giving them a strike and placing them on your BBL.  If they open a new account to circumvent your block about all you can do is report them and place that ID on your BBL as well.  Of course, if they then use that ID to leave feedback about the first non-paid purchase, they would have violated another of eBay's policies.

 

Unfortunately, eBay cannot be counted upon to enforce their policies in a consistent manner.  If, as an employer, you were called before the state's labor board for not being consistent in applying your policies when dealing with employee reprimands, you would probably find yourself in a tight spot if you applied those policies as consistently as eBay applies any of its policies.  Go figure!

"It is an intelligent man that is aware of his own ignorance."
Message 7 of 12
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Anyone with experience of how to resolve block list / ignore list circumvention?

@buyselljack2016

Yeah, it was bought on offer, so it wouldn't matter if I required immediate payment anyway, then. LOVELY~~~~~

 

 

@7606dennis

While this isn't my first NPB case, this is the first one where everything seems too coincidental for it to be an "accident" on a second account with three proven instances of what I perceive as malicious behavior.

 

 

hmph. What on earth do they have to lose by protecting their sellers?


I feel so trapped about this. I should have the right to block a problem person as a person- it's not even a case of cherrypicking how much my listings go for. Let me tell ya, it's quite a concept to be able to mess with sellers like this without consequence.

It's a great thing that eBay has going for them is it's known and you need little advertisement to find your stuff. Otherwise, that is the only perk, and it bums me out that I am paying for a service where they are not protecting me, nor my store, from people that obviously have a history of jerking sellers around. The worst they will encounter will be my block list, while I lose TIME, INVENTORY and more reputable customers who will actually pay so they can get their final value fee the first time.

 

It's like being punished for wanting things to go smoothly- like a legal extortion on eBay's part with a blanket policy based on cancellation and the fact that eBay is THE well-known selling platform. They get their money regardless of the frustration it causes their sellers.

 

What a terrible extension to their business model. The creation and enforcement of this policy is just prime.

Message 8 of 12
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Anyone with experience of how to resolve block list / ignore list circumvention?

Many other sellers share your frustration. Check out this seller’s story https://community.ebay.com/t5/Archive-Selling/I-can-t-believe-the-injustice-ebay-just-did-to-me/td-p... the thread is almost 20 pages long and this is the thread where we were told by an eBay employee that it’s basically OK for buyers to circumvent the sellers block because eBay doesn’t know if they have bad intentions or not and that the buyer might really want the item. Just the other day, another seller posted here after a customer service rep took it upon themselves to remove a blocked bidder from her blocked bidder list! We’ve been assured that the rep in the wrong and the issue has been addressed. That thread is here https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Last-night-ebay-removed-a-buyer-from-my-blocked-list-and-allow...



One life is all we have to live
Love is all we have to give

**Formerly known as MissJen316**
Message 9 of 12
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Anyone with experience of how to resolve block list / ignore list circumvention?

This person makes a really good point:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Last-night-ebay-removed-a-buyer-from-my-blocked-list-and-allow...

 

What good does having a block list serve when eBay enables this kind of behavior? Why do I want this person to come back at me a THIRD time?

Why should they be allowed to come back A SECOND TIME?

Message 10 of 12
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Anyone with experience of how to resolve block list / ignore list circumvention?

One of the things I do when someone sends me best offer , is send them a message that I will lower the price and they can buy it now. then I lower price to BIN and require immediate payment on listing. That way they have to pay to buy and if they mess around someone who is willing to pay right away can get it too.
Message 11 of 12
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Anyone with experience of how to resolve block list / ignore list circumvention?

@grapplingmonkey

Thank you... I think I may use your method of accepting offers.

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