Buyer leaves excessive poor feedback - should I communicate why I won't sell to them?

[resting_kitsch_face]

Recently a buyer made an offer of a little over 50% off of one of my items. My spidey senses were tingling so I checked the feedback they've left for others. Out of the 12 feedback they've left, 6 were negative, neutral, or cases of feedback misuse where they left a positive feedback score but wrote a complaint in the message. A lot of the complaints were about shipping being too high, and one of the neutral feedback was left simply because of this. I assume they knew what shipping would cost before agreeing to the sales. I'm thinking about declining their offer along with a politely-worded message communicating why I don't feel comfortable selling to them.  Any thoughts?

[rugerskick]

Do not email them back.  Block them right away.  It will be a problem order and could harm your account.

Don't reply otherwise after blocking they could still send harassing emails for 30 days. 

[gurlcat]

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@tinsoldierunderground wrote:

True, but for a long time on here, sellers would get the best offer option on their BIN listing whether they wanted it or not.  

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When was that????   Must have been longer ago than the approximately 6 years I've been selling, because that would have IN-FUR-I-AT-ED me.  

[gurlcat]

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@vintagecraze50 wrote:

When I am really on the fence about this I have contacted the sellers who the buyer left the negs for and sometimes that answers my question about letting them purchase completely after that.

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LOL I've done that a couple times too. Or just asked a seller if they would provide the full user handle of an obviously bad buyer so I could add it to my BBL, or if they could clarify something stated in a neg because it sounded like defamatory nonsense to me.  It's kinda fun giving a fellow seller an excuse to unload about all the bull a buyer put them through, but knew better than to use feedback to address it.  One of those enjoyed our little b-fest chat so much she wound up buying some stuff from me!    

[wastingtime101]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

Also, sending a message means that if you have your block set with no communication, you're stuck with whatever messages they want to send for 30-60 days or whatever (don't remember) as that would circumvent the block.

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Nope @chapeau-noir . Not since eBay changed it this year. When a buyer is added to your BBL their messages cannot get through to you and it takes effect right away. On their end it looks like the message goes through so the buyer thinks the seller is ignoring them.

Read about it here ->

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Changes-to-Buyer-Blocks/td-p/33977166

[chapeau-noir]

@wastingtime101  Thank you for this! I missed this change.

So in other words putting a buyer on your blocked buyer list automatically blocks communication? It seems that they've divided the contact scenarios into buyer requirements or blocked buyer list.

On their end it looks like the message goes through so the buyer thinks the seller is ignoring them.

I'm not sure that's a great idea. It needs to be honest and just tell the buyer that they've been blocked from communication instead of the passive-aggressive 'ignoring' (which potentially could lead to all sorts of problems if one has a vindictive enough buyer).

[epowerbargains]

She did try to leave a negative but eBay removed it. 

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

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On the one-time rare occasion that a wannabe buyer (with whom I'd personally never done business) contacted me to ask why she was blocked (based on the message that popped up when she tried to buy), I did tell the truth as gently as I could. Her subsequent rant and threats to report me to ebay told me that my block was valid. (BTW, if she reported me to ebay as she'd promised to do, it never went anywhere!)

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I've always wondered if these stories actually occur, thanks for sharing it, that satisfies my curiosity!

And now sadly we can't repeat this occurrence as we can no longer receive messages from wannabe buyers that are blocked ... the curiosity to know if blocked buyers are attempting to contact you will never be satiated as eBay has decided for all sellers that buyers who are blocked are blocked from messages. Awful decision. Absolutely awful. Sellers can make that decision for themselves. Give us some autonomy, eBay!

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

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@chicka8618 wrote:

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Being able to look at a prospective buyer's feedback (left for others) is the best thing about having a b.o. option and I can't count the number of bullets I've dodged because of it.

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Its kind of a Catch 22 though isn't it. You have the advantage of being able to screen some buyers, but those types wouldnt even come around if you just have it set to Buy it Now. Most low ball types only really come for the Best Offers to see how cheap they can get it. 

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Nope, you clearly haven't received enough messages from buyers making offers or asking for discounts on listings with "Buy It Now" Only. A lack of Best Offer feature does not deter them... they still find a way...

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

@wastingtime101  Thank you for this! I missed this change.

So in other words putting a buyer on your blocked buyer list automatically blocks communication? It seems that they've divided the contact scenarios into buyer requirements or blocked buyer list.

On their end it looks like the message goes through so the buyer thinks the seller is ignoring them.

I'm not sure that's a great idea. It needs to be honest and just tell the buyer that they've been blocked from communication instead of the passive-aggressive 'ignoring' (which potentially could lead to all sorts of problems if one has a vindictive enough buyer).

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Some of the many reasons the idea of auto-blocked communication of BBL-ed buyers is an awful idea.

Give sellers the autonomy to choose if they receive communication or not (even if it means being able to block comms with some and not with others). Let the buyers know they've been blocked from comms ... then again, that may encourage the buyer to contact via a 2nd account... if they think they're ignored they may be more apt to move on and less likely to circumvent w/ new account.

Ehh, it all stinks anyway.

[chapeau-noir]

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@ajs_coins_and_alchemy wrote:

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

@wastingtime101  Thank you for this! I missed this change.

So in other words putting a buyer on your blocked buyer list automatically blocks communication? It seems that they've divided the contact scenarios into buyer requirements or blocked buyer list.

On their end it looks like the message goes through so the buyer thinks the seller is ignoring them.

I'm not sure that's a great idea. It needs to be honest and just tell the buyer that they've been blocked from communication instead of the passive-aggressive 'ignoring' (which potentially could lead to all sorts of problems if one has a vindictive enough buyer).

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Some of the many reasons the idea of auto-blocked communication of BBL-ed buyers is an awful idea.

Give sellers the autonomy to choose if they receive communication or not (even if it means being able to block comms with some and not with others). Let the buyers know they've been blocked from comms ... then again, that may encourage the buyer to contact via a 2nd account... if they think they're ignored they may be more apt to move on and less likely to circumvent w/ new account.

Ehh, it all stinks anyway.

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Might encourage them,  as well.

If I block a buyer, I don't want to deal with them - that includes messages. I'm done with them - that's it. So change doesn't bother me.

[soh.maryl]

You have come to realize that it's not a seller's job to educate a buyer about his practices.

Block and decline. 

Also, explaining to that person your reason for declining could easily result in his making a purchase, perhaps from another ID, and trashing your FB beyond belief.  

[wastingtime101]

@ajs_coins_and_alchemy @chapeau-noir 

Yeah, I'm not a fan of this change. I'm one of the sellers that had my preferences to allow comms from blocked buyers. This new system is creating problems for a lot of us. If you ever run into issues with it, or see others on this forum experiencing issues because of it, please post them on that thread I linked above and tag Kyle from eBay. He's been passing on the FB.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

I agree but I had a buyer recently who was ... not the brightest ... I wanted to block purchases but needed to communicate re a return and the buyer decided to do a return on their own outside EBay buying retail at PO so I literally needed to communicate w/ them since it wasnt just sending a label thru a case.

Awful awful awful

As wastingtime has said before, wanting to block a buyer from further purchases but continue to provide good customer service. Can't do both. Gotta pick one w/ this new system

[12345jamesstamps]

Nope.

If a buyer is buying lots of coins from other buyers or a lot of post cards from other buyers we kinda know it's a good buyer you can trust. If a buyer decides to buy a $500. gold coin and has never bought a coin ever what would you think? Or a buyer decides to buy a $1000. stamp for the very very first time I would be a little suspicious. This works very well for those who sell the same things all the time. Think about it.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

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@12345jamesstamps wrote:

Nope.

If a buyer is buying lots of coins from other buyers or a lot of post cards from other buyers we kinda know it's a good buyer you can trust. If a buyer decides to buy a $500. gold coin and has never bought a coin ever what would you think? Or a buyer decides to buy a $1000. stamp for the very very first time I would be a little suspicious. This works very well for those who sell the same things all the time. Think about it.

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ABSOLUTELY! 

I absolutely scope a buyer's feedback for what seller's they are buying from. Feedback left for others tells you their complaining patters, not buying patterns. I want to see in some cases, who a buyer buys from. If I see a lot of coin dealers, thats good... If i see a laundry list of top coin dealers, then I know the buyer is a no non-sense buyer, you don't buy loads from top dealers unless you're willing to buy NICE coins and pay PREMIUMS. Tells me you're not trying to haggle 24/7 and scrape the bottom of the barrel flea-market style.