Do you ever suggest things to sellers or point out errors in their listing?

[inhawaii]

An experienced  seller with over 200,000 feedback has a item listed.

It comes in three different colors.

In the item description he has:

"If you don't indicate what color you want a random color will be sent".

Isn't that just asking for trouble?

Why not make it a variations listing?

On the same listing I also noticed a misspelled word in the title.

He has "borad" instead of "board".

As a fellow seller I feel like messaging the seller and pointing these things out ... or is that too nosey/pushy?

[2013grotz]

---

@inhawaii wrote:

As a fellow seller I feel like messaging the seller and pointing these things out ... or is that too nosey/pushy?

---

I see lots of this stuff when I start shopping to buy something.  It's one thing to point out holes on the forum here to people that ask but another one to go unsolicited.  Sometimes if it is indeed something I'm trying to buy, I'll ask questions about the "holes".  But the problem is always whether you get "non-responsive" or some kind of sass back, too.  As I'm sure you've seen on here, a lot of people think they have all the answers (oh yeah I can set any kind of return policy I want on ebay, for instance) and really don't in the long run.

[onefootflipper]

While I always appreciate it when someone points out one of my errors I absolutely don't waste my time doing it for other sellers. 

The fact is that most sellers who come to these boards with serious problems respond with hostility to every suggestion that they are doing anything wrong, insisting that all their problems are caused by things outside their control and they are doing everything correctly.  I just can't imagine sellers who didn't even ask for help being more receptive.

[2013grotz]

---

@onefootflipper wrote:

The fact is that most sellers who come to these boards with serious problems respond with hostility to every suggestion that they are doing anything wrong, insisting that all their problems are caused by things outside their control and they are doing everything correctly.  I just can't imagine sellers who didn't even ask for help being more receptive.

---

Indeed.  In a lot of respects, it's why I'm not posting responses that much - simply because a lot of sellers think they know 100% what's going on and they just have their tinfoil hat conspiracies about ebay hiding their stuff in search engine or whatever else.  Kinda getting fed up with it, to be honest.

[pburn]

People who live in glass houses . . .

[carolynnq]

I point out misspellings if they're keywords in the title that would result in people not finding their items.

I would never give advice to an established seller. I might potentially give advice to a relatively new seller, but I can't recall ever having done so.

[inhawaii]

---

@pburn wrote:

People who live in glass houses . . .

---

... shouldn't throw stones.

Are you suggesting that I have errors I my listings?

If so, I'm not surprised. I'm not perfect. I do make mistakes.

I gladly welcome any/all corrections/suggestions from buyers or sellers.

[onefootflipper]

I am 100 percent sure I have errors in my listings. There is no way I don't with the number I have.  The one that always baffles me is the title photo mismatch error. Once every 4 or 5 months I will discover I have a listing with the title of one item and the photos for a completely different item and I only ever find it out because someone bought it. 

[coolections]

Nope, don't do it. Back in the day I tried that a few times and you would not believe the replies.

[chapeau-noir]

I do it if it's egregious.  Otherwise, no.  I have HUGELY appreciated it when someone contacts me with some dopey mistake I've made, and man I do make 'em.

[s.scharmu0]

Hi!

       The spelling issue yes I would tell them. I would like to know that😊🎄

[fab_finds4u]

I wouldn't. I used to look for tea and white pepper and see a whole lot of listings with mistakes and trying to be helpful I would tell the seller that buyers can't pay with Payoneer or you can't say payment only by PayPal, to check out the accepted payments policy here and they would thank me sometimes but usually not and they NEVER revised their listings. NEVER!

[1786davycrockett]

Sometimes, if I see some very glaring errors on book editions, I'll email the seller to provide them the correct information.  Some respond with gratitude; some just make the change without acknowledging me; and some don't bother changing their listings at all.

There are so many incorrect listings for "first edition" copies of THE LITTLE PRINCE on eBay, that I could spend DAYS contacting the sellers; but I finally gave up after the first dozen or so.

Only a very few sellers have become upset when I have pointed out their incorrect information; and those I didn't bother with a second time -- their potential  "not as described" cases will eventually remind them to research their items more fully.

[richard1rst]

---

@inhawaii wrote:

---

@pburn wrote:

People who live in glass houses . . .

---

... shouldn't throw stones.

Are you suggesting that I have errors I my listings?

If so, I'm not surprised. I'm not perfect. I do make mistakes.

I gladly welcome any/all corrections/suggestions from buyers or sellers.

---

I have noticed that there are some very snippy "better than thou" people on these boards and as I have accumulated their IDs I tend to ignore them.

However, since you asked, and I offer this as a straightforward neutral suggestion.

You have some neon baseball caps. You have a slash between many words like this

cap/hat and blue/green/pink/orange/yellow

I would suggest a space rather than a /

cap hat and blue green pink orange yellow

It has always been my understanding that if someone is looking for a cap the search engine will consider  "cap/hat" to be a single word and not a match for "cap".

I notice many of your others titles also include / which should be replaced with a simple space. Now in fairness I do not have any source to point to. Merely the accumulation of hints and suggestions I have read over the years that have settled into my "back brain"

[femmefan1946]

With spelling errors, sometimes they are deliberate.

For example, I will put both Tolkein and Tolkien in a LotR title because many will Search the wrong spelling.

There is a type of short jacket that is often offered as a bowler, instead of a bolero.

And someone with a high FB score? They may have hired a poor speller to list for the company. That's a problem for HR not me.