Potential customer asks question. Question answered adequately. Still no sale.

[inhawaii]

Potential customer: "Is this item brand new?"

Me:  "Yes, it is brand new and in the original unopened box."

You answer in a timely manner with what i imagine would be the best possible answer, yet no sale. 

Why even bother asking?

[upgradedendmills]

Maybe they wanted used or pre-chewed?

[simba6]

I have noticed the more questions a buyer asks, the less likely they will buy and the more trouble they will be if they do.  That's just the way it is.

[inhawaii]

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@upgradedendmills wrote:

Maybe they wanted used or pre-chewed?

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In which case "brand new in the original unopened box" would NOT be the best answer.   😉

[coffeebean832]

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@inhawaii wrote:

You answer in a timely manner with what i imagine would be the best possible answer, yet no sale. 

Why even bother asking?

---

I ask questions and buy at a later date all the time. Sometimes I'm waiting for eBay bucks promos, sometimes I'm waiting for a month where my expenses are lower, sometimes I'm buying as a gift so I wait until closer to the recipient's birthday, etc.

This week I purchased something that over 2 months ago I asked a question about- and I bought a large quantity.

Just because they didn't buy within a day or so of answering their question doesn't mean they're not going to buy.

[onlinecentral]

Q: Just to be clear, this item is a 3.5mm MALE to 2.5mm FEMALE Mono Adapter. I just bought 5 that were mislabeled with reverse sizing.

A: I have sold 63 of these and figure some of the buyers would have reported an issue by now. I am confident everything is accurate.

I get anxiety for a moment whenever there is a new message.

The majority are bad news meaning a case, unwanted best offer or dumb question.  I always reply, usually respectfully. The vast majority of inquiries do not result in a purchase.

[slippinjimmy]

Is there some rule that says if you ask a question you are required to buy it if the seller responds in a timely fashion?

[inhawaii]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

Is there some rule that says if you ask a question you are required to buy it if the seller responds in a timely fashion?

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 No, there isn't.

I just find it odd that people are interesed enough to ask a question(s)  about a item. They get a satisfactory (or better) answer to their question and they don't purchase.  Why ask the question in the first place if you have no intentions of buying?

You may not find that odd, but i do. 

[1grandmashope_1]

Maybe it is on their wish list. Things are financially tight for many people, and due to joblessness, many people have more time to do their research and fill their time with hope. 

It is always nice to get clarification:)

Grandma

[3eyedfishcatcher]

There are a lot of seller that buy amazon returned items then misstate the condition of the item and use stock images to get the max amount the possibly can. 

[di2360]

I ask questions all the time b/c a lot of Sellers descriptions are not in there listings. I buy clothes I want to know the measurements, I but dvd's I want to know if it comes with the slipcover. A lot of Seller's just don't put in enough about the item. But maybe it depends on what ur selling. IDK  just me. 

[coffeebean832]

@inhawaii - could be that they asked the same question to 2 different sellers, got the same answer then went with the seller who had a lower ship cost or lived closer so the ETD was quicker. Could be that after thinking about it for a while they changed their mind and went with a different product. There are a lot of reasons for a genuinely interested buyer to ask a question then ultimately not purchase. It's the nature of sales- try not to let it bother you. 🙂

[southern*sweet*tea]

A few years ago, I had a newbie buyer.  I'm guessing he was fairly young. He asked seven or eight questions about a particular cookbook I had listed - did it have this recipe, did it have that recipe, etc., etc. He was going to buy it for his mom. No, he didn't buy it.  About a month later, he came back and bought $65 worth of books from me.  He still, years later, buys from me occasionally.

Just because they don't buy now doesn't mean they won't buy later, so treat 'em right.

[luckythewinner]

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@inhawaii wrote:

Potential customer: "Is this item brand new?"

Me:  "Yes, it is brand new and in the original unopened box."

You answer in a timely manner with what i imagine would be the best possible answer, yet no sale. 

Why even bother asking?

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You are *guessing* that giving the correct answer should have gotten you the sale. That may not be the case. 

Here's a hypothetical:

The buyer saw five listings, and asked the same question to all five sellers. 

You gave the "correct" answer, but so did one other seller.

But unfortunately, the other seller who gave the "correct" answer had a lower price that you. Or had it in a better color. Or the buyer liked that seller's history, feedback, or return policy better. 

[mr_lincoln]

@inhawaii   Tire kickers ... some are some aren't ... if I get too many questions I block them, delete all of their messages and then move on.  I did catch one young person once, they repeated their very first question after about 5 ... I think they didn't know what else to ask and forgot they asked the first question which was a very simple one ... it was about 11 PM at night so I messaged back asking if their parents knew they were using their eBay account?  Never heard another peep out of them LOL!