Responding to poster's questions

[emerald40]

Do the posters on here sometimes go overboard in responding to a question?

Just left one such thread where a question was asked on how to do something.

If the question is narrow, should we be going through this seller's entire history or just answering the question as presented?

[femmefan1946]

I'm retired, nosy and bored.

A girlfriend once told me that CSIS (the Canadian equivalent to your CIA) should be staffed entirely by post-menopausal women.
Nobody notices us.

Nobody remembers us.

And nobody is surprised when we ask very personal questions.

The MiddleAgedWomen Brigade would, of course, be armed with a purse full of Werther's Caramels, and for really tense situations, dozens of pictures of our grandchildren.

[partial*eclipse]

Sometimes, a smple question can reveal an underlying lack of understanding about how eBay works.

[hollysfinds]

Personally, I think people should just stick to whatever question was asked.

I've had it happen to me where someone goes off on a tangent about something.

If someone wants a critique of their listings, or whatever, they'll ask for it.

If they don't, then people should not offer unsolicited advice.

Just my opinion.

[emerald40]

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@partial*eclipsewrote:

Sometimes, a smple question can reveal an underlying lack of understanding about how eBay works.

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Or like in this case it can PO the OP or scare away lurkers because they feel the posters here will gang up on you.

[lex-talon]

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@emerald40wrote:

Do the posters on here sometimes go overboard in responding to a question?

Just left one such thread where a question was asked on how to do something.

If the question is narrow, should we be going through this seller's entire history or just answering the question as presented?

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There are some people that will go beyond what was asked in the first place. The OP just wants a definitive answer. If both parties want to communicate further, they can do so by PM.

[loveyourimagination49]

Depending on the question and who is asking it.
I will check to see how many posts they have.
If they have 10 posts all the same. I ignore.
If it’s a newbie I will use the @ so they find there way back. Sometimes will look to see if they are in the USA.

[creoleorchid]

Sometimes you want to see where the poster is coming from, both literally and figurative. i.e, if a buyer asks about use wire transfer to make a payment , the answer would be different if they were US or EU.

If they complain about a broken or NAD item and they have a history of leaving bad feedback, or lots of "thanks for refunding/working with me" type FB, then my perspective changes.

A poster complains about VeRO takedowns, advise differs if he has a bunch of obvious fakes listed or recently sold.

[gracieallen01]

Priceless!

[missjen831]

I think I get what you are saying. 

I’ve seen threads very recently where the OP was shamed by multiple posters over things completely unrelated to their question/problem. Posters obviously went and dug up whatever dirt they could find and it led to shaming by multiple posters. Now Partial did point out that sometimes there is a real lack of understand of how eBay works and that’s why unrelated issues are brought up. And I completely agree.  But there are times when the point is to shame the OP and that is wrong. It’s one thing to bring things up nicely, in an attempt to help them prevent having more problems, it’s ok to try to educate them as well as long as you are respectful, in my humble opinion. But there’s just been a few threads lately (not on this board) where that wasn’t really the intention, it was all a bunch of shaming over things not even related to the OPs problem and that is wrong. Things that didn’t need to be brought up. It does upset them and it does scare others away.

[fine_acquisitions]

Ummm yep, definitely know what you are talking about! Happening to me right now, haha. The thread has gone in about 10 different directions.

I am not a huge fan of people digging into my entire feedback history/current listings/past listings when they are not really germane to the question.

[emerald40]

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@missjen831wrote:

I think I get what you are saying. 

I’ve seen threads very recently where the OP was shamed by multiple posters over things completely unrelated to their question/problem. Posters obviously went and dug up whatever dirt they could find and it led to shaming by multiple posters. Now Partial did point out that sometimes there is a real lack of understand of how eBay works and that’s why unrelated issues are brought up. And I completely agree.  But there are times when the point is to shame the OP and that is wrong. It’s one thing to bring things up nicely, in an attempt to help them prevent having more problems, it’s ok to try to educate them as well as long as you are respectful, in my humble opinion. But there’s just been a few threads lately (not on this board) where that wasn’t really the intention, it was all a bunch of shaming over things not even related to the OPs problem and that is wrong. Things that didn’t need to be brought up. It does upset them and it does scare others away.

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Actually it is a thread here that caused me to post this thread.

I think part of the problem and I am guilty is that posters do not read from the beginning so they are repeating what others have said and it does result in a pile on.

I think what we nee to look at is if a seller is open to this type of help.  Some want to learn and are grateful.  Others view it as unwanted criticism and just want their initial question answered and that is it.

I have seen more than a few ask the mods to close the thread to get it to stop.

[a_c_green]

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@emerald40 wrote: 
Just left one such thread where a question was asked on how to do something.

If the question is narrow, should we be going through this seller's entire history or just answering the question as presented?

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I think I can probably guess which recent thread is being referred to here, but in the spirit in which this question was asked, I'm not going to go bringing that one up again.  

IMHO, a how-to-do-something question can usually be answered up front, regardless of the OP's background, and if someone is just asking, "How do I do [whatever] on eBay?" and it's something I can answer, then I'll just answer it, maybe just stick in a reference link if needed, and move on to the next one.

It's the "why" questions that often need more background, such as to see whether someone's already gotten themselves into a mess (e.g. a Neg for something), or are contemplating doing something in a current listing that might be a bad idea (e.g. depending on whether they're selling an everyday item vs. selling an iPhone). That will often involve looking at either their current or past listings, a process that takes some OPs by surprise, as if something hidden was suddenly uncovered.

Depending on what's found there, I might point out something else in the listing that has the potential to be a problem, even if it currently isn't (e.g. OP's own return terms or other conditions, especially if unenforceable, which they should know about sooner rather than later, after Something Bad happens). Otherwise, I don't go chasing OP listings just to see what can be nitpicked for no good reason.

[chrysylys]

If you're talking about the cape thread, I made a few comments direct on topic, then bailed when I saw how the OP reacted.

[emerald40]

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@chrysylyswrote:

If you're talking about the cape thread, I made a few comments direct on topic, then bailed when I saw how the OP reacted.

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I am not going to point to any particular thread or poster, just that I have seen it occur more lately with the OP getting fed up and leaving.

And then posters questioning why he is not responding any further and pointing that newbies maybe not able to find their way back.  IMO that is not always why the reason they left.

And yes you bailed after he reacted, but by that time did the thread already go too far?