eBay

craftladyjg · ‎11-04-2018

I have a situation where the Seller appears to have blocked me in error. I believe this because I have had all positive feedback for her and from her. Now I can't contact her because this Seller does not answer questions. I called eBAY and they said the ONLY thing they can do is send a courtesy email which is 'generic'. I have no guarantee that she will even read that email. I see this as a bad policy by eBAY when it won't support the buyer who has a stellar record.

castlemagicmemories · ‎12-19-2018

@buyselljack2016 wrote:
@castlemagicmemories wrote:
You're right, it is hard to block someone if there has been a recent transaction with them, but if some time has elapsed since the last transaction (I don't know how long would qualify), I think it can be done.

Maybe since Paypal and most credit card companies give 180 days for a case to be opened, that would be time line for a block to work. This is just speculation on my part.
Yup, this is correct.

Don't remember the time lapse (30 day, 60 day, 90 day) but for the OP an August purchase is beyond the time communication can continue after it is blocked.

Thank you for the confirmation, very much appreciated!

buyselljack2016 · ‎12-19-2018

OP seems to be long gone from this thread (11-4-18), but I might add to the reasons for blocking.

For no reason at all, and as much as the OP may disagree with it, no reason is required, and is not a "freedom of information right" to be made aware of the why.

Not the case here, but a buyer(potential buyer) does not even have to have made a purchase, or contacted the seller in any way, ever, and can still end up blocked.

I have many on my list that have never purchased from me, or contacted me, questioned me about a listing, or even made offers.

Their interaction with others may have prompted it. Yes, I know what happened with another seller may have no bearing on how a transaction with me may go, but when I block, unless they circumvent the block, I know I will have no problem.

I have increased my BBL bwhen I have found a user name to be offensive

trfi_7560 · ‎12-19-2018

@craftladyjg wrote:
I respectfully disagree. I have a 100% feedback record. I read all the feedback from this one seller and she gave me a positive response to every transaction. In fact, I pay as soon as I win any auction. That is my MO. Please elaborate on your suggested insignificant reasons for blocking. If I owned a storefront and would not allow a potential buyer in (closed the door when I saw him/her), I would be open to a civil suit. I think eBAY should conduct due diligence and insist on the Seller providing a reason to eBAY for blocking the Buyer.

Civil suit? Yeah sure you can sue anyone for anything but the chances of winning are slim.

Unless you can prove discrimination based on race age gender or sexual preference etc, there isn't much a court would do.

Have you ever notice signs and small businesses that say we reserve the right to refuse service? That's all this seller did, she reserve the right to refuse service to you.

joem4stuff · ‎12-19-2018

@iart wrote:
Brick and mortar stores often have a sign that reads "We have the right to refuse service to anyone".

Just a comment on that type of sign:

Interestingly, they do not have that right. The sign implies, and often also states: for any reason.

The 1964 Civil Rights Act guarantees all people the legal right to:

“full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.”

However, there are conditions to legally refuse service. A disrution of business which costs the proprietor; one example would be: someone who is intoxicated, bothering other customers and causing them to leave. In recent events this law has clashed with religious freedom laws and often the religious freedom rights have prevailed.

@iart wrote:

Selling on ebay is hard work and life is too short for us to deal with a problem buyers.

I agree!

In the case of an ebay seller, a buyer suspected of scamming, a proven non-payer or one who is harassing with constant and unnecessary messaging would seem to be disruptive and possibly costing the seller. I feel the seller should have the ability to block them.

castlemagicmemories · ‎12-19-2018

Just like the buyer can choose who to buy from, the seller can choose who to sell to.

Buyers have the privilege of buying here, but not the right. The right is determined by the seller, who just revoked it.

a_c_green · ‎12-19-2018

@castlemagicmemories wrote:
Buyers have the privilege of buying here, but not the right. The right is determined by the seller, who just revoked it.

Maybe this was asked already and I missed it, but... Is it possible that a change in the seller's Buyer Requirements might have indirectly disqualified the OP? For example, if the OP had a history of 3 Unpaid Items, and the seller rolled back their permissible UPI count to 2, then the buyer would find themselves blocked even if the seller had not really been "aiming" at them.

In a case like that, the seller would have to agree to put the buyer on their Buyer Requirements Exemption List (here) so that they could continue to bid and buy regardless of the previous blockade.

adkhighker · ‎12-19-2018

@craftladyjg wrote:
I have a situation where the Seller appears to have blocked me in error. I believe this because I have had all positive feedback for her and from her. Now I can't contact her because this Seller does not answer questions. I called eBAY and they said the ONLY thing they can do is send a courtesy email which is 'generic'. I have no guarantee that she will even read that email. I see this as a bad policy by eBAY when it won't support the buyer who has a stellar record.

From your OP, it sounds like you have had several, or perhaps many, transactions with her.

Did you buy anything from her that you re-sold for a nice profit? Not that anyone should be offended if they bought something from you and scored, but maybe she got wind of it and was offended by it. You never know.

Could it have anything to do with post transaction communication that was maybe getting a bit tiresome for her?

Were you asking her to do any "extras" that she was starting to get fed up with, such as pack the items in special ways or asking her to do anything not normally expected of a seller?

Did you ever ask her any questions that she might perceive as snooping?

mam98031 · ‎12-19-2018

@hillbillymedia wrote:
@craftladyjg wrote:
I have a situation where the Seller appears to have blocked me in error. I believe this because I have had all positive feedback for her and from her. Now I can't contact her because this Seller does not answer questions. I called eBAY and they said the ONLY thing they can do is send a courtesy email which is 'generic'. I have no guarantee that she will even read that email. I see this as a bad policy by eBAY when it won't support the buyer who has a stellar record.
Is it possible that it`s just a glitch or that your seller has opted into the new managed payments system and can`t take paypal? Just a thought.

That wouldn't block you from purchasing unless it was a listing that required immediate payment. But great point.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

adkhighker · ‎12-19-2018

Question for you or anyone: When you block someone, are they automatically prevented from being able to message you, or can they still send you a message and have it go through?

kaykakfs · ‎12-19-2018

" Now I can't contact her because this Seller does not answer questions. "

Are you sure you're blocked? Were you asking a question about an item for sale?

I remember once trying to ask a seller a question. There was a list of potential questions with pre-filled answers, but it would not allow me to message a specific question. it's been a long time, I'm sorry I can't recall the specific details. A lot has changed since I returned.

OP, if you think there is no reason you should be blocked maybe try contacting the seller though a different listing (?)

mam98031 · ‎12-19-2018

@mg152 wrote:
@mam98031 wrote:
@castlemagicmemories wrote:
OP, I know you are upset by this seller, but the best thing to do is just shrug it off and move on. There are many other sellers here who may have just what you are looking for.

Once you are blocked, it is almost impossible that you would be unblocked, so go where someone wants your sale, and don't waste your time chasing after someone who doesn't. That is the best thing for you to do.

Hope you find what you are looking for very soon!
What? If a seller wants to unblock someone, it is extremely easy to do. Sometimes sellers do make mistakes when adding buyers to their BBL. A simple character mistake in the ID can do it.

Since the OP has good history with this seller, it seems it is worth a try to reach out to them. The OP also says they pay for all their puchases, so it isn't likely that the OP is being block from purchasing due to too many unpaid strikes.

Hopefully it will all work out for the OP. I agree with you. If they can't get in contact and work things out with the seller, maybe they can find what they need elsewhere.
Yes, one different letter can block the wrong person if it happens to be a valid user ID. I don’t block often but once I blocked someone for something then I got a message from another user asking why I blocked them. I said I did not block them but I’d check. Turns out I had blocked them by accident. It’s rare but it can happen. I unblocked and it turned out ok but it could’ve gone very wrong for me.

Yes, we make mistakes. We are afterall mere humans.

Just like people make typos on thread postings [not you of course], they can make a typo when entering a user name in the BBL. It isn't like you click on something beside a user name to add them to the BBL, you either type it in manually or you cut and paste. Either way, there is opportunity for error.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

Anonymous · ‎12-19-2018

@mam98031 wrote:
Sometimes sellers do make mistakes when adding buyers to their BBL. A simple character mistake in the ID can do it.

I blocked someone I didn't intend to just last year. I went to my order history and copied the ID of the person I wanted to block - or so I thought. Two buyers bought the same item on the same day and I copied the wrong ID. I found out when the buyer I didn't mean to block sent an e-mail to the address registered with PayPal because they wanted to buy more. Oops!

There is no feature to click a block button next to a username. It has to be manually typed or pasted if you want to block a specific buyer which leaves plenty of room for human error. I don't understand why some people are saying it would be nearly impossible to block a buyer by accident. We have no idea why the OP was blocked or if the seller intended to block their specific ID!

Sellers can also change general buyer blocks like UPI count, shipping restrictions, etc.

Anonymous · ‎12-19-2018

@mam98031 wrote:
It isn't like you click on something beside a user name to add them to the BBL, you either type it in manually or you cut and paste. Either way, there is opportunity for error.

We both typed this at the same time!

Any time you block a specific buyer it's a manual process so there is plenty of room for mistakes to be made.

buyselljack2016 · ‎12-19-2018

@castlemagicmemories wrote:
@buyselljack2016 wrote:
@castlemagicmemories wrote:
You're right, it is hard to block someone if there has been a recent transaction with them, but if some time has elapsed since the last transaction (I don't know how long would qualify), I think it can be done.

Maybe since Paypal and most credit card companies give 180 days for a case to be opened, that would be time line for a block to work. This is just speculation on my part.
Yup, this is correct.

Don't remember the time lapse (30 day, 60 day, 90 day) but for the OP an August purchase is beyond the time communication can continue after it is blocked.

Thank you for the confirmation, very much appreciated!

I have read on the boards how long communication can continue after the last seller response, or after a previous transaction, but as the senior moments increase things like that are not retained.

I had one last month that I added to my BBL. I posted about this on another thread.

The possible buyer asked me a question that would not possibly have been asked if they had looked at any photo in the listing, or read the detailed (no so detailed that it would deter someone from reading) description.

I politely answered their question, and increased my BBL. Blocked because if they had not observed the listing enough to glean the basic information that would have prevented asking the question, I have no idea what other problems could have developed. Listing was mobile friendly, so even if they did not see a photo, the answer was clearly there.

For my my BBL inductees, the "block communication" box is also checked. As they had recent communication, this person was still able to message me saying they would like to make the purchase, but were getting the "seller is not accepting.........." message. I softened the blow (yes, I lied) by stating that some other seller had posted about such situations where a potential buyer was getting that message, and it may be an eBay glitch.

mam98031 · ‎12-19-2018

@adkhighker wrote:
Question for you or anyone: When you block someone, are they automatically prevented from being able to message you, or can they still send you a message and have it go through?

No they are not auto banned from contacting you. You must have the block on communications set in your Site Preferences, under Buyer Requirements.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999