eBay

sextons-sweet-deals · ‎02-22-2023

I have looked / researched for probably 3+ hours, and there is no way to report an eBay member trying to get me to call them.

What am I missing? Was there another update that does not protect sellers reporting scammers / harassment.

The member has positive feedback but wanted to play the 'word' game.

1. Are these still available? red flag! it is an active listing.

2. I’m interested, but it says pick up only. I’m in virginia and would need to fly in, rent a car, come to you, purchase the cards and drive home.

3. after trying to send their phone number in multiple messages, they add: Can you call me to work out the details of the deal?

4.my response: You are breaking all the eBay rules and I will not be part of it!

5. potential buyer response: How am I breaking eBay rules? I’d like to hear the voice of someone I’d be investing a lot of time and money into. I wanted to ask you if you had anything else for sale that you haven’t listed so I could bring enough money to cover.

I understand you’re probably an older fellow and trying to protect yourself, I’m just an honest guy looking to make us both happy.

But I understand. Have a good day.

Really? You're an older fellow along with 'I’m just an honest guy looking to make us both happy."

I told the buyer they can retract bid. They kept claiming they couldn't. ???

here is the lmao message from potential buyer: It won’t allow me to retract the bid. You are not allowing it for whatever reason. I’ve asked you to cancel the bid 4 days ago long before auctions end. There’s 30 minutes left on the auction and you haven’t responded to me, other than being rude. I’m asking you again to cancel the bid. I can’t believe you would treat someone who was trying to give you thousands of dollars (legitimately through the eBay auction) this way. I’ve never dealt with a seller like you in 20 years on eBay. Good luck with your auctions.

As we sellers know, we cannot block a buyer from retracting a bid!

mobileman67 · ‎02-24-2023

@retro_entertainment_collectibles wrote:

Professional verbiage is wise aka not saying, "You're breaking all the eBay and I will not be part of it."

Hostile flavored words usually result in hostile flavored words unintentional or not.

One hundred percent correct. This is the difference between sounding like a hobbyist and a professional.

@retro_entertainment_collectibles wrote:

Unfortunately at this point in time eBay disallows direct communications between consumers and vendors upon their platform.

This is absolutely incorrect. HERE on eBays Contacting A Seller page, it tell's you how to go about it, although is wholly dependent on whether the seller has enabled their phone number to be shown.

Asking questions about an item, or discussing logistics is not against the rules. Especially, in my experience, on high-value items, customers would rather ask questions in a five minute call instead of a two day exchange via messaging.

What IS against the rules is taking the sale off of the platform.

From the eBay page linked above:

Finding your seller's phone number
You can find a seller's phone number in the following places on eBay, if they've opted to share their number:
When you select Contact seller and then Other on the Find answers page, you'll see an option to view the seller's phone number
If you continue to the contact form from the Find answers page, you'll see an option to view the seller's phone number at the bottom of the page
If you respond to an email from a seller who has shared their number, you'll see an option to view the seller's phone number at the bottom of the page
Completing a purchase outside of eBay
One of our top priorities is protecting our members, so we don't allow contact information to be used to complete sales off our site. When this happens, it poses a risk of fraud, and buyers and sellers aren’t covered by our protection programs if something goes wrong. If a seller asks you to complete a transaction outside of eBay, please let us know.
@retro_entertainment_collectibles wrote:

sextons-sweet-deals · ‎02-24-2023

I think you missed reading a portion of my post.

2. I’m interested, but it says pick up only. I’m in virginia and would need to fly in, rent a car, come to you, purchase the cards and drive home.

3. after trying to send their phone number in multiple messages, they add: Can you call me to work out the details of the deal?

4.my response: You are breaking all the eBay rules and I will not be part of it!

5. potential buyer response: How am I breaking eBay rules? I’d like to hear the voice of someone I’d be investing a lot of time and money into. I wanted to ask you if you had anything else for sale that you haven’t listed so I could bring enough money to cover.

mobileman67 · ‎02-24-2023

@sextons-sweet-deals wrote:
I think you missed reading a portion of my post.

I have not.

I have sold heavy machinery via local pickup to people in other states and have had no issue speaking with them via phone to work out logistics. People do this. It's what we ALL used to do before the internet.

@sextons-sweet-deals wrote:

2. I’m interested, but it says pick up only. I’m in virginia and would need to fly in, rent a car, come to you, purchase the cards and drive home.

Ok, so? Sounds to me like he's trying to understand why you wouldn't ship sports cards. He's trying to work out a way to purchase your product. Not against the rules.

@sextons-sweet-deals wrote:

3. after trying to send their phone number in multiple messages, they add: Can you call me to work out the details of the deal?

...because they want to work with you to make a purchase, maybe?

Technically, you are correct; eBay doesn't allow you to send phone numbers. but again, it's not against the rules to communicate by phone, just to transact outside of ebay, ie cut eBay out of the sale. You have the option of providing your contact number, which indicates that kind of communication isn't forbidden. It's a judgement call. It's business. Working out logistical details is not unusual, especially in local pickup sales involving large sums. In these cases, you just have them message you with whatever was agreed upon on the phone if necessary, then you're covered.

@sextons-sweet-deals wrote:

4.my response: You are breaking all the eBay rules and I will not be part of it!

ALL of the rules? You're being a bit over-dramatic on this one. One technicality at best.

@sextons-sweet-deals wrote:

5. potential buyer response: How am I breaking eBay rules? I’d like to hear the voice of someone I’d be investing a lot of time and money into. I wanted to ask you if you had anything else for sale that you haven’t listed so I could bring enough money to cover.

This isn't unreasonable. Just as you are worried about getting scammed out of your investment, so are your potential customers, especially on high-value items. It's not ridiculous that they might like to speak with you. It IS ridiculous to think that such a simple request makes someone suspect.

If you refuse to ship, which I don't understand, but ok, that's your call, it's not an unfair question to ask if you have anything else that they might be interested in. I routinely get asked "Hey, do you have any more of these?" or similar questions. My reply more often than not is, "Not today, but follow me so you can keep an eye out on my listings". It's part of the gig and doesn't require all of... this. Plus, it earned you a potential future customer.

All of this said, I can understand you not wanting to deal via phone, which is fine, but which is also an easy thing to communicate. There are situations where I refuse as well; specifically if they are attempting to make a deal outside of eBay. Those I put an end to it by telling them that I prefer to keep all contact here on eBay. It's straight to the point and emotionless. Nothing you have shown would have led me to react in the manner you have.

Unless there's more that you're not showing us here, I really don't see what the big drama is about.