Unwilling to answer questions

[Crosland]

Why are some buyers unwilling to answer questions about their auctions? Seems a sure way to turn people off to me.

 

Andrew

[thaddeus]

Well, in my experience if they cant be bothered to reply to a simply question they are best avoided. I few years ago I was going to bid on a computer motherboard but I had a niggling doubt in my mind even though there was some very nice picture of the thing the seller neglected to say if it actually worked. So, I pointed this out to the seller who then ~ignored me~ all he had to do was say "yes, it works" to get my bid. In the end I was glad I didnt bid.

[Horsetan]

Why are some buyers unwilling to answer questions about their auctions?

Don't you mean sellers? Probably because they want shot of the item, and the fewer awkward questions the better?

[Thane of Fife]

I asked questions about a loco, but did not get an accurate answer.

I persisted with follow up questions.

Then the vendor got annoyed and blocked me from bidding on his items.

There was obviously something wrong with the model.

 

Thane of fife

[Lady_Ava_Hay]

As a one time experienced seller, I rapidly learnt that most questions, answered or not, were from people who would not win the auction anyway, were frequently in the last few hours of the auction and were frequently of a slightly spurious nature.

 

Genuine questions or errors pointed out early on were invariably answered and/or amended.

 

Still, none of these people were serious buyers. After a bit, you tended only to respond to genuine people who were correcting an inaccurate listing just to thank them.

 

The current returns on E Bay and the regulatory environment for sellers weighted against them in favour of the buyers has made E Bay less attractive than it used to be and many genuine sellers have packed up and are waiting for better times in order to resume or are using E Bay as a giant virtual shop.

[Crosland]

Sorry, yes, I meant sellers.

 

It's not a case of them not answering, you simply cannot ask in the first place with some sellers. Once you exhaust the stock eBay questions/answers and try to contact the seller, eBay does not let you. I believe there is a setting somewhere in your eBay profile.

 

Andrew

[Thane of Fife]

If I ask a question and the answer means that I do not wish to bid on the item, I always inform the seller. I think it's common courtesy.

However, some sellers do not have the courtesy to reply, and they do not attract bids.

 

Thane of Fife

[forest2807]

Agree with all of the above, but I've been asked some bloody daft questions over the years. Sometimes I just groan, roll my eyes and ignore the question.

[Crosland]

If I ask a question and the answer means that I do not wish to bid on the item, I always inform the seller. 

 

The point I am trying to make is that there is no way to contact these sellers during the auction. 

 

Andrew

[Kenton]

I'm not sure sellers are that interested in responding - all too many buyers seem to ask rather obtuse or ignorant questions that frankly do not deserve an answer. They are likely not to bid even when given an answer and I am not convinced the lack of an answer puts others off bidding.

 

It probably depends on the value on an item - I would only ask a question about a higher value transaction anyway.

 

I know we are always complaining of small businesses not communicating with their customers, so I guess if it is an obvious trader we should expect similar criteria on ebay. But for the occasional seller disposing of unwanted junk, I don't think it applies. I also have to say that I believe most sellers on ebay do not sit next to their PC waiting for the last minute buyer to post a question and then to have to answer it. When I sell something (usually timed to finish late/weekend) I am nowhere near the PC and only pick up the 'pieces' the following day.

[Thane of Fife]

Where an item is badly described and there is only a single blurred photograph, the seller does not deserve a bit.

All to many sellers do not post complete details of kit built items.

R-T-R items do not need much description apart from condition, but I think that a kit built item needs more details, such as motor, wheels, etc. These can be shown by careful choice of the photos displayed.

I am sure that those sellers who display good photos and a full description get more bids.

 

Thane of fife

[Titan]

I have tended to find that if I am sufficiently interested in an item to warrent asking a question, then there are other people more interested than me and prepared to bid more. As I bid at the end of an auction, so far on almost every occasion the price has risen beyond what I am prepared to pay by that time and the end result is I don't place a bid.

 

In other words whenever I ask a question and I get a favourable response, I am always seriously intending to put a good bid in but end up rarely doing so.  If I then get labeled in the sellers mind as not being bothered because of no bid (I am usually rather dissapointed not to win) then it is an incorrect assumption.

[ThaneofFife]

I asked questions about a loco, but did not get an accurate answer.

I persisted with follow up questions.

Then the vendor got annoyed and blocked me from bidding on his items.

There was obviously something wrong with the model.

 

Thane of fife

Im sure the regulars wont confuse us......

[ThaneofFife]

Buyers are equally ungrounded. Had a curt message from a buyer thus..."you have not left me feedback.why?"

I leave all feedback until the end of each month and do it in one fellswoop but when you get asked in such a tone you feel like sticking hot pins in their eyes. I think its widely accepted the feedback system is flawed anyway so why some folk get so hung up about not getting their one extra bit of feedback straightaway is frankly beyond me. Maybe they nothing else going on in their world to worry about......ebays a funny old place

['CHARD]

Im sure the regulars wont confuse us......

Thought your post count was a wee bit light today!!!

[Thane of Fife]

Two Thanes......ooops

I didn't realise there was already a Thane on Rmweb when I signed on......

 

Thane of fife (with spaces)

[Colin_McLeod]

The point I am trying to make is that there is no way to contact these sellers during the auction. 

 

Andrew

 

I don't understand this. There are a number of set questions but there is also an option to write what you want. AFAIK this facility is always available.

 

Go to "Ask a question"

 

The topics that you can choose from are:

 

Details about the item

Postage

Combined postage

Pay for the item

Returns

Other

 

 In each of these options there is a limited number of standard questions, plus an "other" option that lets you ask what you want.

Or you can go straight to the "other" option from the first list.

[Crosland]

I don't understand this. There are a number of set questions but there is also an option to write what you want. AFAIK this facility is always available.

 

Go to "Ask a question"

 

The topics that you can choose from are:

 

Details about the item

Postage

Combined postage

Pay for the item

Returns

Other

 

 In each of these options there is a limited number of standard questions, plus an "other" option that lets you ask what you want.

Or you can go straight to the "other" option from the first list.

 

Google shows it's a well known issue.

 

This is not the item, it was a "2mm finesace 08 shunter" that I wanted to know more about, but is from the same seller  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-ASSORTED-WATCHES-MAY-NEED-BATTERIES-OR-FOR-SPARES-OR-REPAIRS-JEEP-FISHBONE-/351068907258?pt=UK_Jewelery_Watches_Watches_MensWatches_GL&hash=item51bd5666fa

 

Try to ask a question "We're sorry but we couldn't find an answer for you. Unfortunately, this seller is unable to respond to your question. We suggest reviewing the item again to see if your answer is in the seller's listing"

 

Andrew

[Colin_McLeod]

I have just asked him a question and it seems to have worked OK.

 

 

 

[Crosland]

Interesting. 

 

 

[Titan]

It works OK for me too. I tried every possible permutation I could think of and still had the option of contacting seller - I could not get to a page that looked like the above. Is there any chance of a less cropped or even full copy of the page you clipped that from, that might give some clues?

[Colin_McLeod]

I got an answer from him this evening.

[Crosland]

It's very strange. It seems it only happens with active auctions. Now that the listing has finished I get straight to the question entry, bypassing ebay's stock selection of questions. That seller doesn't have any more active auctions so I cannot reproduce the original problem.

 

Andrew

[acko22]

I have had the same issue on a few items I have been looking at. Where it has been I just won't bother bidding, as I wish to find out something which will help me with my decision on whether I should go for it or not.

 

where I get an answer I will 9 times out of ten put a bid if not a number of bids for the item and I know a couple of sellers I have purchased from know I may not win but if I ask it is because I am serious about bidding and only ask question about the item that may not be displayed, having sold a few items I know there are some bone questions which are either nothing to do with the item (in my opinion), stated on the item page or in a couple of cases totally out of my control such as when will it arrive if I bid on it (I use royal mail tracked not special delivery)

[acko22]

Ok thought I would put a kind of rant /  fair point on here about sellers unwilling to answer questions etc on auction sites!

 

I have just been looking for a number of items on ebay and well I think it is fairer to say whilst in some cases the people looking to purchase model trains may not be collectors a large number are but when sellers leave things like MIB MZ and that is it or leave in the description section old feedbacks from totally unrelated items, it just wastes their time almost as much as ours!

 

I don't care if the dog they sold to the half blind pirate 4 months ago was great I want to know about the item they are selling which I am looking at!

Even if they have the catalogue number of the items I would rather not have to spend 40 minutes trying to find the things I want to know, about the item in general just to find out it was a waste of my time!

Is it not just simple to put what the seller may want to know? This isn't just individuals this is worse amongst model shops using ebay.

There is a postage and returns section that tells people about that surely the description is just that about the item they are selling, it's really not hard!

 

I many look for a few simple things, Condition, is it boxed, is it used and is it DCC ready / capable.

Surely by putting things like down it would stop all the questions that more serious modellers have about items and actually make us more likely to buy than rather thinking I can't be bothered because I am not sure what I am getting for my money, and for the seller it would stop them getting a million and one questions which could have just been put in the description section instead of some premade rubbish that says it's a fiver to post, or they once sold a oil painting to a blind person and they liked it!