Why don't sellers answer emails?

mrcol1000

bxboards wrote: »

This is the reason some sellers do not accept questions. It's a business decision..staff can spend a lot of time running around after 'window shoppers' who don't care to read or use common sense or engage brain first.

That is great until you have someone who is planning a big or regular order and goes to one of your competitors as they can be bothered to provide a bit of customer service.

RFW

mrcol1000 wrote: »

That is great until you have someone who is planning a big or regular order and goes to one of your competitors as they can be bothered to provide a bit of customer service.

It's one of the reasons I sell on Amazon over Ebay, customer service. If I send Ebay a question, I'm lucky if someone replies having read the question. On Amazon I get a reply and problem solved, sometimes they even call.
You can make a decision to take out customer service, even if it is pre sale, I can't see it being a good one.

Dr._Shoe

On a slightly different tack I was negotiating with a British company to buy some equipment. They told me that they had the equipment I need and that I had a choice of a couple of different ones. I told them which one I wanted and asked how to pay for it (it was an actual order) as they don't have payment information on the website and don't take paypal. Four weeks have gone by and no reply.

In the end I ordered from a company in Finland who always reply to my emails withn 18 hours.

This cannot be a wise business decision on the pat of the UK based company.

goodmorningsunshine

It's not only sellers ignoring questions from prospective buyers, but also sellers ignoring questions from their buyers - like "where my items I ordered and paid for one week ago with delivery being stated as Royal Mail 24?

Two messages sent - no replies.

usefulmale

MysteryMe wrote: »

If I walked into a shop and made an enquiry about an item I would not expect to be stared at in silence or informed I'm an idiot. The sellers who refuse to supply information are usually the same ilk who have several paragraphs of terms and conditions and minimal item description.

Most sellers I've asked questions have replied and I always acknowledge the reply. If it turns out the item is not suitable, e.g. wont fit, I'll let them know too. Obviously I don't buy from those that don't respond.

You are not comparing like for like. Ebay have engineered a million different ways for a seller to have their account damaged and/or suspended forever. Most sellers will take the line of least resistance to protect their accounts, which usually means dealing only with actual orders and blocking anyone that even looks like trouble. It's not the sellers fault. Its ebays. If you find the same seller on Amazon, say, you will most likely find that seller will be much more helpful.

Don't forget, on Ebay, the seller is guaranteed 5 stars for NOT communicating at all with any buyer. Does it sound like ebay want buyer / seller communication?

RFW

MysteryMe wrote: »

If I walked into a shop and made an enquiry about an item I would not expect to be stared at in silence or informed I'm an idiot.

You don't shop in Sports Direct do you?;)

lovinituk

usefulmale wrote: »

You are not comparing like for like. Ebay have engineered a million different ways for a seller to have their account damaged and/or suspended forever. Most sellers will take the line of least resistance to protect their accounts, which usually means dealing only with actual orders and blocking anyone that even looks like trouble. It's not the sellers fault. Its ebays. If you find the same seller on Amazon, say, you will most likely find that seller will be much more helpful.

Don't forget, on Ebay, the seller is guaranteed 5 stars for NOT communicating at all with any buyer. Does it sound like ebay want buyer / seller communication?

If the buyer sends a message and the seller doesn't respond then the free 5 stars is gone. If the buyer then buys they can leave low stars for poor communication. This is eBay allowing a buyer to punish a seller for NOT answering.

Your reasoning makes no sense. You need to provide the best customer service available or you risk disgruntled buyers or lost sales. I've never ignored a message and run a very successful eBay account.

soolin

lovinituk wrote: »

If the buyer sends a message and the seller doesn't respond then the free 5 stars is gone. If the buyer then buys they can leave low stars for poor communication. This is eBay allowing a buyer to punish a seller for NOT answering.

Your reasoning makes no sense. You need to provide the best customer service available or you risk disgruntled buyers or lost sales. I've never ignored a message and run a very successful eBay account.

On ebay the automatic 5 * goes as soon as buyer asks a question, I think it is currently within 14 days before purchase and 7 days afterwards. So if it is a genuine question seller would perhaps be foolish not to respond as if buyer goes on to buy they can then leave communication stars.

If however the question is really really daft or confrontational * then blocking them might save a low star if they then try to buy.

By confrontational I mean something like the one I had sometime last year. Buyer basically said they were having issues with items not arriving and sellers then being difficult before refunding them, and they wanted my reassurance that as what they saw as a 'good seller' would not expect them to fill forms out or go via ebay if my item to them was also lost.

lovinituk

soolin wrote: »

On ebay the automatic 5 * goes as soon as buyer asks a question, I think it is currently within 14 days before purchase and 7 days afterwards. So if it is a genuine question seller would perhaps be foolish not to respond as if buyer goes on to buy they can then leave communication stars.

If however the question is really really daft or confrontational * then blocking them might save a low star if they then try to buy.

By confrontational I mean something like the one I had sometime last year. Buyer basically said they were having issues with items not arriving and sellers then being difficult before refunding them, and they wanted my reassurance that as what they saw as a 'good seller' would not expect them to fill forms out or go via ebay if my item to them was also lost.

It's second guessing people's intentions though. Some people are not very good at expressing themselves via messages. I've had plenty of odd and/or annoying questions that have led on to decent sales and regular customers.

In your example I would have told them that the standard procedure is to report items not received through the resolution centre. That sounds like it would have been enough to put them off anyway! I wouldn't have blocked them.

usefulmale

lovinituk wrote: »

If the buyer sends a message and the seller doesn't respond then the free 5 stars is gone. If the buyer then buys they can leave low stars for poor communication. This is eBay allowing a buyer to punish a seller for NOT answering.

Your reasoning makes no sense. You need to provide the best customer service available or you risk disgruntled buyers or lost sales. I've never ignored a message and run a very successful eBay account.

You have just demonstrated what I have said. Where else allows a buyer to 'punish' a seller for not answering a question? A question that may be simply missed / overlooked or be answered simply be reading the description.

I don't get many questions on ebay for my items and of the ones I do get, I answer most of them but if I were selling in high risk categories like clothes or tech, I would want to minimise my chances of being 'punished' and concentrate on actual orders with the minimum of fuss.