eBay won't allow me to contact the seller

gjd0496

I recently had an accident on my bike which effectively wrote it off so I searched eBay to find a replacement. As it happens I found one which was only about 10 miles away so I contacted the seller about going to see it and having a test ride. My plan was that if I liked it, I would then pay using my phone, via PayPal, and take it away.

But the seller told me that he was unable to give me his address as a message came up warning him his account would be blocked if he did so. This seemed odd to me so I tried to send him my phone number and had the same result.

So I contacted eBay support about this and it seems this is now policy, i.e. you cannot see an item you want to purchase unless you have first bought it (in this case it was a buy it now). They suggested if I didn't want it I could get a refund but this isn't a great idea as, apart from all the messing about, the seller could then lose any other buyers in the interim.

I think this policy has gone too far and has shades of Big Brother about it. But that said I do understand why eBay might wish to discourage direct contact with a seller for certain items as they don't want people doing deals outside of eBay but in the case of an item you really need to see before you buy it, I don't believe this should apply. In my case I would have even paid a small fee to eBay to be allowed to do so - maybe they need to think on that?

Effectively this policy has prevented a sale through eBay which must surely be counter-productive? The seller informed me he would now take it off of eBay and sell through another route which proves my point.

If the seller had been a business, this wouldn't have happened as you can contact them to view an item in this case.

I also asked eBay support if this policy applied to Classified Ads as I was about to sell a car through this method and was told it does, but further reading suggests that this was incorrect. By the way you can't sell a bike through a Classified Ad as that isn't allowed either!!

So, to cut to the chase, my question was is it legal for eBay to enforce such a policy as it certainly isn't in their best interests or those of private sellers?

soolin

Here's an existing thread about it:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5757203

Unfortunately if the seller now removes his listing having had your email he will probably get his account temporarily restricted. Many of us already have warnings for even more minor apparent infringements and I certainly would not have risked my account even trying to assist you- unfortunate but true.

gjd0496

Thanks, odd that I couldn't find that thread when I searched but its very helpful. Like you I wouldn't compromise my account either but I think the seller is safe in this case as his intention was to let it expire, or at least I hope so.

pulliptears

Tell your seller to list it on Shpock or Gumtree simultaneously. You can then view it. That said, if you bought it and he then ended the ebay auction it could cause him issues.
Stupid policy really.

soolin

pulliptears wrote: »

Tell your seller to list it on Shpock or Gumtree simultaneously. You can then view it. That said, if you bought it and he then ended the ebay auction it could cause him issues.
Stupid policy really.

How does the OP contact the seller though to suggest that without going through ebay messages and definitely getting a ban? If OP had the sellers email or other contact details they wouldn't have this issue at all.

pulliptears

soolin wrote: »

How does the OP contact the seller though to suggest that without going through ebay messages and definitely getting a ban? If OP had the sellers email or other contact details they wouldn't have this issue at all.

Ebay messages: "hello, just wondered if this is also listed on X site?"

Might be enough for seller to have a lightbulb moment and nothing in eBay policies states that an item cannot be listed elsewhere. Asking if it is shouldn't be an issue, though lately who knows.

soolin

pulliptears wrote: »

Ebay messages: "hello, just wondered if this is also listed on X site?"

Might be enough for seller to have a lightbulb moment and nothing in eBay policies states that an item cannot be listed elsewhere. Asking if it is shouldn't be an issue, though lately who knows.

I still still that as an almost automatic warning or suspension. Why would a buyer be asking about other sites unless they were planning to buy there? That just seems to me an obvious attempt to deal off ebay.

Also, there are ebay policies that state items cannot be offered elsewhere at the same time, so it's possibly two strikes for the price of one.

Brynsam

gjd0496 wrote: »

So, to cut to the chase, my question was is it legal for eBay to enforce such a policy as it certainly isn't in their best interests or those of private sellers?

Perfectly legal to have an idiot policy which acts against the interests of buyers, sellers and ebay. Sensible? Of course not.

seatbeltnoob

ebay just isn't a suitable platform for motors, stick to gumtree/shpock or autotrader

Gary123456790

The last item I collected, the phone number was sent through as ohsevenseveneightone twofour etc! and that was for an item sold on ebay - everyone is paranoid now.

I recently sold an item which was for collection only, which i dont do very often - I sent my phone number normally but I did choose my words carefully, e.g. i didn't write "my phone number is ...", more like "i'm on ....", not that it should really be an issue as the sale was through ebay but i know they still object if they feel like it...

Gary.

gjd0496

seatbeltnoob wrote: »

ebay just isn't a suitable platform for motors, stick to gumtree/shpock or autotrader

As long as the buyer can contact the seller, which I believe they can if its a classified ad, then eBay would be my first choice for selling a car as I have had good results before. £15 is cheap for this service (but don't tell them in case they put the price up...).