shagmidmod
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posted on February 5, 2009 05:05:06 PM new
Just curious, but does ebay penalize sellers for not responding to questions during an auction?
I have sent a seller a question twice since Saturday and they haven't responded. The item ends in about 2 minutes, and I'm not going to bid (their loss).
If there is any one annoying thing is having a seller with a good reputation ignore repeated attempts to ask questions about their auction. This is one thing I think ebay should take a look at in determining a seller's worthiness.
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max40
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posted on February 5, 2009 05:50:26 PM new
Unless you bid, win and give Neg feedback nobody will know.
The other side of the coin is the braindead buyers that ask questions that are answered in the auction itself. Or the buyers that think the terms only apply to others, and want special treatment.
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cblev65252
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posted on February 5, 2009 06:09:47 PM new
I answer questions, but that's my choice. This is our business, not eBay's so why should eBay punish sellers who cut their own throats? IMHO, eBay butts in enough. In fact, they butt in too much.
Cheryl
http://www.youravon.com/cherylblevins
Now you can buy Avon from me from anywhere in the world.
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blueyes29
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posted on February 5, 2009 09:23:02 PM new
I answer all questions but about half ask questions about specifics already stated in the descriptions. I've also found some people ask questions right before the auction ends. That doesn't sound like the case with this poster but I think potential bidders should ask questions well in advance of the end of the auction.
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pixiamom
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posted on February 5, 2009 09:38:27 PM new
Does Amazon have ASQ? (I really don't know). Do major companies who have an online stores have ASQ? I think all the pertinent info should be in the listing description. Make your decision to buy based on that. Many buyers and sellers have moved beyond the need to communicate on each transaction. My experience with ASQ is that 90% are lonely or misguided souls who do not end up bidding in any case.
[ edited by pixiamom on Feb 5, 2009 09:42 PM ]
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ebabestreasures
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posted on February 6, 2009 01:39:02 AM new
I won't bid either if my question was ignored. However with that being said, buyer seem to be taking this to extremes lately.
I recently spent hours pulling furniture out of storage to take additional pictures of things like the inside of drawers - the back of a mirror. One "potential" bidder kept saying she wasn't getting the photos even after 4 times sending them and the other "potential" bidders never acknowledged getting the photos until I asked if they had. None of them bid and none even took the time to say thank you. What is wrong with these people!!! You won't catch me spending my Sunday afternoon doing that again.
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ebabestreasures
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posted on February 6, 2009 01:45:51 AM new
OT
Shagmidmod do you know much about Heywood Wakefield Rio line? I'm trying to determine the value of a china cabinet and I can't find anything like it anywhere else. It has a tiki look and has a special wood treatment as well. It isn't but looks like teak.
TIA
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tonimar1
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posted on February 6, 2009 04:07:47 AM new
ebabes,
Try this site and look at all the dinning room furniture page, it has all pictures and prices.
Its a great site for Heywood
http://tri-stateantiques.com/heywood-wakefield/hwdiningrooms.htm
toni
[ edited by tonimar1 on Feb 6, 2009 07:08 AM ]
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HWAHWA
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posted on February 6, 2009 06:25:12 AM new
May be the seller is out of town or have no access to internet or too busy doing something else.
I have bidders who forget to pay as their kids are sick or someone in the family die!
*
Economic Reform act of Chairman Obama of the socialist States of America :
10 ounces of meat per month,half a yard of cotton per year per adult.
Hellilujah!
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Helenjw
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posted on February 6, 2009 08:04:14 AM new
Good point, HWAHWA.
Although I wouldn't bid if my question was unanswered the seller may have a good justification for failure to respond.
Of more concern to me is a seller with a negative attitude toward those who ask questions and consider them "misguided souls who don't bid anyway."
I don't buy if my question isn't answered and I wouldn't sell if I didn't have the time or consideration to reply to questions.
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sthoemke
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posted on February 6, 2009 08:25:20 AM new
As a seller, it depends on how stupid the question is. If the question is just slightly stupid, I'd probably answer it. For multiple messages of the same question, I think answering 2 minutes before the auction ends is a good time to answer, because that is when the bidder is most likely to place their first bid.
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pixiamom
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posted on February 6, 2009 08:36:39 AM new
Helen, in your vast experience of selling on eBay, how many ASQ asked of you resulted in a sale? I provide life-size scans of all sides of my merchandise and a full description.
Here's a smattering from my ASQ box: I had a pack of cousins email me from around the country,demanding to know where I bought a postcard of the family farm. I dunno- a postcard show? Not one of them coughed up the $10 to buy it. Most ASQ are offering a dirt cheap price- I could have Accept Best Offers checked, but I choose not to - why would I respond to them? Others are looking for a free education- that's what forums are for IMHO, not ASQ. One infamously obnoxious buyer asks the same question on all of my auctions in his genre- not once, but several times a year, even though he could answer it himself if he chose to look at the provided scans of the back. He does this with all postcard sellers - why? because he is missing a few of the hundreds of cards in the genre and wants us to get out our loupes and look at all our cards in the faint hope we might get wildly lucky and sell a $10 card.
Sellers who don't provide detailed scans and descriptions should expect legitimate ASQ's and respond to them. The majority of mine are spam.
[ edited by pixiamom on Feb 6, 2009 08:37 AM ]
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on February 6, 2009 08:55:47 AM new
Does Amazon have ASQ? (I really don't know).
No.
fLufF
--
Vote for your favorite classic eBay commercial!
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on February 6, 2009 08:56:38 AM new
If there is any one annoying thing is having a seller with a good reputation ignore repeated attempts to ask questions about their auction.
You know, whinyness is unattractive to women.
fLufF
--
Vote for your favorite classic eBay commercial!
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ebabestreasures
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posted on February 6, 2009 10:52:20 AM new
Thanks Toni but I've already checked there and many many other sites. Can't find it anywhere.
I may start my own post with a picture and see if anyone knows.
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Helenjw
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posted on February 6, 2009 11:27:12 AM new
Pixia, I value the questions that I have received from book collectors. Not only have I learned from buyer's questions but I am now happy to be able to enlighten a few others in return. When I began selling books, I had a large supply of modern first editions because I read a lot and had accumulated more books than shelves. My first question was from a commercial book dealer. From him and others I learned what collectors value and how to improve my descriptions and judge the value of a particular book. And hot damn, the questioners actually bid on my books! 
I also think that answering questions is good business. The fact that your answer does not result in a sale is not a reason to believe that the buyer is a "misguided soul". Recently, I ordered a supply of diabetic supplies from a discount dealer. When I failed to receive an email confirmation of that order I emailed a question requesting confirmation of my order with tracking info. If that dealer had not answered my request he would fail to receive another order which generally amounts to at least $5,000 a year.
But Pixia, I get the drift of your attitude. I wonder if your answers reflect your attitude toward the "misguided" buyers who may ask you a question? If so, I can understand why, as you say, 90% do not bid.
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on February 6, 2009 11:41:15 AM new
helenjw: Pixiamom's business is different than yours. It does not make her wrong.
As for withholding business from a supplier who fails to answer an email, certainly we all have the power to be petty and vindictive if we want to exercise it. For me, I don't wish to have such people as customers. I find they grossly exaggerate their own importance.
fLufF
--
Vote for your favorite classic eBay commercial!
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Helenjw
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posted on February 6, 2009 12:06:25 PM new
Fluff states, "As for withholding business from a supplier who fails to answer an email, certainly we all have the power to be petty and vindictive if we want to exercise it. For me, I don't wish to have such people as customers. I find they grossly exaggerate their own importance."
It's not "vindictive or petty", fluff. To me, it's a signal to me that the seller may be unreliable and therefore I would take my business elsewhere.
Not being able to communicate about a medical order would be especially troubling.
[ edited by Helenjw on Feb 6, 2009 12:10 PM ]
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Helenjw
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posted on February 6, 2009 12:24:57 PM new
You may have considered my observation that the supply house would loose $5,000 if my email was not answered, as "vindictive". But I intended to use that example to illustrate that communication with the customer is a desirable facet of a good, profitable business.
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cblev65252
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posted on February 6, 2009 01:42:29 PM new
Probably 99% of my ASQ bidders do not bid even after I have taken the time to answer them. I still answer them, though. But, that's me. I respect the right of those who choose not to answer. To each his own, I guess.
Cheryl
http://www.youravon.com/cherylblevins
Now you can buy Avon from me from anywhere in the world.
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shagmidmod
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posted on February 6, 2009 02:04:21 PM new
I think my point is that sellers are being rated for things out of our control, like shipping time, shipping costs... yet in this case the seller has control. I don't necessarily want to see ebay in everything, but if they are going to do it, then at least focus on the things that matter and sellers have control over.
Yes, I know that things come up... but things come up when we have to ship items within a certain amount of time, etc. That is the nature of doing business.
Sellers should respond to questions. As I said, it was their loss as I would have bid a bit more on the item than what it sold for if they had answered my question. My question was regarding shipping. They offered only Priority Mail for an item that weighed over 20 pounds and required a fairly large box. I just wanted to know if they would ship Parcel Post instead. It would save me money that I would have actually applied to my bid price since I bid based on my total cost anyways. The size of the item also dictated that a Priority Box wouldn't be available. The seller wouldn't have to change anything other than the rate and method of shipping. If it saved me $25.00 shipping, that would have been $25.00 more into the sellers pocket. As I said... their loss.
And yes, I answer all questions asked of me... including really stupid ones like, "will you take $5.00 including shipping for the item you have listed at $49.99 + 12.00 shipping".
As for Wakefield, I know a little, but to be honest alot has to do with what part of the country you are in, the condition, etc. There are so many factors involved. I have two chairs in my store right now priced at $799. Flawless condition from the mid 1960's. Just a few months ago one at auction in Chicago went for $1300. I'm in Portland and will likely have them for awhile.
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pixiamom
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posted on February 6, 2009 02:44:30 PM new
Shaq, in no way did I mean to infer that you were lonely or misguided. Legitimate questions are fine. EBay already measures us on how we communicate with our customers. I'd hate to think they'd step in and rate us on how we communicate with non-buyers. There are lovely people who shop on eBay and there are also some crazies.
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sthoemke
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posted on February 6, 2009 03:29:53 PM new
Yeah, crazy buyers asking crazy questions to crazy sellers.
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photosensitive
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posted on February 6, 2009 03:59:35 PM new
I buy in one area for research and will pay very well for a photograph that shows a particular detail which may not show in the eBay hosted image or an out of focus photograph. I appreciate the seller who will answer my questions. More often than not the answer is that the detail I want is not shown and I don't bid. If it is I will bid. I don't always send a thank you note because I think the seller may not want to get non productive email. That does not mean that I don't appreciate the seller who takes the time to answer.
On another note, lately it seems that I am seeing more descriptions with no information about condition, size, or even if the image is original or a copy. Also the "See photo for condition" when the photo looks like it was taken during a power blackout.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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deichen
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posted on February 6, 2009 04:40:08 PM new
I find they grossly exaggerate their own importance.
I know someone like that on this board.
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pixiamom
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posted on February 6, 2009 07:09:25 PM new
Glad you chimed in, Photo. Thanks to you, I'm always on the lookout for Camera Obscura in my UK beach scenes. Saw a suspect one in a Blackpool view but after a close-up scan, decided it was probably not one. This is what I prefer doing rather than politely answering ASQs of will I accept 1/5 the price and throw in shipping.
[ edited by pixiamom on Feb 6, 2009 07:10 PM ]
Edited to add: EBay-hosted pics are carp. Concerned sellers pay extra for hosted pics and offer more than one per listing.
[ edited by pixiamom on Feb 6, 2009 07:26 PM ]
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stonecold613
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posted on February 6, 2009 09:07:17 PM new
Personally, I only answer questions where the bidder allows their e-mail to be shown. If the click the hide the e-mail address to where I get the "click the yellow button" logo when responding, I hit the back button and then delete.
If you want an answer, give me your proper contact info and I will contact you directly. Never, ever through eBay's unsafe webmail system.
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ebabestreasures
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posted on February 7, 2009 05:49:46 AM new
I always reply to the ASQ and consider it part of a seller's job.
Photosensitive - trust me the seller would appreciate a thank you even if it includes "but it's not what I was looking for".
An extra photo of a post card or a piece depression glass is one thing but a china cabinet is another - especially when there are already 10 to 12 good photos in the listing.
But I may have to reconsider my stand on this as the mirror lady just wrote saying that she had been out of town, thanked me for the photos and wants to know my best price on the mirror.
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photosensitive
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posted on February 7, 2009 06:35:42 AM new
Pixiamom, It does look like it has windows and no lens assembly at the top so could be a ticket booth or sales kiosk. Could have been a CO that was converted. I have one seaside view in Wales that shows a clearly labeled camera obscura and another of the same pier where the little building has a sign saying "Cigarettes and Cigars" so it was repurposed. I was actually glad to get it because it interesting information about the use of camera obscuras.
How about the little, multi-sided building to the left of that one and closer to the main pier building?
Many thanks for keeping your eyes open for sightings.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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HWAHWA
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posted on February 7, 2009 06:52:05 AM new
sometimes you get questions from Ebayers who would like to know where you find your stuff so they can sell them too!
*
Economic Reform act of Chairman Obama of the socialist States of America :
10 ounces of meat per month,half a yard of cotton per year per adult.
Hellilujah!
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