Is it safe to make an EBay purchase when there is no place on the page to ask or contact seller?

[bigc7896_rzwvjf5am]

I haven’t used Ebay an awful lot. Are sellers supposed to have a contact area of any sort to ask a question or contact them at all? Im a bit worried about buying when no contact or feedback details are displayed!

[kopenhagen5]

There is always a feedback page for a member and there is always a contact the seller link.

What is the item number ?

[*tippy*toes*]

Members can make their feedback private. However, a seller can't have private feedback, so clicking on their feedback number will take you to their feedback page.

As for the contact link, some larger sellers will turn off the option for potential buyers to contact them. It doesn't mean they are dodgy, it just means they don't have time to go through possibly hundred of messages a day.

Out of thousands of purchases, I can count on one hand the amount of times I've needed to contact a seller before I've bought. The contact thing is really no biggy. Once you've bought, the option to contact is usually opened up.

[countessalmirena · Accepted solution]

@bigc7896_rzwvjf5am,

Do you mean perhaps that the seller in question has a feedback percentage of 0?

Be wary of purchasing from a 0-feedback seller. It could of course simply be a new seller who is listing something for the first time... but it might be a hijacked account, or a newly registered account with nefarious plans.

What is the item number of the item at which you looked? If you post it here, the responders can take a quick look, and gauge whether or not there's likely to be a problem.

[brerrabbit585]

If you can't see a 'contact seller' button to click on, it could mean you're blocked from buying from that seller. Blocks could be because of location, non-payment strikes on your account.

Sellers can't make their feedback private so if they have no feedback showing then they're a new seller. This doesn't necessarily mean they're dishonest but be wary, especially if the item is expensive.

I've never heard of anything where a seller can stop everybody contacting them, only those who are blocked. Maybe I just haven't needed it.

[chameleon54]

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@brerrabbit585 wrote:
If you can't see a 'contact seller' button to click on, it could mean you're blocked from buying from that seller. Blocks could be because of location, non-payment strikes on your account.

Sellers can't make their feedback private so if they have no feedback showing then they're a new seller. This doesn't necessarily mean they're dishonest but be wary, especially if the item is expensive.

I've never heard of anything where a seller can stop everybody contacting them, only those who are blocked. Maybe I just haven't needed it.

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The same thought crossed my mind. 

[*tippy*toes*]

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@brerrabbit585 wrote:
If you can't see a 'contact seller' button to click on, it could mean you're blocked from buying from that seller. Blocks could be because of location, non-payment strikes on your account.

Sellers can't make their feedback private so if they have no feedback showing then they're a new seller. This doesn't necessarily mean they're dishonest but be wary, especially if the item is expensive.

I've never heard of anything where a seller can stop everybody contacting them, only those who are blocked. Maybe I just haven't needed it.

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I'm pretty sure there is something in settings where you can stop anyone from contacting you until they make a purchase. If I think about it tomorrow, I'll have a look, but I can't be bothered tonight.

[brerrabbit585]

Under Site Preferences > Manage Communication with Buyers, when you click on the edit button it says this:

Send you messages on eBay while they're shopping

You have to let buyers send you messages if you give out your phone number or don't have FAQs

I don't have any FAQs set up (waste of time if they only state the obvious) so I have to allow questions.

You're right though - it is possible to block questions in some circumstances.  I learnt something new!

[lyndal1838]

From a buyer's point of view sellers can block contact from buyers in an area they do not post to.....I was blocked by a seller in the USA even though I only wanted to know if he would post to a US address after I bought.

[brerrabbit585]

Sellers can block anyone from contacting them if they're already blocked from buying (because of location or non-payment strikes). In your case they may have added you to their blocked bidder list just to make doubly sure. I don't know why they would have done that though. I've had people from NZ buy and give me their mother's address in Australia. I wouldn't have known where they were from if they hadn't messaged me afterwards.