seller who won't answer buyer questions

[clickbaitoz]

This post is more of a whinge than a question but it might serve as a warning to some sellers of 'how NOT to answer a buyers question'. This really has me dumb founded as to how a seller can be so bad at 'customer relations' i guess you would call it. I asked the following about item# 151288291624 which as you can see barely has any description & only 1 photo of the cover.

me: hi just wanting to know more about this mag, looks like its a supplement to a newspaper, if so which one? is it full or digest size? are inside pages in colour or b&w, and how many? is that a stain i can see on the top right of it or a print error? thanks

sellers reply: I prefer to not sell to people who don't know what an item is . They end up being disappointed and leave undesirable feedback

what the??? i mean i could understand if i had left alot of bad fb but i haven't. I'm very generous with fb when sellers get it right & fair when they get it wrong. Am i supposed to be psychic to work out the answers to my questions? I mean i thought they were pretty reasonable or am i missing something? To me it seems like this seller is just lazy, in which case they may as well have not answered at all. Unbelievable!

Seems like i'm having a bit of bad luck with sellers lately, maybe i will give up & go to the op shops, garage sales & fairs instead, i do need to get out more anyway i suppose!

[*crikey*mate*]

Don't give up. Find me and I'll look after you!

[digital*ghost]

Well, the seller's response matches their description at least (i.e. leaves a little to be desired :D).

But.... it does say "Free with the Sunday Observer" on the cover, and there are at least 5 pages, so that's a couple of questions *nearly* answered.... 

Jeepers, you oughta see some of my replies to buyer questions - they send me a couple of lines, I run out of characters trying to reply LOL (there's a 2000 character limit; succinctness is generally not my forte when I talk about my stuff  ). So, I guess my point is you just have to find a seller whose items and customer service style are agreeable - I'm sure they're out there. 

[clickbaitoz]

Since i replied to it they have now said 'people who ask a lot of questions kick a lot of tyres' Does not really make sense in the realm of online sales, fair enough if i could actually see the item in real life. The photo does give some idea but not enough for me a collector, it doesn't tell me the contents, condition etc.

This is the problem with unique collectible items, some of them don't come up for sale very often so i have to weigh up if i can swallow a sellers bad attitude etc just to get said item 😞 In this case i don't want it that badly & given the ensuing msgs they've probably added me to their blocked bidders list anyway lol.

digital*ghost, tis better to give long winded answers than not enough information, it protects both the buyer & seller against misunderstandings over the item, a point sadly lost on the seller in question here

[amber-eyed-girl]

Well, we've seen it all this week, haven't we? Sellers where you need a psychic on hand, and sellers with mysterious pots that may or may not contain Genies 🙂

Your seller must be in the top ten failures for courteous and helpful customer service. Digi, you may at times run out of space, but your attention to detail, and fully answering any questions, is much appreciated 🙂

[curraone]

not the kind of seller you want to encourage, bad description and bad reply

there are plenty of sellers who give good descriptions and answer questions, give them a go instead.

[2106greencat]

This is just the kind of seller you could feel like buying from just to 'LET' them know how you feel later.

If they don't care enough to list an item in detail - and care even less in that they won't answer a question in a civil manner - I would look elsewhere......

or....

[extra-keen]

I'm with digital on this one. How difficult would it have been to answer your questions?

I love answering enquiries - it means someone is looking at your item - and it may be the difference between making a sale or not. Good communication, in my opinion, is the beginning of running a good and efficient business.

Good luck if you do go ahead and buy - I hope it is what you were looking for!

[digital*ghost]

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@amber-eyed-girl wrote:
 Digi, you may at times run out of space, but your attention to detail, and fully answering any questions, is much appreciated 🙂

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I hope so  I'm pretty sure I've scared a few buyers away with my particularly thorough approach that - now that I think of it - often doesn't actually answer their question when it boils down to it - i.e. I use all those words to answer questions like "can you make X item, and if so, how much?" with "probably, and I have no idea". 

(I just have to try and explain as simply as possible how the options are practically infinite, yet provide a few of the main ones with all their inherent properties, then explain what affects prices but keep them indeterminable until I know more that just the type of item being requested). 

But then, sometimes I get awesome buyers that not only know exactly what they want, but ultimately inspire new designs and products. 🙂

[springyzone]

I feel your pain.

I noticed the seller put this:

All items are used and vary in conditoin from the very well cared  for antique item to the abused vintage item. Study all pictures carfully as they form part of the description

I find that sort of thing very annoying when they don't go on to say exactly what condition the one you are looking at is in. I agree, you can't tell just fromt he front cover.

I struck a seller like that, who said the garden pots he sold were seconds and could contain chips or cracks, but then-get this-would use photos that were not of the actual item you were getting, he used the same photo for all items of that kind.

When you are buying a used item or a second, that is the very time you do need a decent description!

You say your FB errs on the side of generous and i believe you, but the trouble is, anyone looking at FB doesn't necessarily know how lucky a seller might have been or that another buyer might have given a neg.

This person is a seller who doesn't want to commit himself in writing, so it is up to you what you decide. The magazine supplement looks as if it might be in reasonable condition, depends on if you want a  bit of a gamble.

But if you do and you find damage inside the mag, I would not hesitate to give a neg in this case and say glaring faults should be disclosed in a listing or in an enquiry.