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@zanadoo_56wrote:
The only problem with asking questions is some sellers ARE irritated by it and I get rude reples sometimes, or none at all. If they don't make a sale they have only themselves to blame, because what I've noticed is that sellers are providing less and less information in their listings. It is so frustrating for buyers.
eBay seems to be full of a lot of very indifferent sellers these days, drat it.
I think you can blame eBay for that, maybe not entirely, but they had a pretty big hand in it. The more information that's in a listing, while on the one hand it (hopefully) makes for a fully informed buyer who can buy with confidence and therefore (also hopefully) reduce problems post-sale, on the other it's also more information that can be disputed.
Clothing is the best example of that - list something as a size 12 because that's what the label says, buyer who generally wears a 12 buys it but it doesn't fit, can't say "not as described" (as in, eBay will back the seller up in such a case). If a seller puts in full measurements and the buyer says it's 45cm, not the 46cm the seller stated, eBay will back the buyer instead.
That means certain kinds information is actually risky to provide. 
The other problem is after a while on the site, a seller can come to the very understandable conclusion that it's rare for a buyer to read the description. The best example I can give you of this is one of the items I sell has "Tiny" as the first word in the title, followed by the exact measurement in mm (which is very small for this kind of item). I also have a photo showing me holding several in my hand, since it's the best way I've found to show scale. Buyer purchases, receives, then sends me a scathing message because they're really small.
That sort of thing happens all the time - buyers send complaints over things that they only need to look at photos, and / or read a description to know before buying, or they send questions that are answered by photos / description. It's easy for a seller to get jaded and just focus on primary, indisputable facts. eBay is encouraging this approach, by truncating descriptions and other information (the new format when they switch over to the collapsed search will be based on item specifics).
To the OP - to be perfectly honest, people haggling over postage costs is kind of a red flag for sellers, likely exacerbated by sleepy grumpiness. That part isn't your fault obviously, but the way you approach postage questions can have an effect on the impression you give a seller - you have to look at it from their perspective, though, to understand why. You wouldn't be the first person to ask about P&H, and if they've had a few buyers complain about postage costs before or after purchase, similar queries will put them on edge. They provided a quote, and if the first thing you say involves the word "cheaper", it's the quickest way to get a seller to 'nope' out, as it were (again, I've had people message me about my $3-4 postage, saying it's too high and such - buyers that question my decisions, which were made through experience and careful consideration, or tell me I should lower the cost "on principle" because it's more than the item, or item is 'worth', I already don't trust them to be happy with a transaction because they're telling me they're unhappy before they even buy, and experience also tells me that hunch is often correct).
Whatever service they quoted for, they quoted for a reason, and your decision then becomes whether or not you're prepared to pay that - if not, the best response is "thanks for providing the quote, unfortunately this is over my budget", or words to that effect. If the seller has a willingness to sell to you and look for a cheaper postage option, they'll approach you with it.
EXAMPLE OF A MESSAGE THAT GETS AN INSTANT INVITATION TO THE PARTY LIST !!!
You gotta laugh sometimes...... Got this message earlier in the week, copied word for word
"Your price for this item is far too expensive. Better check what they are really worth..... ( link to an off ebay site ) "
So I click on the site and it takes me to a well known traders website which offers reproductions of original collectable items. Mine is a super rare, museum quality piece in excellent condition. The website is selling a very cheap, poor quality copy of the original.....
Needless to say the questioner has joined my rapidly growing list of dipstick buyers.
AND just to cap it all off I have had a genuine enquiry on the item and are negotiating with the potential international buyer now..... ( no not related to the dipstick questioner.... after years of selling you can tell sometimes. )
@springyzonewrote:
@onecooljazzdogwrote:Contacted a seller in the UK who had a "Buy it now" as "may not post to Australia, he replied & quoted for post overseas, then after I asked if the was a cheaper option, he decided he wouldn't post overseas. Then blocked me and reported me to ebay.
The two reasons he gave were:
1) I asked to many questions about postage and he thought I was not a serious buyer.
2) That my questions actually woke him up twice?
Why list items on ebay which is a 24 hour a day worldwide business, it does not just operate on standard hours in UK time only.
Quite funny actually just thought I would share this one.
Never mind if it is an older thread, I'm enjoying the new input.
Honest to goodness, a message woke the man twice?
Anyone who sleeps with a mobile phone next to them on the bedside table is crazy anyway, given the latest reports about phone emissions. The next room is a better option.
People are entitled to send messages or emails any time that suits them. Obviously no one has the right to expect an instant reply but i send emails to other countries without checking what time it is over there. A phone call is a different thing.
My only comment about the other matter would be that if I ask about a postage quote, which i have done sometimes in the past, asking if they combine postage etc, then when they reply with a price, i just thank them for their reply. Then i either bid or I don't.
But I'd be a bit worried (as a seller) if a buyer intimated to me they weren't too happy with the postage quoted and thought it was a bit dear.
The time we had that done to us in the past led to trouble, with the buyer trying to make excuses to get a partial refund of-surprise, surprise-the amount she felt was overquoted. She felt that a tracked package/box to NZ should cost no more than $10 & by the time we made a partial refund, that's what she ended up paying.
So a second query that started with someone saying could it be done cheaper-that would make me wary too, especially with an international buyer.
That's just me, maybe over cautious, but I wouldn't be keen on that sale either.
We have a teenage daughter. At nights we ask her to leave the phone in our bedroom on the charger as the kids will spend half the night on social media given the chance. The wife is blind so not aware of this but THAT THING LIGHTS UP LIKE A CHRISTMAS TREE constantly if daughter turns the volume down and forgets to turn the phone off and it will still be going strong at 2 am. or 3 am.
Once I went to bed after 2 am. in the morning and thought I had walked into a disco as the phone was like a strobe light flashing constantly. I,m not much good with swipe this, tap that so just throw a piece of clothing over it............
