Is this normal practice?

[jsyl8789]

Do sellers usually refuse to deal with good buyers who have to give a neutral comment due to overdue delivery?

[digital*ghost]

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@jsyl8789 wrote:

Do sellers usually refuse to deal with good buyers who have to give a neutral comment due to overdue delivery?

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I wouldn't block a buyer if they gave me a neutral for a fair reason, and from what I've read in this thread, it  sounds like your comment was fair and the seller didn't meet their committments (presuming they posted well after their handling time, and particularly considering they didn't respond to messages).

I do block my fair share of buyers, though, whether they have been a good customer of mine previously or not, and just to give you a bit of insight into how some sellers (ones like me anyway) might "tick", these are the kinds of things I will block buyers for (not suggesting you did any of these, by the way):

Non-payment, no communication

Leaving bad feedback without contacting to let me know about the issue (I know I can't fix everything and turn a poor experience into a glowing positive one, but I appreciate the courtesy of contact - neuts without contact are like being blindsided, and sometimes the issue is due to a misunderstanding and not something I did wrong).

Bad feedback over things I can't control, I've blocked several of my buyers for leaving a comment and/or low DSR ratings related to an item not being the size they thought it would be, which can be prevented by reading descriptions, which contain measurements etc.

I don't block everyone who opens an eBay request, so far I've blocked 50% of the buyers who have used the eBay request system to tell me they didn't receive something, or it's not as described, and it's not really the fact that they opened the case that got them blocked, but they were incredibly rude when writing to me about the issue. People who are rude and disrespectful get blocked, and the minimum - obligatory - resolution if required, people who are polite and respectful, well I go above and beyond - case in point, two buyers, bought similar items, both had an issue after purchase. First buyer was rude and insulting, they got blocked from buying from me, and a refund after they returned the item. Second buyer, they were a bit gruff (i.e. some coarse language  ) but it wasn't directed at me, and they were actually polite, honest and constructive. They're not blocked, they got to keep the original item, and I sent them a more expensive replacement. 

[springyzone]

The short answer to that is yes, quite  a few will block you because in their opinion you aren't a good buyer at all, you caused them trouble with their account by giving a neutral.

Some will block you for giving low star ratings too, even if you give a positive.

It's a bit of a shock when you come in to this forum and find this out because I think most buyers assume they can give feedback with no repercussions. You can give honest feedback but if it is neg/neutral/low stars be aware it could see you blocked with that seller.

Should it stop you? Up to you but if you think a seller is really bad, no, as you possibly wouldn't want to buy again from them anyway.

With the neutrals you will have to decide if it's likely you'll want to deal with them again but at least now you know the score.

[i-love-my-sheep]

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@jsyl8789 wrote:

I don't mind if a seller is slow posting an item as there could be any amount of reasons. It's the lack of communication that's the problem. A buyer can't read a seller's mind after all. Plus I don't see that it's fair to penalise me. I never gave negative feedback in case it was a problem for them. They sell good value products and had not been slow in posting to me before.

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Apart from affecting their feedback percentage, a neutral and a negative has the same damaging impact on a sellers account. They still get a defect and still risk having their account suspended.

[allfixelectrical]

We now block buyers for every defect received where there is no attempt to resolve a problem by other means as we have all of our contact information available both in FAQ's & policy pages in our store and also on invoices that are posted with the goods. In some cases there isn't even a problem at all due to the way ebay dishes out defects without informing the buyer what the consequences of their actions are.

In 13 years on ebay we have blocked nearly 900 buyers but because of current policies with unfair defects, returns, questions & feedback systems 450 of those have been in the past 6 months alone.

As long as ebay stands behind me with a baseball bat ready to swing it every 2nd transaction we make, our policy of blocking will continue.

Once a defect is received there is no chance that we will receive a 2nd one from the same buyer.

We have prided ourselves in the past for having outstanding customer service and still have Top Seller Status but as ebay seems to decide that we are "defective" for ridiculous reasons we have no option but to have this policy to protect our account.

I can fully understand the OP's seller for blocking due to getting a neutral feedback for such reasons.