Blocked Bidder

[2011.narelle]

I was doing a quick check on bidders & found one who likes to give a few negs,neutrals,feedback revisions.

I decided to block her bids,so i just found a message from her wanting to know why.

Sooo do i tell her & risk abuse?

What do others do?

[j*oono]

I didn't look at it that way Bsal but I suppose you are right.

It would have been easier then to use CQ's reasoning, which I thought was a really good explanation.  There is always the chance though that a blocked buyer might get smart.

Personally I don't think I would block a member due to a few negs and neuts they had left for others as long as they leave good fb as well.  Maybe the buyer is just honest and doesn't put up with shonky sellers?  If all of their given feedback was bad then yes and I would cancel their bid.

[springyzone]

I would probably ignore the buyers question.

 am3

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As mainly a buyer, I think I would do what am3 says, if I were you. Unless you are willing to give a half way honest yet tactful answer.

But.. there is no way you can reply that won't give offence, short of lying and saying it was an error. IMO

I know I would be offended if I bid and then was blocked without explanation. So whichever way you swing it, she will be offended.

If I had a history of not paying, then it would be a good idea that a seller got honest with me, good lesson in consequences for me. Serve me right!

I am not sure many buyers come on these boards, so a lot would have no idea their FB alone could get them onto banned lists, they would probably assume if they were prompt payers they would never have trouble. Personally, I wouldn't classify 'Great seller' as poor feedback. Not everyone feels like writing a lot. I'd be happy with it if I sold something, put it that way. personally, I would not have blocked her but that is your call.

I know sellers have the right to block bidders unless they are happy with the bid.

Personally (although I think it will cause some offence) I would be inclined to tell the bidder why. To just say that your aim was always to have happy customers and your items were always honestly described,  but her previous feedback record indicated she might be hard to please and you simply wanted to avoid potential hassles.

She won't like that but it is the truth and will give her the heads up on the fact that her feedback might have consequences she had not considered. You might just make her pause before she gives neg or neutral to the next seller and not divvy them out lightly.

Just saying.

[roseblack]

Many buyers do not realise how a neg/neutral can affect a sellers business in $$$. Some of them are overly critical and it is unfair if it is a minor issue, nothing or if the shipping carrier took longer to deliver and you got the blame, especially as you do not have the right to explain your side of it adequately in the lmited amout of feedback reply space given and then the buyer gets the last word, and it is rare that eBay will remove the feedback.

Do you want to carry a neg on your record for the next 12 months? Tell her the truth, perhaps she will understand the impact she has on a sellers abilitiy to earn an income and moderate her feedback. You did the right thing by blocking her.

[2011.narelle]

I never even considered the thought that her bids pushed the price up.I blocked her when the bidding was still low & i can't see if there is a max bid or how much it is.Absolutely no unethical or sneaky agenda on my part,but now that you said that i can see how that it may look that way & in future will cancel bids.

My only thought was that she seems to have been difficult with other sellers & that i would prefer not to deal with her.I have dealt with eBayers with much nastier feedback for others without problem but sometimes you know you just don't feel like dealing with carp.

I'm not the only eBayer that will BBL others who have been a problem for other sellers.I'd rather dodge a red dot bullet &sell at a lower price.

I didn't want to offend her,she's done nothing to me personally.I just want the whole experience to be as stress free as possible.

BTW i pussied out & didn't msg her anything.As some have said,anything i msg is just going to make her mad.

[springyzone]

Yes it is, but explaining your position might actually be helpful information to her. At the moment, she is probably puzzled and may have little idea on how a neg or neutral can affect you or other sellers. Or that her feedback to other sellers can have a knock on effect with future purchases.