3BrNBBRz4UYdo+!~~60_7.JPG "chameleon54"){kind=avatar}
@chameleon54 wrote:As I said before, the process is pretty simple. The seller lists, the buyer buys and pays, the seller sends the item. Job done.
That's not quite true, though.
By which I mean, it's really more like:
The seller lists, and (sometimes) uses options available to them to vett buyers in as much as possible. Not all sellers use all options (eg I have the phone verification block in place, many other sellers do not), but requiring a phone number can be considered another way of vetting buyers, and perhaps to some sellers, buyers who refuse aren't the buyers that those particular sellers want (and that's ok ๐ ).
The buyer looks, and (sometimes) uses information to vett sellers (eg up above, you suggested you'd be more willing to trust a seller with your phone number if they had a more established eBay history).
I don't really think sellers want buyer's phone numbers so they can call them (unless absolutely necessary - I mean, for me at least, if I was into direct customer interaction, I wouldn't have gravitated to online sales 
). If it's not because it's required by the couriers they use, then it's to either provide faster and more efficient service if something happens (as mentioned above), and / or provides a little extra assurance. (As an aside, I also know that scammers often back down when they are faced with a phone call).
@digital*ghost wrote:
@chameleon54 wrote:As I said before, the process is pretty simple. The seller lists, the buyer buys and pays, the seller sends the item. Job done.
That's not quite true, though.
By which I mean, it's really more like:
The seller lists, and (sometimes) uses options available to them to vett buyers in as much as possible. Not all sellers use all options (eg I have the phone verification block in place, many other sellers do not), but requiring a phone number can be considered another way of vetting buyers, and perhaps to some sellers, buyers who refuse aren't the buyers that those particular sellers want (and that's ok ๐ ).
The buyer looks, and (sometimes) uses information to vett sellers (eg up above, you suggested you'd be more willing to trust a seller with your phone number if they had a more established eBay history).
I don't really think sellers want buyer's phone numbers so they can call them (unless absolutely necessary - I mean, for me at least, if I was into direct customer interaction, I wouldn't have gravitated to online sales
That may be true digi, but as others have mentioned, it works the other way too. Sellers who demand phone numbers are not the type of seller many buyers want to deal with. Another seller who requires phone numbers has already mentioned on this thread that they know they have lost sales as a result of the policy.................And thats OK too.
We all make decisions about who we want to trade with. I charge prices that are at the higher end for the products I sell through my stores. I know I lose sales because " I,m too dear ", but I dont care. I would rather recieve twice the profit margin and make half as many sales, as it means I make the same income for half the work in packing and posting. Generally it is the cheapskate, bargain hunter buyers who cause the most problems. The buyers who are willing to pay serious money are usually a better class of buyer.
I have blocks in place for non payers on my private account to screen out some of the idiots attracted by some of the items I sell. ( old Holden car parts mainly LOL ) . I dont have the same blocks on the store accounts as those products attract a better, more reliable client base and I regularly get new buyers who start ebay accounts just to buy an item I have listed. It is interesting that even with the blocks in place I still have more problem buyers on the non store account.
Call me anytime 111 1111 11
Not sure if you would still get away with this today, but thats the number ebay has got for me......
