Question Askers

[flowingmanenotahorse]

I have noticed a pattern, maybe it is just me , but over the years I have found the more questions somebody asks the less likely it is to be a pleasant outcome. Ivejust spent another round of questions, then offers, acceptance, then more questions, streteching out two ddays of time. She was wanting me to  tell her  what the item was in cm, as i had it in inches?  Does anyone else find that buyers who are the most needy end up being the ones to complain much more often? Also in every case their feedback left for others confirmed it.  Sadly im at a point where question askers rarely end in sales, when a sale starts withh a questons, i know its over

[kopenhagen5]

I know many sellers block buyers that tend to ask questions which bring up red flags.

And tyre kickers are in plenty.

I simply answer questions quickly and move on not expecting anything.

Some times I am pleasantly surprised when the buyer buys soon after but it is the few.

[digital*ghost]

You can always block buyers from asking questions unless they've actually bought....but you might find it to be a bit of a double-edged sword.

i.e. On the one hand anyone who wants to ask questions but can't will either refuse to buy from you, which is what you want but you might lose sales from both the type of people you describe and people who have a legitimate need to ask a quick question; or they will buy and then ask their questions, meaning they've already obliged the sale, and created a situation where you can't decide for yourself whether or not you want to block their ID from buying based on what may have otherwise been pre-sale warning signs. 

But, yeah... I think most sellers would echo your experiences. I am kinda naturally verbose and can reply at length to buyers because they often don't realise they're not asking a simple yes / no question and I want to make sure they have all of the right info to make a good purchase decision. I try to cut down and have often just given the most basic of jists and then say to let me know if they need more info, just so I'm not wasting too much time on my in-depth replies; because (funnily enough) I never hear from most of my casual inquirers again - not sure if I give just enough info for them to realise it's not what they're looking for, or I make it all sound too hard, but you could try that tactic. We'll call it the Grandpa Simpson Strategy.

[davewil1964]

I'm not sure why asking for metric measurements is untoward. Unless they're as old as me they wouldn't have grown up with Imperial measurements. We DID go metric over 40 years ago, so maybe use metric measurements. Then they will know what the sizes are.

[digital*ghost]

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@davewil1964 wrote:

I'm not sure why asking for metric measurements is untoward. Unless they're as old as me they wouldn't have grown up with Imperial measurements. We DID go metric over 40 years ago, so maybe use metric measurements. Then they will know what the sizes are.

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In some industries, metric is standard for the measurements, regardless of where they're manufactured and sold. In other industries, imperial is standard worldwide....and in mine, both metric and imperial are used, depending on the specific application of exactly the same product. 

I mean, 3/4" is a very exact measurement that doesn't actually translate perfectly to metric. Then if your items have other measuring systems that are applicable (eg wire gauge) things get even more confusing, because that has 2 standard measuring systems as well (AWG and SWG). 

I know what a 16G 3/16" (AWG) is by sight, couldn't tell you what it is in metric, and I was only ever taught metric. 

[zanadoo_56]

I ask questions because I've noticed so many sellers are providing less and less information about what they are selling. 

It's frustrating for the buyer as well as the seller....especially when you finally get the information you need and realise you've wasted your time and the the seller's.  I can't buy something just because the seller has answered questions on something that they should have included in the listing, and I finally find out it's not what I'm looking for.

[springyzone]

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@flowingmanenotahorse wrote:

I have noticed a pattern, maybe it is just me , but over the years I have found the more questions somebody asks the less likely it is to be a pleasant outcome. Ivejust spent another round of questions, then offers, acceptance, then more questions, streteching out two ddays of time. She was wanting me to  tell her  what the item was in cm, as i had it in inches?  Does anyone else find that buyers who are the most needy end up being the ones to complain much more often? Also in every case their feedback left for others confirmed it.  Sadly im at a point where question askers rarely end in sales, when a sale starts withh a questons, i know its over

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I don't think asking for a cm measurement was unreasonable. Any person should be able to do a conversion online, I know, but she may have wanted to confirm the size before buying.

I do think if someone asks questions, what it does mean is there are some things that are holding them back from bidding. They are not quite sure. Undecided.

So of course you're going to have a drop out rate, where some won't bid even if you provide answers. The only difference is other undecided people might just click out of your ad and move on without asking. Easier for you in one way when that happens but at least if they ask a question, there is a possibility they may buy.

Over the years, I have asked quite a lot of sellers a question. Sometimes I have bought, sometimes I haven't. But always when i ask, it is because I am undecided. Just make sure your photos are good and clear and the necessary info is in the ad as it can be offputting when an ad doesn't tell you enough.

[glenbankloel]

This specific question about the measurement being in cm could also relate to the age of the buyer.

Many young people/buyers do not have any idea of inches, feet etc.....as they have grown up with in an all metric universe. 

So I wouldn't read too much into it, be polite and answer the question. Who knows you might just get a sale. 

Good luck 

[chameleon54]

I sell a lot of very specific items that only suit one purpose. I get a LOT of questions, most pretty reasonable. I answer them as accurately as possible and around 30% turn into sales. Probably another third of answers confirm the item is not suited to the buyer, saving both them and me agro from change of mind returtns because the item is not suitable and a third are tyre kickers.

Spoiler

The other 3% ................??????          

[jellybirddesigns]

I disagree with you on this.

I've had a shop for almost 5 years with approx 4000 sales and I find that my conversion rate is about 95% when buyers ask questions.

If you have a look at any of my listings I always give the metric and imperial measurements of every single item I sell, so buyers have pretty much all the information they need at a glance.

The trick is to give the right amount of data, not too much so they get bored reading walls of text and not too little so they have to go hunting down the information from you.

I always check a buyers feedback left for sellers and if their comments are overwhelmingly negative, I just block them. The odd red dot doesn't worry me - it's the overall picture of the buyer I'm interested in.

Also, all of my listings are Buy it Now with Immediate Payment, so there's no back and forth haggling.

I set my price - buyers either buy or they don't, there's no negotiation.