Q~~_1.JPG?set_11.JPG?set_id=807 "mbselections00"){kind=avatar}
@stable05 wrote:Perfectly stated.
I was amused to receive a Feedback Survey today based on my recent experiences with customer service. I have never given anyone '0' on a survey but unfortunately today I did - the question was "How likely is it that you will recommend Ebay to your friends'.
They need to stop obstructing us from normal seller-buyer interaction or everyone will miss out.
Exactly, had it not been for the fact this was a very patient and understanding buyer, who fortunately was grateful for my persistence, and had she not been able to get her email address to me, all 3 of us would have lost out - all because eBay was overly & rudely concerned about missing out on FVF's with no regard for either the buyer or seller as there was no suggestion to sell off eBay.
All I attempted to do was offer some ideas and good old Customer service - when I communicate with buyers I try and speak with them as if they were customers standing right in front of me at a shop counter.
Haven't eBay got more important issues to be concerned about ? I'm sure we could all name a couple . . . . . . . 
@stable05 wrote:
They need to stop obstructing us from normal seller-buyer interaction or everyone will miss out.
Exactly - I am occasionally asked for my phone number (I usually decline, but have provided it on the odd occasion), and it's not because the buyer wants to deal outside of eBay, it's because they want to ask several questions without the protracted process of them messaging me, getting an answer, messaging back for more info based on what I've said and so on (which can potentially take days), not to mention the messaging system is imperfect anyway. I noticed I had a new message yesterday and answered it as soon as I spotted it, but I never received notification and could have been easily missed as I will often leave eBay messages - like the 'tips for selling items' ones unread for a while).
eBay can sit there and say to include more photos or description details as much as they want, but even the most thorough of descriptions can not cater for the person who needs specialised advice, which can often only be applicable to them, and that kind of info is inappropriate for listing descriptions anyway (taking my items for example, people sometimes ask for advice on using the items, recommendations for products to use in conjunction with my items that I don't actually stock, and so on).
This kind of handling of the situation is nothing but a perfect example of eBay's ineffective management. If they were capable of handling these kinds of issues properly, they wouldn't need to do things like this at all. IMHO, if their priorities were in the right place, they would be focussing on cultivating trust, empathy, and loyalty - things that inspire people to do the right thing out of respect.
Instead, they act like the thought police by assuming intentions, treat people like miscreants and alienate everyone.
/rant off 
Edited to add: 'snap' MB ๐
It is way beyond annoying now ! I have wasted hours over the last few days trying to get details and photos to a buyer who 'urgently' needed 5 of one of my bracelets. Long story short (difficult for me ) I couldn't make 5 identical, but could do very similar. At no time was there ANY suggestion to sell off eBay, but you guessed it, I could not attach any photos to messages and kept getting the pesky warning about selling off eBay. For 2 days site glitches would not allow me to revise the original listing, (I was trying to use the listing to send the photos !) - eventually yesterday, I was able to upload the photos to the listing (for the buyer to approve) and alter the quantity so the ever patient buyer could make his purchase !! Once again eBay contributed to another wonderful (NOT) buyer experience.
In the meanwhile I get an alert I have 3 unanswered questions from this buyer - really ?? Is that because you blocked my replies because according to me, I have answered all his messages.
On another ID I sold a second hand, cash on pick up item on the weekend - since I can't message any contact details I bit the bullet and sent them via an invoice (all the while hoping the buyer doesn't actually pay on the invoice - I prefer some second hand items are inspected before payment to ensure the buyer is happy). Could be this buyer is a time waster as I've not heard from him, or it could be he thinks I'm a very bad seller as I haven't messaged him any details - although I have messaged and explained the situation and asked him to check for details on the invoice.
All these poor buyer experiences not only make sellers look dodgy and unprofessional, but I'm sure they are turning buyers away - come on eBay - wake up to yourselves, for the few off eBay sales you might be saving you're probably losing many more genuine sales, buyers get ticked off with being mucked around like this and unless buyers are also sellers they don't even understand how the system works.
(Sorry - Rant over - hopefully no expletives, though there could be , I'm soooo 'ticked' off with all this time wasting and inability to communicate effectively)
