THE FUNNIEST AND SILLYIST BUYERS YOU HAVE HAD ON EBAY

[joethenuts]

THIS IS JUST A FEW

I sell paint and for the odd colors i take off the lid to take a photo of the paint and had a message does this can of paint come with a lid.

or get a message saying what color should i paint my house.mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

or how much paint do i need to paint my fence  mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

or a friend of mine sold a computer the buyer a couple of days later sent a message stating that the computer does not turn on ,so he rang the buyer and said maybe 1 of the plugs have come loose   ,could you check all the leeds in case you unpluged them with your foot ,so she said hang on i will check all the leeds,about 15 minutes went by and my friend said what took you so long and she said she had to find a torch ,my friend said why would you need a torch  and she said i needed a torch to see under my computer table if the plug was in the wall socket as we have a power failur for the last 2 hours at the moment   my friend just hung up

[joethenuts]

sorry its cheesy  how silly of me I should put on my listings that have the lid off the paint ,that a lid comes with this can and there will be no need for you to drive slowly out of my driveway when you pick up the paint ,are you serious  mmmmmmmmmmmmm

about the how much paint do i need for my fence without knowing te size and without the buyer knowing the size  .

now i do give aqn aprox meter per litre  answere but all surfaces can change the result   if i am selling exterior paint which can go on about everything exterior different amounts of paint for fences wood metal pine weatherboard gal and so also if its new timber old timber smooth timber rough sawn timber   if you had to put all this down it would be xmas      now buyers will message me and say i have this to paint with a rough size and i give them an answere within minutes 

[opmania]

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@joethenuts wrote:

sorry its cheesy  how silly of me I should put on my listings that have the lid off the paint ,that a lid comes with this can and there will be no need for you to drive slowly out of my driveway when you pick up the paint ,are you serious  mmmmmmmmmmmmm

about the how much paint do i need for my fence without knowing te size and without the buyer knowing the size  .

now i do give aqn aprox meter per litre  answere but all surfaces can change the result   if i am selling exterior paint which can go on about everything exterior different amounts of paint for fences wood metal pine weatherboard gal and so also if its new timber old timber smooth timber rough sawn timber   if you had to put all this down it would be xmas      now buyers will message me and say i have this to paint with a rough size and i give them an answere within minutes 

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hello mr Nuts

could you please tell me if your paint tins have handles ?

[joethenuts]

and i will answere you mr opmania like i would answere my customers yes most do have handles  except the 500mil and 1 litre cans they dont have handles   thanks  joe

[amber-eyed-girl]

"Without the Buyer knowing the size"

Yes...that's why I was thinking put one line in the listings so the buyer knows to get that sorted up front. Before asking you 🙂

Questions they ask themselves, like hmmmm need to paint my fence...probably sound ok in their head at the time. But of course you need area not fence, ceiling, etc. First time painters will be thinking you are there to guide them through it, like getting a tips sheet at the hardware store to get them started. I know that calculators provide a guide and paints will vary, too. But some simple form of upfront "this is what you need to know" might save you time in the end. I also know not every buyer reads listing info, so not a complete solution but could help.

[chezzy]

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@joethenuts wrote:

sorry its cheesy  how silly of me I should put on my listings that have the lid off the paint ,that a lid comes with this can and there will be no need for you to drive slowly out of my driveway when you pick up the paint ,are you serious  mmmmmmmmmmmmm

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Firstly, please stop mocking people about their suggestions, you don't even seem to be one bit interested in what anybody

has to say. I gave a suggestion - for what it is worth. I did not get nasty, I did not imply you are dishonest yet you seem to come out guns blazing with the sarcasm and defensive about how good and honest you are. I don't get it.

[joethenuts]

I have no problems  answering messages I think getting a message back within minutes helps buyers better so that you can answere there questions properly 

[arlottstreetstation]

Well I've been following this Topic & even contributed to it. I have to say that I'm a little surprised at the controversy it caused as I thought it was just all for a good laugh. Yes I know it may not be exactly PC but sometimes we all need to laugh off our frustrations....

Having been in the Workforce both as an employee & now working for myself, for nearly 40 years, I have often related funny stories about what happened at work. I think anyone who can't say that they have had to stand there at least once trying to keep a straight face in front of a Customer, or cover their mouth while on the phone so the caller couldn't hear them stifling a giggle, just has NO sense of humour...

"The Public" is a strange creature &, thank God, 99% are reasonably intelligent people who are easy to deal with and appreciate our input & Service as much as we appreciate their business....BUT..... there will ALWAYS be that 1% that will make you want to ask them to go over to the Opposition to drive THEM crazy or broke..... It won't matter how much information you put in a listing or Advert, or, as in my case, how much you stress to read the Instructions, they will still come back at you with SOMETHING.... And often it's a REALLY stupid question.... So you have to laugh it  off or go mad....

By the way Joe.... That tin of paint with the lid removed so I can see the colour..... I really like it... But can I get it in blue !?!?!?!? hahahah

[amber-eyed-girl]

Yes, anyone will relate stories about the funny stuff, but here they are being related in front of the buyers...that's how it is different. Sometimes it's easy to forget this is a public site, not a chat with workmates or friends. Which is what's nice about chatting here, but I just feel that it should be remembered anything said, is said in front of the paying customers. There have been a few threads like this where buyers have put sellers on a no-buy list of their own. Not a controversy or drama, just something to think about. A seller (most I think) can be great to buyers, but one little anecdote can put people off if it shows the seller (perhaps wrongly) to be impatient or rude.

It's the impression of sellers, and eBay, that's made, that can matter. Particularly at a time where a fair few sellers are experiencing a downturn. There will always be the funny stuff, I get that 🙂

[i-love-my-sheep]

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@amber-eyed-girl wrote:
With the how much paint do I need type questions...are you able to put a paint calculator in your listings? With a simple instruction as to how to use it. Or if a calculator or the link to one isn't allowed in a listing, a line like "you will need to measure xyz to determine how much paint you need per coat, paint calculators available on the net". Then have a link to one you have tried that works, handy for any questions. (You might already :), just thinkin' )

I used one off the net when I did some painting. That should cut down on the questions.

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I think on most tins of paint there is a guide for the area that paint will cover. Maybe the OP could take a photo of that if it's on his paint tins, that way the buyers can see it at a glance (afterall, so many buyers only look at the title and the photos). Hopefully they can then get the tape measure out and work it out and get a rough estimate. I know when I painted my lounge room a couple of years ago, I knew I needed 6 litres for the walls and 3 litres for the ceiling because there was a guide on the tins.

[amber-eyed-girl]

Yes, that's true. I was thinking about the ones who are unsure where to start. Get the measurements then get the paint 🙂 However it's stated, photos or description.