I occasionally indulge the latent conspiracy theorist in me and wonder if ebay has staff that sends baiting messages, just to catch whoever responds positively to them. It's odd to me that someone would be a buyer on eBay, be interested in a one-off item, but disappear completely when a seller says no to trading off eBay (which has happened to me several times, though not since the new crackdown, as while I do get inquiries about cheaper prices, or those that contain contact details, so far it's been in circumstances that don't trigger anything for eBay). I mean, if someone is genuinely interested in an item, where the transaction takes place shouldn't matter as much, surely? (Obviously they're also wanting a lower price, but if a seller is open to negotiation anyway, then making the deal on eBay shouldn't be a deal breaker).
I think if eBay made the warning more clear to buyers - i.e. that they risk having messaging priveleges suspended for asking such things - it might help to curb it; right now it's just a small line or two at the top of the page that's easily missed (I'm actually not sure if it's visible in the app, either, as I can't really use messaging on the phone).
