I'm only a part time seller, meaning I have a regular job too, so I like to answer them as they come in if I can. I've even answered at 3am before! If I happen to be working my regular job on the weekend I'll reply during one of my breaks and if it's more than a few hours since the message came in, I apologise for the delay and explain that I'm at work.

If I was a large eBay business where this was my source of income, then I'd probably have the weekend off. Everyone is entitled to a day off. I'd be upset if my employer kept contacting me on my days off. If that was the case, I'd mention in my listings that questions will be answered during business hours, i.e weekdays and any that come through on the weekend will be answered first thing Monday.

That said, a lot of buyers don't get that big sellers like to have a day off occasionally too. Because they can buy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, they think the seller is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If they encounter one of those buyers, it could cost them a sale, or a potential negative feedback.

I really appreciate good buyers. I would like to think that buyers appreciate a good seller too. It normally only takes me a minute or 2 to reply to a message, so I don't mind when I reply to them. I don't get a lot of enquiries, so it's no skin off my nose.

Although an enquiry last night turned into several hours. A buyer who'd previously bought from one account had bought on another and had asked about combining postage. She'd previously bought quite a few things so I mentioned my newer account (which she has also bid on a few items now!). She'd mentioned last time she bought how she'd had a break in, so last night was spent talking about the ins and outs of home security. I initiated the discussion after she mentioned wanting to install security and she was very grateful for all the info. She then went and placed bids on quite a few more items!