Reading all the posts on this forum regarding NPB's, INR's, etc. etc., I was beginning to think I was the only seller who didn't have that problem.  It's so nice to read POSITIVES for a change.

Yesterday, I received a personal email from a first time (from me) buyer -

"Hi , Just a short message to thank you Very Much, for the great effort you made in packing the (item), it arrived in perfect condition!! My wife is so pleased with it as well.
Will leave 5 star feedback for you.
Kindest Regards,"

Yes, I was given great feedback, but that email means more than the FB, and when I do receive those emails it certainly makes my day.

I used to always send the seller a message to say my item/s had arrived, how happy I was with it/them, that their packing efforts had not gone unnoticed and that I had left positive feedback with a 5 star rating. Then I saw someone mention on here that sending a message to sellers post transaction could trigger a defect, so I stopped. 99% of sellers would reply back thanking me profusely. I still message overseas sellers. One seller that I used to buy off regularly from England, he would hold items until I filled a box to save on postage. One item had fallen off my purchase history before I got my package, so I couldn't leave feedback. He said it was no problem and that a message was the best feedback because it was more personal.

Does anyone know for sure if sending an Australian seller a message post completed transaction triggers a defect?

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@ilovemychooks wrote:

 

Does anyone know for sure if sending an Australian seller a message post completed transaction triggers a defect?

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It doesn't. 🙂

On sites where eBay offer a Buyer Protection program (eg US), sending the seller a message related to INAD or INR (i.e. the ones with the sbject line "item I received is not as described" or "I haven't received my item yet" actually open a case in the resolution centre and AFAIK, this will trigger a defect for those sellers, even if the buyer was just trying to check on a tracking number or something innocent, sadly.

Thankfully, we don't have that kind of system here, so communication is (again AFAIK) not going to trigger anything. The one and only thing it has the potential to do is stop an auto-5 for communication from being awarded when you leave feedback (sellers can get an auto-5 if there was no communication leading up to the transaction up until FB is left, and if they have a 0-1 day handling time, then upload tracking information within 24 hours from the sale), and that's not a bad thing at all, it just means eBay can't decide on the rating on the buyer's behalf. 🙂

As eBay wouldn't have a clue that you have contacted the buyer through their personal email, there couldn't be any defect repurcussions.

And my  response was not through eBay 'contact buyer'.  It was through the buyer's personal email that comes through when an item has sold.  We had reasons for contact, and so he then also had my personal email.

(I can hear the moans from others about 'buyer protection'.  But I have to say that the people who buy from me are not concerned with that.  As I sell items that are sourced on the secondary market - the items either get to there destination intact or they don't (but they always do), so there is no 'it doesn't work, it's a fake, etc. to deal with).

Oh good, I'll start sending messages again. Regardless of why I'm contacting them, I always use the 'other' option. I figure that is the safest and won't unnecessarily trigger anything.