eBay has a feature for sellers so they can block "bad buyers" called a Blocked Buyer list. But a buyer thinks that what's good for the goose is good for the gander, and asked eBay to create a way for buyers to block sellers.
"Could you please add a feature to allow buyers to create a MASTER excluded seller list that will apply to all future searches," they wrote. "I am a power buyer with 20,000 plus buys including one ex-wife on eBay, and I run 70+ saved searches daily and often have to exclude the same seller 10 or more times."
The request was posted to eBay's monthly chat session on Wednesday.
An eBay moderator responded, calling it a great suggestion and promising to pass it along to the appropriate team.
That's not to say the topic hasn't come up before. In 2018,
EcommerceBytes readers delved into the issue. Some said they would welcome the ability to block sellers from certain countries. One reader said better search filters would do the trick and said they would welcome better search filters from eBay.
There are various reasons why a buyer might wish to block certain sellers - an obvious one being they had had a bad experience with the seller in the past. But there could also be personal reasons.
It wasn't exactly clear what the buyer writing in the monthly chat session meant by their reference to an ex-spouse, but one can imagine some buyers and sellers would want to avoid purchasing from an ex-partner or an estranged friend or family member.
Obviously buyers can choose not to buy from whatever sellers they choose, but as the so-called "power buyer" indicated, it may be hard to keep track of - and they stated they don't even want their saved searches to display items from "blocked sellers."
As a seller, what do you think of the ability for buyers to block sellers - do you see any downsides? One upside: it would prevent sellers from selling to buyers who didn't mean to purchase from them and potentially avoid returns from disgruntled buyers who hold a grudge.
Would you yourself use it when making purchases?
Should eBay Allow Buyers to Block Certain Sellers?
by: Fly on the Wall