Do you respond to all questions?

[chocobokick]

I gave despcription of game (gigawing 2, currently at $8.50) as great, disc is spotless. This guy has emailed twice asking:
Hi, I was wondering if you can give each of these a rating out of 10:
The game disk, instruction booklet, jewel case, insert. Please be as
picky as possible.

Yuuuckk. I might do it, despite the giant pain that it is to reply, and the premonition of doom I get from this guy- he is obviously going to be picky about tiny thing and I hate those buyers. But his feedback is 80 positive and 20 negative so I don't think I'll bother anyway. Most of the feedback indicates he is a kid like "couldn't pay" and "gave password to his little brother".

Maybe in some respects I'm ebay lazy, but my philosophy is that if you are buying a game the seller says is in great condition, and they have the feedback to back it up, and sell games on a regular basis- hey amazing, it's probably going to be as described! Don't ask me to analyze a $10 game with a magnifying glass, it's almost disrespectful.

[SoulBlazer]

I agree with you. The only thing that annoys me sometimes is when I buy a game that I have allready played (read: like) and intend to keep for years and years, maybe as a possible collector item. Sometimes when they say 'great condition' I get the game with a crack in the case or something, and the packing is solid enough so I know it was'nt due to the mailing.

[Sylentwulf]

Me replies to those are ALWAYS:

Please refer to the picture and item description for the answer to this question. Thanx!

[Captain Wrong]

In a case like that you can always opt to reply fairly late...that's what I've done. In that case, I'm not a dick for ignoring the person, but because I've waited so long, they probably aren't going to bid.

Maybe not the best policy, but there it is.

[Rolland]

I like to respond to all of them.

[Rolland]

hah

[zektor]

I usually email back telling the person that the exact description is in the auction. I try my best to be as precise in my auctions as possible. I have actually received emails for OTHER games for a game I was/am auctioning...example:

"I saw your Outrun 3d game for the SMS on ebay. I would like to win it as long as I can buy some other games such as Afterburner, Shinobi, Alex Kidd Lost Stars, and Transbot. Give me a shipping price for the lot"

WHAT? I only listed one game! Does this person think I am a retailer?

[briskbc]

I didn't read all of the posts in this thread so pardon me if I am repeating anyone. I usually only reply to incredible picky buyers like this guy if the item is going to go over$30 to $40.

I had a series of auctions end for PS games and many items included statements like "complete with original instructions and jewel case" I received 3 emails from different bidders asking if the item was complete. Crap like that turns me away from eBay.

[chadtower]

"gave password to his little brother".

Dude, if I had a dollar for every time I have been given this as an excuse from a buyer I'd be the richest person here. It's just another lie like the "I have a brain tumor", "my husband is in the gulf" and "I got my penis caught in the cat".

I actually did get that last one as an excuse, but the accompanying pic was so funny I let them off.

[kevincure]

I gotta disagree here.

First, because all I sell are rarer games, I always have a good photo, and a detailed description of any flaws (even small cracks in the jewel case, for instance). I answer all email questions, because I dont think of it as being picky - if I were buying an 80 dollar game, I'd want to be damn sure what I was getting too.

Quite frankly, if I want something for my collection, 10 bucks or 1000 bucks, I want to know exactly what condition it's in. The better you describe your auction, the less Q's you'll get AND the more money you'll get for the auction.

If I saw a fuzzy picture and "Includes CD, instructions and jewel case", I would definitely email for more info. That doesn't cut it for collecting.

[slapdash]

Me replies to those are ALWAYS:

Please refer to the picture and item description for the answer to this question. Thanx!

As someone who just got cheated a bit on an auction WITH a picture because of a small lie ("sin of omission" if I were feeling kindly) in the item description, I'd say that an answer like that would bother me.

On the other hand, I wouldn't answer anything that's obvious from the auction description, unless to chide them for not reading it, so I can see where Wulf's answer would come in handy too.

The secret is, if it isn't OBVIOUS from your picture and description, by all means, answer them.