Question
I discovered a buyer enquiry in My Ebay the other day. The Ebay email never arrived, and the auction had finished about 6 hours earlier. I wrote to the enquirer to apologise for not replying in time. After writing the message, the next screen gave me the distorted numbers for a verification process:
To help us maintain safety on eBay and prevent abuse of the site, type the verification code hidden in the image into the box below, then click the Continue button.
I can usually read the distortions fine but occassionally one has white spots on it which make a digit ambiguous. Whilst I did not think I had made a mistake I was taken to the same screen again, with a different number. After a dozen such screens, I decided to add the sign-in to my "Trusted Sites" in security, so that it would allow any extra code that my settings were dissallowing. Three screens later I was finally out of the maze of verifications. 15 verification screens to reply to a buyer enquiry!
Last night I received an enquiry about a closed auction just as I was bumped off my server. I went to reply and keep the email until I hooked back up, but it was one of those time wasting "TalkToTheHand", I mean "UseTheYellowButton" replies. Today I went to My Ebay, and replied to that request. After TEN verification screens, I decided to try clearing my cache. 2 screens later I was through the trap. 12 verification screens to reply to a buyer enquiry!
Is this a glitch, or punishment because I do not jump through all of the other hoops that Ebay wants me to? Is this happening because I am using an old browser and the famous Blanche security settings? Or is this just the way this system works from time to time, and considered to be a "reasonable" security measure?
I am questioning at this moment whether it is worth answering enquiries that do not include the bidders email address. (My conscience won't let me, though)
Anyone else experiencing similar timewasting screens of digital mayhem?
Kevin
Answer
I don't think I've run into that with eBay. Other sites, yes. And I hate those things, too. I sometimes can't make any sense of them.
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Had one only come up recently. Keep your cookies clear may help.
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It's happened to me several times answering Ebay buyer questions and my computer is only 2 months old. I hate those numbers as they're very hard to read. I usually have to go throught the screens a couple of times.
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Those are annoying, aren't they?
Pet peeve along the same lines... make sure you don't leave out any info on the first response, because eBay won't allow you to send a follow up message.
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Originally Posted by johnny
Pet peeve along the same lines... make sure you don't leave out any info on the first response, because eBay won't allow you to send a follow up message.
I found THAT out the hard way.
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BTDT. On the other hand, for awhile yesterday I was able to see all my bidders' email addresses on my current auctions. High bidders and underbidders.
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Originally Posted by Kevin_T
After writing the message, the next screen gave me the distorted numbers for a verification process
It's called a "captcha" and they are in increasing use.
Not only that, but the next generation of captchas is being rolled out, which will hopefully be easier for ordinary mortals to read.
As far as the fault being partly yours, you must have realized by now that eBay does not support older browsers. eBay stopped supporting Internet Explorer for Mac OS 9 several years ago, for example. If you want to have the best eBay experience possible (which of course is not a *perfect* eBay experience because there are always systemic glitches), you will have to update your browser and software and keep them up to date.
fLufF
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Originally Posted by Kevin_T
I mean "UseTheYellowButton" replies.
Kevin
I get the "use the yellow button" when ebay does not want me to find out the users real email address. Or it might be international privacy laws in the other country where they will not let ebay hand over private email address.
Some countries will not let ebay show a users pasy bidding history if you try and look it up under members by bidders.
At any rate, when ebay keep raising fees and raising fee some more, and they don't see any more increase in profits, then they will likely create the Yellow Button deal for all questions that are sent to sellers.
I see things getting worse at ebay until it is just a mess of a site not worth bothering with. Because Paypal will be all that ebay companies will care about in the future. Ebay is just some quick money while they take over all internet sales with paypal rules.
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I do NOT use that yellow button. You want a reply from me, send the question with your email address available to me