VBD2 is closed. Please go to https://vbd3.co.uk instead.

Gets messy sometimes hey..

On the other hand, if you buy & sell there on a regular basis, the losses are washed out by the savings.

I've been wondering about the earlier question. I know you can't send email addresses in eBay messages, but can't you share postal addresses and phone numbers?

I once made the mistake of buying a bulk lot where the seller had accidentally failed to specify PayPal (an honest mistake). He couldn't work out how to change that (even though I told him) so we eventually agreed I would pay by cheque, for which I needed his name and address. There was no problem with sending those, and it all worked out fine in the end. We were indeed blocked from sending email addresses, but nothing else.

Last Christmas I bought a bicycle that was collection only. Within half an hour of the auction ending, we'd exchanged phone numbers through eBay and arranged collection. Collection wouldn't work if you couldn't do this!

DrJeep wrote:Last Christmas I bought a bicycle that was collection only. Within half an hour of the auction ending, we'd exchanged phone numbers through eBay and arranged collection. Collection wouldn't work if you couldn't do this!

...but that's after a purchase contract existed, so I think that's a different situation from a prospective buyer contacting a would-be seller.

Idris wrote: ...but that's after a purchase contract existed, so I think that's a different situation from a prospective buyer contacting a would-be seller.

Yes, you’re probably right, though some of the discussion earlier was about sending invoices with phone numbers on (email addresses are definitely blocked). I’ve also noticed that business sellers have to display addresses and telephone numbers in their listings (many seem to try to hide them below a lot of white space).