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

Ebay seem to have recently introduced software to prevent buyers and sellers from exchanging e-mail addresses (and probably also telephone numbers although I haven't tried that) via the Ebay e-mail system.
However, one buyer I've been corresponding with has found a way round this, and that is to send a photograph of the e-mail address. In my case, being photographically-challenged (those of you who have met me would probably correct that to photogenicly-challenged ), I used the textbox function in Paint and saved the result as a jpeg. I was then able to forward my e-mail address to the seller without any problems.

Idris wrote:Ebay seem to have recently introduced software to prevent buyers and sellers from exchanging e-mail addresses (and probably also telephone numbers although I haven't tried that) via the Ebay e-mail system.
However, one buyer I've been corresponding with has found a way round this, and that is to send a photograph of the e-mail address. In my case, being photographically-challenged (those of you who have met me would probably correct that to photogenicly-challenged ), I used the textbox function in Paint and saved the result as a jpeg. I was then able to forward my e-mail address to the seller without any problems.

The email thingy was introduced a while ago. Exchanging details can be useful when buying/negotiating but the main reason for the restriction as I understand it is to deter sellers and buyers from doing deals outside of ebay. So I would just advise a little caution because action may be taken against the respective parties, regardless of the intentions of the buyers and sellers when details are exchanged.

I believe your buyers email address is available on paypal once they have paid.

Had this problem recently with a seller who worked at Lesney. He had some great info about his time there and was a problem getting my email addy to him so we could chat and get the info sent. Ebay kept deleting the post no matter how I sent it (adding (at) instead of @ etc )

You guys are being a little bit too 'computer' direct, so the E Bay Police can catch you with a simple program. I have shared my E Mail address with several vendors by doing it my innocent non -computer literate way. I simply state for example "my E Mail address is ___name______ and that we are at yahoo.com". Their E Bay program does not stop this from sending because it is a whole sentence rather than just a modified address. So simple even a cave man thought it up.....LOL
I don't believe that E Bay has any legal right to stop or even punish us for privately communicating with other E Bay users, they just want their share of the $$ when we work out side deals without them. For our 'Safety', they make sure we keep our E Mail addresses secret now. I have done many side deals over our 13 years there, so this game of 'cops and robbers' continues......kwakers

I have shared email addresses via message system on ebay too - I write mine as ´´mickwhatever att hotmial dot c´´ and that works when requesting a paypal invoice!

kwakers wrote:You guys are being a little bit too 'computer' direct, so the E Bay Police can catch you with a simple program. I have shared my E Mail address with several vendors by doing it my innocent non -computer literate way. I simply state for example "my E Mail address is ___name______ and that we are at yahoo.com". Their E Bay program does not stop this from sending because it is a whole sentence rather than just a modified address. So simple even a cave man thought it up.....LOL

Thanks Dick you have finally come out of that cave.

So simple!! Yet it works.......I like it!, in fact......I like it a lot!!!, Thanks.