ebay message rules WTF

[Hoggyf]

Anyone know how to get around the new ebay rules preventing you giving or receiving phone number address etc in a message?

I've already been warned by them for corresponding with a guy about buying a trailer and they threatened to block my messages

[Tonibe63]

Ask him for a contact number to arrange viewing before buying

[daveuprite]

I use this trick and seem to have got away with it so far:

Type and print out a short message like "Contact Me to Discuss on XXX XXXXX". Then photograph the print out and add it to the photos that you post up. Make it the last photo after all the ones of your bike or whatever you're selling . I always post up at least 6 photos so that the one showing the contact details appears on the second 'page' of pics, as it were. I doubt that this makes any difference to ebay's ability to find it though!

The algorithmic androidinal robo-soft bytes don't appear to have sussed this out yet.

Another method I've seen is to spell out the phone number. e.g. "to talk about the bike you can get me on zero one seven five three five four two one four three"

I reckon NOT using the word 'phone', 'tel', or 'contact' might help if the robo-cop androidinal mega-cloud is looking for those words. That's just my private theory though and could well be a load of old codswallop.

[Hoggyf]

its not for posting an add its for responding to a for sale add that I want to go look at

[aliwakeskate]

It's a tricky one as ebay changed the rules last year about sending contact details in messages. It's made it a right pain selling and buying on there.

Business sellers are allowed to have their contact details on the main selling page, but are not allowed to send the same details through messages! Crazy or what.

Private sellers can't have their contact details on the advert or are not allowed to swap details through messages.

They only allow private sellers to have their contact details displayed if it's a 'classified advert'.

According to Ebays rules "We also don't allow members to offer, reference, or request email addresses, phone numbers or other contact information, physical addresses, web addresses, or links within eBay messaging systems (Best Offer, My Messages etc.)."

So basically, you are not allowed to ask the buyer for their contact details unless its a 'classified advert' (like a bike or car classified)! Bonkers!

Daveuprites trick of taking a picture of the contact details is one way around it, but if they catch you doing it they can ban you. The minimum ban is 7 days. So might be worth a try sending the seller a picture of your number?

[Hoggyf]

I tried sending a pic but it was blocked! hope its warm on the naughty step.

Bizarrely I've got my number on an auction ad at present so have made contact with the guy, offered more money than he wants for the bike but he still wants it to go to the end of the auction and I don't think I can be arsed to drive 2hrs each way to look, then bid, then if I win go back another 2hrs each way.

[Q plate]

They dont seem to like any ref to email addresses or tel numbers so It's a bit crypictic but I've used this a few times & been ok

My details are A = 1 so zero G H A A A E (you get the gist so this is the start of my number 07811 15.... etc)

Depends how bright/willing/kind of day the person at the other end is of course

Regards AL

[Fried Egg Sandwich]

You could always give a number alphabetically like the old phones.
1 ,
2 ABC,
3 DEF,
4 GHI,
5 JKL,
6 MNO,
7 PQRS,
8 TUV,
9 WXYZ,
0 .

0123 456 7890 becomes " , ,beglorty ,"

Just an idea.

[daveuprite]

its not for posting an add its for responding to a for sale add that I want to go look at

I see. But the spelling method works both ways.

[daveuprite]

Another method would be to send your contact details via an electro-mechanical rotor cipher decoding machine, as long as the recipient has the same machine, using a fresh setting each day.

Bloody Ebay - it's an enigma.