TROLLS on EBAY BOARDS: How to handle them

People who like to start arguments for arguments sake or in general  post hostile unwarranted comments to others either randomly or systematically on eBay boards are known as TROLLS.

A troll is a bully. They try to control your behavior, get a reaction out of you, discredit your image with others on the board or in general just act disruptively to get attention.

How do you handle this if a troll seems to have latched on to you? Very simple. IGNORE them.

Now sometimes a troll will start off calmly enough and be relatively civil. As the discussion continues on however you notice that they seem to guiding the conversation in such a way as to make you or others look bad. If you suspect this is the case, the best thing you can do is refuse to make further comments to them. There really is no use in asking a troll if they are a troll. They will always deny it!

There is no use in trying to reason with them. It is like trying to reason with a 4 year old child who wants his way. Nothing you can say or do will mean anything to them. Indeed, if you continue to post responses to them you are doing exactly what they want. You are feeding into their need for attention.  Now how pathetic does that sound - a total stranger on a board is so lonely and bereft of friends in their off line life that they must come online and act up like a spoiled child to get any attention at all. They really are to be pitied BUT that doesn't mean you have to tolerate their behavior.

So No.1: Ignore them.   This is by far the most effective method. If you take away the audience you take away any control they think they have over your behavior. I know it is hard to do this and sometimes the temptation to get a good zinger or two in can be overwhelming but really - think about it now. Do you really really care what this total stranger thinks of you? After all, you know what you think of them. Their behavior is unbecoming to say the very least.

They don't help pay your bills. They aren't a friend. They are nothing. Just ignore them. They will soon be on to pestering someone else because often they just don't seem to learn that their behavior is not acceptable.

Other things you can do.   If their posts to the boards are against eBay board posting policies  See eBay values you can hit the report button beside the post. If eBay feels the posting is in violation then it will be removed. If the member who is trolling continues to post disruptive, unpleasant, or discourteous posts to the board and it is reported often enough, the member could receive a suspension even an indefinite one. 

Block them from bidding on your auctions:   This is a good idea. Trolls have been known to interfere with auctions of people that they feel they don't like. They do this so they can get your contact information.

 I had a troll who now is permanently suspended from posting anywhere on eBay phone me from her job no less (because her boss was paying for the long distance call although he didn't know it). She had bid on one of my auctions just to get the contact information. So block them as soon as you know they are trolling, especially if it is directed at you.

Ebay is a great place to buy and sell. There are some though who feel it is their personal playground to abuse others verbally and misuse the site in general. You and I can't stop them from coming onto eBay and posting but we can certainly ignore them.

Since writing this guide another form of trolling has emerged. This will become readily apparent if you read the Reviews &  Guides board on eBay. This type of trolling is aimed at writers of Reviews and Guides. No matter how good or helpful your guide or review may be this type of troll will give it a "not helpful" vote.

Why do they do this? There is a number of reasons - they are competition for the products you are selling; they have sad little lives with nothing else to do; and just because.

How do you handle this type of trolling?

First you need to realize that they do not ever read your review or guide. They just hit it with a not helpful vote and then move on to the next person's guide and do the same thing.

The best thing you can do in this instance is understand what reviews and guides are meant to do. By writing a review or guide, you are directing potential customers around the web to your products on eBay. This is the #1 reason to write guides. Make your guide interesting, make it helpful - do the best you can with it. Most folks who read these guides are smart enough to make up their own minds about how helpful your guide is. In truth, most people don't even see the numbers or the ranking attached to your guide. They see your guide.

Put your efforts into making your reviews and guides the best you can. The sales will follow. My husband and I have written quite a few guides and we are now starting to see good results from this. We have had buyers say they first saw us from a guide that directed them to our eBay listings. After reading the guide, they checked our listings and that resulted in a sale for us. This is our focus and as a writer of reviews and guides, this should be yours too.

Happy eBaying!!

Thank you to our thousands of customers who have made our experience on eBay a positive one over the past six years.

 AND NOW WE HAVE the "IGNORE BUTTON". Use it folks. It will save you a lot of grief. The only ones I see complaining about the ignore button are the ones who think they will be ignored. The trolls! :)

My Reviews & Guides

Copyright 2005 by thecountrybaker. All rights reserved.