May I Scream Now?!

Background: messages between eBay members go through eBay's own message system. If someone asks me, the seller, a question, i use "Respond to this question" but other, unsolicited contact is made through "Contact member" which is a different function.

ROUND ONE:

Dear eBay seller support:

I'm a US seller. Potential international buyers often ask about shipping charges. WHY do you ONLY allow me to use ''respond'' ONE TIME, to answer their question? With the recent USPS changes, i now must DELAY MY ANSWER until i can get the information.

And so, because my answer will be delayed, i respond first by telling the question-er that i will reply again with an answer tomorrow. I don't want to delay writing them back. Now that you have the enhanced feedback function, ''communication'' is something they can dock us points for -- but you make it harder to communicate!
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Dear seller:

Thank you for writing in to eBay Community Support regarding the limit as to how many messages you can send to other eBay members. To protect our members from unwanted email, we have placed a limit on the number of messages members can send in a day that don't involve a specific transaction. These include "Contact an eBay Member" messages.

Depending on various factors associated with an account, we may also require additional verification from members attempting to send these messages. The best way to communicate with the seller of an active listing is to use the "Ask seller a question" link on the item page. The link is located directly below the seller's User ID. To contact your trading partner when the listing has ended, click "Contact the buyer" or "Contact seller" on the item page.

The maximum number of "Contact an eBay Member" messages that can be sent in a day is 10. Some accounts may have further restrictions placed on the number of messages they can send, based on the account history and various other factors.

I understand you are not happy with this limit.

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ROUND TWO:

Dear eBay seller support:

I complained that you do not allow me to respond to a member's question using the "respond" function, if i have already used it to tell them that my answer will be delayed. You sent the [above] COMPLETELY UNRELATED answer.

I do not wish to use "contact member" AT ALL, much less use it 10 times in a day. I WISH TO ANSWER A QUESTION that A MEMBER ASKED ME. And it takes research time, for me to find their answer, so I WISH TO "RESPOND" IMMEDIATELY as a courtesy...and then AGAIN when i have the answer.

I would like to understand this restriction. I am talking about "My eBay" "Messages", "Respond to this question." I am NOT talking about "Contact member." And i wish to contact a questioner TWICE, not TEN TIMES.

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Dear seller:

Thanks for writing back to eBay. Please note that you can only respond to a member's question once. If you would like to contact the member again, you need to use the Contact Member feature. However, if you're not involved in a transaction with this member, the system may block your message from going through.

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ROUND THREE:

Dear eBay seller support:

Again, you do NOT answer my question.

Of COURSE I "note that i can only respond to a member's question once." What i asked was: WHY?

If i will be delayed in getting the information they request, why can't i tell them that?

And if i use "contact member" to answer them, "the system may block my message"????? What does eBay gain by these ridiculous policies??

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(Okay, see, if they had answered "Your complaint has been noted," I'd have quit two rounds ago).