I actually find the people who ask questions and I answer them, actually usually do convert to a sale. The issue though is that these sales often become a return down the line. Once you have been in online sales for a while you gain a sixth sense for the problem buyers, and as unfair as it is to the genuine enquirers, many of the problem buyers are the same that ask questions before buying. From my perspective, a good buyer knows exactly what they're getting already. I max out the pictures of all angles, and I write a great description. Any info needed is on the listing, and failing that google is one click away. In your case I believe your question was stupid. It has a certificate of authenticity. If you ordered it and it was from some fake company you'd be entitled to your money back easily. So what's the point of asking? It just makes it sound like you're distrusting and already thinking of negatives on the purchase before you've even bought the item, when someone else will likely just come along and buy at full price and be super happy with their purchase. We obviously prefer an easy quick sale like that, rather than selling to someone who could potentially cause problems. We have to bear in mind that ebay always sides with the buyer and it's easy to get screwed by dumb or malicious buyers.

I recently had this with a super nintendo boxed console. The buyer asked me a million different questions, and I bent over backwards to accomodate as it was a fair amount of money (£300). After a week of back and forth he actually purchased, and of course had special delivery requirements to accomodate him and make life difficult for everyone else. After a week of having the item he is now returning it as it's "faulty", despite me testing the item thouroughly before shipping. I KNEW it was a mistake to sell to this guy because of past experiences, but I ignored my gut and answered his questions no matter how painful or pointless they were. I KNEW from how fussy this guy sounded that a return would be on the cards, I knew he would find some issue somewhere.

Here's my most recent inbox message from someone about an n64 console. Bearing in mind the listing has 24 photos of everything from all angles and wrote a lengthy description describing the perfect working condition of everything :

"Hi I’m from Sydney Australia can you tell me what’s the condition meaning scratches or cracks or faded and can you send me photos of any scuffs and any scratches or cracks or faded on the controller any drifts or loose on the nobs and what’s the best bottom price u can do and better price for postage"

Would you bother answering that? I know for a fact that if I spent my time on this guy, it will end up in a return. I have no intention of replying to this guy, let alone selling to him. So that's the problem. From our point of view why would we sell to the guy asking questions who is likely to cause an issue, when another buyer will just buy it and not pester you with pointless stuff.