I currently have an auction up that I had relisted because of a NPB. The first time it closed at $340. I started it again at $199 and it has one bid on it. I just received an email from a person who said they will give me $360 for them...tonite! I really want to get rid of these, but I *think* that this is illegal to do, right? I would LOVE to take their offer, and if I had no bids, I would just add a BIN and be done with it.
I'm also afraid they won't go as high as last time. What is the right thing to do?
posted on February 12, 2003 07:03:35 PM new
you can ask him to go in and bid 360 and then you close the auction,in that way,it is OH ALL SO LEGIT.
of course you pay ebay final value fee.
posted on February 12, 2003 07:03:42 PM new
IT IS ILLEGAL IF YOU GET CAUGHT, AND NOW THAT YOU HAVE A BID YOU WOULD NEED TO CANCEL IT AND END THE AUCTION.
IF IT WERE ME, I WOULD JUST TELL THEM THAT "THE ITEM HAS A BID AND I AM NOT COMFORTABLE ENDING THE AUCTION, PLEASE PLACE YOUR BID AND IF THINGS WORK OUT, YOU WILL SOON HAVE YOUR ITEM."
ALSO MANY MANY TIMES HAVE PEOPLE COME ON HERE AND TALKED ABOUT ENDING AN AUCTION EARLY ONLY TO RECEIVE MORE MONEY THAN WAS OFFERED.
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE IF YOU DON'T HAVE A RESERVE, YOU WILL STILL SELL THE ITEM.
posted on February 12, 2003 07:06:46 PM new
STOPWHINING, IF THE PERSON BID $360, THERE IS STILL NO GURANTEE THAT WOULD BE THE FINAL PRICE, IF THE ONE BIDDER THERE NOW ONLY BID THE MIN, THEN THE PRICE WOULD ONLY GO UP ONE INCREMENT AND THE BIDDER WOULD ONLY BE LIABLE FOR THE MONEY SHOWING AS THE FINAL PRICE. WHICH WOULD NOT BE $360
posted on February 12, 2003 07:20:13 PM new
Cancel the bid and auction...then start a new one with a fixed price of 360.00 and let them have it...if your sure they are going to buy it now.I'd take 360.00 anyday over 199.00....if your not 100% sure they are going to buy it...this could be a bad idea...just a thought
posted on February 12, 2003 07:50:22 PM new
could always start a new one at a fixed price before you take the old one down...tell them it's up...give them 24 hours to buy if they don't then cancel it...if they do cancel the other
posted on February 12, 2003 08:29:48 PM new
We post here complaining about all the bidders that do things we don't like and now we tell a seller to end her auction, which has a bid, and sell outside of eBay.
How would you like that to happen to you when bidding on items you want. Think before you cancel.
posted on February 12, 2003 09:23:18 PM new
Leave it alone tell them to bid on the item if they want it so bad they could be stringing you along to close the auction and say oh we are sorry we have changed our minds
posted on February 12, 2003 09:47:47 PM new
If you let the auction run to it's end, the percentages are in your favor that it will close at more than the bottomfeeder is offering you. The odds also are very much in your favor that you won't be booted off Ebay if you let the auction run to it's end instead of making an off ebay deal.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
posted on February 12, 2003 09:54:42 PM new
That happened to me in two auctions I had last week. I did NOT end the auctions early, just let them bid on them. One bidder got mad at me and demanded I close the auction early and deal with her directly. Of course I ignored that. I let both auctions go through and I ended up getting more than I thought I would ! Just let it run, you might be presently surprised!
posted on February 12, 2003 09:59:39 PM new
Another consideration is that the buyer is an eBay employee. I know it has been discussed on this board before, and the general conclusion is that Safe Harbor has several employees who do nothing but look for sellers and buyers who are breaking the rules. When a seller gets an email asking to end an auction, the seller should always consider that the offer is from an eBay employee.
A few weeks ago, on the Power Seller's Discussion Board, one PS posted that one of her buyers received an email from eBay, asking the buyer specifically if the seller had ever sold auctions off of eBay, to the buyer or others. Now as sellers, have any of you considered that your buyers might be targeted for similar questions from eBay?
If you like selling on eBay, follow the rules.
If you sell to a buyer off eBay, because you have your own customer list, a shop, or whatever, make sure the contact did not come from Ask Seller A Question. If you are eager to make a deal, sell ten plates for $500 for example, take the details of the transaction to the telephone, and use key phrases, like the plates are from your shop. You can sell whatever you like to whomever you like off eBay just so long as the request to purchase did not come through eBay and you did not initiate the contact with a winning bidder. In other words, if you list plate number one on eBay, you cannot then offer to sell ten more identical plates to the winning bidder off of eBay, or the same thing if the winning bidder asked you to sell ten more plates to them off of eBay. The contact to buy and sell off eBay cannot be initiated through eBay by either party.
And particularly, don't forget that eBay now owns Paypal and can track non-eBay money transfers to sellers' accounts.
posted on February 12, 2003 11:17:36 PM new
Reamond, you are mistaken. A buyer cannot contact a seller through eBay and request that an auction be ended and the item be sold to the buyer off eBay. Please read the following eBay Policy carefully:
eBay has always maintained strict guidelines regarding the use of eBay member information by other users, especially pertaining to unsolicited email messages, sometimes called "spam".
Under Section 5 of the eBay User Agreement, we prohibit a member from using another eBay member's email address for "unsolicited, commercial" email (spam) or for any other reason, unless the member has expressly provided permission to use it in that manner.
In order to clarify our policy, we have updated the Help pages to further describe eBay's position on spam.
Below are a few examples of what we do not allow:
·An email sent to active bidders in an open listing offering the same or similar items;
·Adding email addresses to your mailing list without first obtaining permission from the members involved (this includes past bidders and sellers);
·Sending a direct or stand-alone email invitation to members to join your mailing list;
·Soliciting a seller to sell a listed item outside of eBay, including using the "Ask seller a question" link to solicit a seller.
We do allow members to include a link or message within standard transaction-based emails to encourage buyers or sellers to join their mailing list.
To read more about the updated policy, please click here.
posted on February 12, 2003 11:28:35 PM new
No matter how attractive that buyer's offer is, I wouldn't end the auction early, for many of the reasons stated by others above.
I would nervously let it continue. I must say that it may well be worth 'way more than you know, otherwise why wouldn't this buyer just linger and lurk, hoping to get it?
posted on February 13, 2003 02:41:01 AM new
I agree with Roadsmith. I have had a few of these offers, and every time the item sold for more than I was offered.
Remember the comic books a few months ago? The seller was offered $1,000 to sell them off ebay. They ended up selling form over 3 times what she was offered.
posted on February 13, 2003 07:31:27 PM new
I was selling a Cache jacket a couple weeks ago and I had someone beg me to stop the auction and she would pay me $75.00 for the jacket. I had a current bid of $16.00. I told her I couldn't because it wouldn't be fair to other bidder. But I told her to bid on it and go up to $75.00 and she would probably win. she did for $31.00. She saved some money by waiting.
posted on February 13, 2003 07:52:09 PM new
You might also want to consider the fact that some of these offers are made by persons who cannot bid because they have been kicked off ebay. If they won't follow the rules when they were registered, why should they be concerned about fair dealing now?
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
posted on February 13, 2003 09:29:30 PM new
I'd really like to know how you make out on this auction...when it's all said and done.Final value...if it was better or worse than offer.
posted on February 13, 2003 10:44:15 PM new
Hotcup- let me make it more clear- it is not "illegal" for the seller, it is however "illegal" for the buyer to make a contact for a direct sale, but they can not punish the seller.
I would absolutely love for eBay to punish me for selling any item directly to a buyer that contacts me first. It is interference with a business relationship, restraint of interstate trade and a host of other suits if eBay ever tries it with this seller.
posted on February 13, 2003 11:16:27 PM new
Reamond, I understand what you are saying. However, losing one's selling status on eBay to sell off-eBay to an unknown inquiry isn't worth it to me.
I sell off eBay a lot. Indeed last month I sold over $4000 worth of antique porcelain off eBay, significant because I do not have a shop. However, I sold to long-term customers who contacted me, not total strangers. And I certainly did not end an auction to sell to a total stranger.
I don't disagree with you that many of eBay's policies would not stand up if challenged in court. Me, I am not interested in vesting time, energy and financial resources for such a court battle. I like buying and selling on eBay, and do not want to jeopardize my ability to continue in these activities. So I will always be careful not to violate any of eBay's policies.
posted on February 14, 2003 07:44:17 AM new
But this situation is not a breach of any rules by the seller. eBay can not punish a seller for something that a buyer does which breaks their rules. There is no rule that states a seller can be NARU'd for a buyer contacting them.
By the way, such a suit wouldn't cost me a dime. The lawyers would get in line for such a suit on a contingency fee.
