posted on February 20, 2003 08:44:03 PM new
I have two different user names on Ebay. One I only buy with and the other I buy and sell with. About a month ago I got a steal of a buy on some great salt dips. The seller never emailed me with EOA terms so I emailed him. No answer. Waited a couple of days more. Emailed him again. Still no answer. Checked his feedback and way in the past he had a few auctions where he never contacted the high bidder. I stewed for a few days and finally decided maybe he wanted me to use the Ebay checkout within the auction. So I did it. It gave his mailing address and the shipping total. I sent a money order. Time passed and no salts. Finally emailed him and asked where they were. He claimed he had emailed me after the auction and told me that his sister had dropped them. I went through all my email and there was no letter. I told him to just send the money order back. He did send it right back. I figured it was seller's remorse. Now, four days ago I won another auction from another seller under my other user name. Same thing. They never have contacted me. I have emailed them twice. Still no answer. There is no shipping total within their auction so I can't just send them the correct amount in the hope that they will go ahead and send the candy jar. What is going on? If you get a really good deal, are the sellers just ignoring the fact that you won? If they want more money, why don't they set a reserve. Very irritating.
posted on February 20, 2003 08:56:30 PM new
Sounds like they wanted a higher price. Check their auctions or search every once in a while and see if the items show up again.
posted on February 20, 2003 11:54:49 PM new
It has happened to me too, though not recently. It is when a seller doesn't have the item identified correctly. Then you win the bid. I think the seller goes to look at your 30-day buying history and figures out from your other purchases that what they just sold you for peanuts is really a such and such.
I always leave such a seller a neg, mostly because it is weeks after the fact before the seller comes up with some stupid story about why they are not selling the item to me. And a few times I've gotten a retaliatory neg from the seller for being "rude." Which is why I always use a buying id for buying.
The reason I haven't had the problem recently is I made the decision to purchase only from sellers who accept Paypal and who state the shipping costs in the auction or who will give me shipping costs if I email them. That means I can Pay Now at the end of the auction.
One surprising thing is the number of sellers who don't answer an Ask A Seller A Question email. If I don't hear back from the seller, I don't bid. And the thing is, I would have bid if the seller had responded. Then their auction ends without any bids at all, so why did the seller even bother taking photographs and listing the thing on eBay?
posted on February 21, 2003 03:39:04 AM new
I think some sellers start these items too low and never think about the number of auctions for the same type item on ebay. Then when the auction doesn't take off, they come up with some excuse for not completing the sale.
In all honesty though, I sold a covered candy dish about a year ago and as hubby was packing it, the dish was packed in the box, the lid was wrapped securely in bubble wrap. As hubby was putting the lid in the box, he cracked the knobby handle on the side of the coffee table and snapped the lid in two pieces. I quickly emailed the buyer and sent her a picture of the broken lid. I gave her the choice of receiving the item and her money back (except the shipping), or receiving all of her money back. She chose to get all of her money back but thanked me for being so honest.
Now the funny part, the next weekend I found a lid to the jar at a garage sale. I bought it for a dime and sent the buyer the whole candy dish for free. She still buys from me and we have become friends.
posted on February 21, 2003 08:27:07 AM new
Isn't it weird how serendipity can strike like that?
I had a pair of very pretty pearl hoop earrings and accidentally mangled one by knocking it off my dressing table and then stepping on it. Because they were a gift from my folks, I couldn't bring myself to get rid of the "spare," so it just sat there in my jewelry box looking up at me reproachfully.
A few years later I was at a big antique show a few towns away, and bought a big bag of junk "jewelry parts" for about $10. As I started to go through it, I realized there was a goodly amount of broken 14k/gemstone jewelry in there ... and spare earrings. About halfway through the bag, I found the mate to my earring! (Actually, it wasn't exactly ... these earrings had an obvious "right" and "left," and this was the same one I already had ... it was also missing a pearl ...but it was easy to have a jeweler replace the pearl and reverse the post, restoring my matched pair.)
There ended up being nearly an ounce of scrap gold in the bag, which I sold. One of my best scores, but definitely overshadowed by the joy of finding the earring. I've never seen a pair like it before or since.
[ edited by msincognito on Feb 21, 2003 08:28 AM ]
posted on February 21, 2003 11:46:40 AM newwhy don't they set a reserve. Very irritating.
Yes it can be. I think a lot of sellers just do not want to pay the extra fees for a reserve listing.
So if the item does not get a big hit they cancel the auction near the end or just do not sell to the buyer.
