fluffythewondercat
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posted on July 10, 2003 07:15:36 PM new
I can't see all of the sky but it has got to be a full moon.
A few weeks back, this AOLer (let's call her lho) placed a proxy bid of more than $80 on a pair of earrings I was selling. The current bid price at that point was $4.50. lho has cultivated the bad habit of bidding much higher than she really wants to spend to make sure she wins the auction.
Unfortunately for lho, another person placed a very high proxy bid as well. lho was left as high bidder on the auction at $66.00 with 18 hours left to go.
You or I would realize we'd done something stupid, retract the bid and accept the consequences. Lho, however, spent the next 18 hours emailing me with increasing degrees of panic. She was advised several times to cancel her bid and given specific instructions how to do so. Instead, she kept sending email demanding I do it for her.
I did nothing. The auction ends at $66.00. I had expected to get maybe $6 for the earrings.
Now comes time to file for NPB. Lho insists I must file "Mutually agreed not to complete transaction." I told her like hell I will.
Comments?
I am not a bathtub full of brightly-colored machine tools on Vendio.
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neonmania
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posted on July 10, 2003 07:20:06 PM new
If this is a consistant customer that you want to keep I'd tell her she gets a ONE TIME ONLY reprieve. Next time she knows what to do and how to do it and she must take responsibility for her actions.
If she's on your last nerve - screw her 
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I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
- Thomas Edison
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neonmania
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posted on July 10, 2003 07:20:54 PM new
BTW - Did you Second Chance Offer the other bidder?
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
- Thomas Edison
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deltim
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posted on July 10, 2003 07:47:15 PM new
I personally would have cancelled her bid, I generally cancel bids when people email me. Then I don't even have to deal with them, and I still have a chance of getting another bid.
But since you did not... I do not see any reason to list the reason as "mutual". She will just continue to overbid and will not learn her lesson. Just put down that she didn't pay and complete the FVF in 10 days. She doesn't sound like the type of customer you would want to come back anyway.
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neroter12
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posted on July 10, 2003 07:51:33 PM new
Fluffy,
You either must sell ALOT...or somehow do all the kooks just know how to find you?(..lol..)
Okay, question: How new or old is she to EBAY,if you can tell by FB? If you told her to retract, do you think she knew what you were talking about or how to do it?
I don't think I would like someone demanding what I should do when it's not in the terms of the game, ya know? Just my feeling on it.
Tessa
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AuctionAce
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posted on July 10, 2003 08:08:35 PM new
Whatever happened to The Customer Is Always Right credo for sellers? At least block the bidder on your blocked bidder list.
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Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair.
George Burns
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bear1949
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posted on July 10, 2003 08:13:07 PM new
Fluffy only you can draw the true nut cases. Glad it isn't me.
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on July 10, 2003 08:14:03 PM new
You either must sell ALOT...or somehow do all the kooks just know how to find you?
I do sell a lot (though not at the moment) and I start all my auctions at 1 cent, which is like putting out fresh kook bait every day.
I am not a bathtub full of brightly-colored machine tools on Vendio.
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neroter12
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posted on July 10, 2003 08:19:24 PM new
Ace,
Problem with that is the customer is NOT always right. (Have you ever worked in retail? omg!)
You can only jump through hoops so far...
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inot
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posted on July 10, 2003 08:21:48 PM new
I would expect her to pay. She is the one gambling when she pulls that proxy bid move, and she got burnt this time. I would have blocked her from bidding as soon as the auction was over.
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ahc3
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posted on July 10, 2003 08:55:51 PM new
If the customer was always right, would businesses have huge signs prominently displayed that read:
WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE TO ANYONE
I don't think so!
The customer is NOT always right. I think they should always be treated as courteously as possible, and I am open to ammend any policies, but this customer is always right statement is just crap. Anyone who says this has never made a living selling things!
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AuctionAce
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posted on July 10, 2003 09:23:57 PM new
It's just a saying. 
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Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair.
George Burns
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Twelvepole
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posted on July 10, 2003 10:35:59 PM new
Fluffy you had the option to cancel her bid and did not do so... you are the one at fault here and you should file a mutual agreement...
She maybe just smart enough to know that bid retractions are listed with feedback... cancellations only are listed on the auction.
AIN'T LIFE GRAND... 
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shop4shoes
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posted on July 10, 2003 11:01:03 PM new
Fluffy you had the option to cancel her bid and did not do so... you are the one at fault here and you should file a mutual agreement...
Fluffy is not in the wrong. She has no obligation or duty to cancel a buyer's bid. The buyer could/should have canceled her own bid. By placing that bid and letting that bid stand the buyer had an obligation to pay.
File a NPB with "bidder did not send payment" as the excuse.
I used to get several bidders a week that would try to get me to cancel their bids. I would not do it. I would send them the link to cancel their bid. If they did not cancel...oh well. Nearly all of them had a history of bid retractions. One had 40+ retractions in one week.
Does this buyer have any bid retractions on her record?
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lurkyloo
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posted on July 10, 2003 11:08:03 PM new
Twelvepole
Sorry, but Fluffy did the right thing. Why should she cancel the bid when this was motivated only by a buyer who was trying to beat the system? I think the buyer definitely didn't want the bid retraction to appear on her record. If she's that slimy, she deserves to get an NPB out of it and a big, fat NEG!!!!!!
JMO
Not lurkyloo on eBay
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Twelvepole
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posted on July 10, 2003 11:15:17 PM new
She has no obligation or duty to cancel a buyer's bid.
Why?
You are supposedly the seller and in control of your auction, you let a bid stand that you know has no intention of being honored...
So now you get to file an NPB and in all probability will not get paid... wait 10 days to get your FVF back and still lose your insertion fee... neg them and get the retaliatory neg in return... yep it is their decision, they are in control...
AIN'T LIFE GRAND...
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kiara
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posted on July 11, 2003 12:01:14 AM new
She maybe just smart enough to know that bid retractions are listed with feedback
Yes, I would check and see how many retractions she has.
Fluffy is not the one in the wrong, the bidder is.
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mcjane
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posted on July 11, 2003 12:45:57 AM new
fluffy is right, buyer is wrong. I would have done the same thing, tell the buyer how to cancel a bid & if she doesn't that's her problem. I wouldn't have done it for her either. File for FVF, "Buyer didn't pay" she needs to learn how behave on eBay, maybe this will teach her how.
I would send a 2nd chance to the runner up & hope she goes for it.
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shop4shoes
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posted on July 11, 2003 03:41:24 AM new
So now you get to file an NPB and in all probability will not get paid... wait 10 days to get your FVF back and still lose your insertion fee... neg them and get the retaliatory neg in return... yep it is their decision, they are in control...
Neg? So what? If waiting 10 days to get credit for an auction is going to break the bank for a seller, it is time for that seller to take a loooooong look at their business.
It is an auction that started at a penny. so it cost .30 to list. That is a cheap price to pay to nail a problem bidder and hopefully stop her from trying the same tactic with others.
If it only cost me .30 to handle problem relatives, I would dance a jig.
Fluffy if she does have numerous bid retractions, report her to ebay. She won't be anyones problem for much longer.
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CBlev65252
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posted on July 11, 2003 03:49:51 AM new
IMO, fluffy did the right thing in this instance. It's the buyer who needs to learn to bid responsibly. Why should fluffy, with the multitudes of auctions she's running, be the one to police all the bidders? So, did we add "Bidding Supervisor" to the seller's title? If so, I think tacking on $5 per auction would be in order for supervisory pay. If she saw that she was in trouble, she should have retracted her bid. Maybe she'll know better next time.
Cheryl
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Twelvepole
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posted on July 11, 2003 05:28:07 AM new
Well this explains why so many sellers have so many problems... very enlightening...
"Give control to a bidder you know won't pay" and then start jumping hoops to get a refund from eBay all for the satisfaction of what?
Giving a neg, that in all probability would be returned... filing an NPB and hope they have 2 others close together....
AIN'T LIFE GRAND...
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shething
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posted on July 11, 2003 06:14:34 AM new
I agree with fluffy. Canceling the bid for this AO-heller just enables her to continue her ill-advised practice of proxy bidding with excessive amounts. Fluffy gave her explicit (I have no doubt!) instructions on retracting her bid, and she needs to learn how to do so.
A NPBA is in order...neg her if you don't mind retaliation. Here's another reason for not allowing NPBs to post feedback...
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on July 11, 2003 06:21:11 AM new
twelvepole: You forget that I don't care about feedback. The biggest sellers on eBay don't care about feedback, either, which is eminently sensible. You can't control it, so why obsess over it?
I am not a bathtub full of brightly-colored machine tools on Vendio.
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CBlev65252
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posted on July 11, 2003 06:24:23 AM new
twelvepole
I'm willing to bet this is not the first time this bidder has done this. If sellers keep allowing her to pull this stunt, it will go on and on. You may be next, or me, or roadsmith or any of the other sellers we know here. There is usually a pattern this type of bidder follows. I for one would prefer she doesn't bid on my auctions at all.
Cheryl
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on July 11, 2003 07:47:09 AM new
lho has 1 bid retraction in the last 6 months.
Initially I assumed this was a case of the Classically Clueless AOLer. However, the insistence on the "mutually agreed" NPB signals someone who has done their homework.
I am not a bathtub full of brightly-colored machine tools on Vendio.
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on July 11, 2003 07:51:07 AM new
The longer I think about this, the more I believe she shouldn't have even been allowed to retract her bid.
After all, she did intend to bid that amount. The intention was based on a stupid assumption (that all other bidders will bid rationally) but the notion was all hers.
Contrast this with the bidder who mistakenly bids $100 when she means to bid $10.
I am not a bathtub full of brightly-colored machine tools on Vendio.
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kiara
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posted on July 11, 2003 08:59:21 AM new
Well this explains why so many sellers have so many problems... very enlightening...
Yes, twelvepole. If you start selling more you will run into many situations similar to this one. Then perhaps you won't always side with the bidder.
The customer is not always right and shouldn't be encouraged to get away with some things as it only makes them try it with other sellers and ruins it for all.
As I've said before, some customers aren't worth the time, cost and effort of having them as repeat customers.
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AuctionAce
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posted on July 11, 2003 09:51:34 AM new
The other thing to do is to try to force this buyer to pay. The buyer can earn a NPB strike instead of paying up and can also return any negative feedback. If the seller is lucky it will be the third NPB strike. Seems like the buyers always hold the good cards in these types of deals.
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Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair.
George Burns
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