posted on September 17, 2001 01:41:33 PM new
Just curious if any long time Auctioneers here can provide some insight? Heres the example:
Someone lists an Auction with a reserve.
I bid on it, less than reserve. Auction closes, no other bids, no reply from seller.
They relist again.
I email/ ask them question on their reserve. They tell me the munumum $ they want for this item. I place a new bid for their minimum.. (which is lower than their actual posted reserve, but meets their amount told to me in the mail) ..so now I win, send them the $ and get the item blah blah. NOW: How does the Auction site have a way of knowing the seller let this item go for less than their reserve, and know to charge FVF? I would imagine this has been exploited in the past at EBAY?
I use to ignore all Auctions that have reserve, but now I am rethinking my policy...any comments?
posted on September 17, 2001 01:53:04 PM new
toollady..I've been there since 99 and never had my reserve fee refunded if my item meets and sells for my reserve. If I relist it and it sells at the reserve I get the second reserve fee refunded like a normal refunded 2nd listing fee )
posted on September 17, 2001 02:20:37 PM new
toollady:
Ok, now how is Ebay assuming that the seller got their payment from the buyer.....supporting the charging of the reserve fee?
Only way this ought to be done is upon a Positive Feedback placed by both Buyer and seller, relevant to auction item number.
I had this problem with Amazon Auctions kinda...and thats why I left. I got hit with a FVF on something I sold , then had to refund the buyer her money b/c they were dissatisfied with the features of the item I sold them. Out of common courtesy, I refunded her the $ , got the camcorder back, but Amazon had already charged me a FVF fee.
There was (and probably still is) no procedure to follow up on something like this
there or on any Other Auction site.
If I recall, Amazon Emailed me back with a form to fill out to try and have my CC fee refunded, but the form wouldnt print on my DOT Matrix Printer. At that point being new with only 2 positives (no negs) I felt it not worth my time to be a seller on Amazon.
posted on September 17, 2001 02:36:41 PM new
Fee Avoidance is one of the major loopholes that eBay and other auctions try to close. There is nothing to keep a buyer and seller from working out a side deal on an auction item through the 'ask the seller a question' format in the event the item does not sell or reach the reserve limit. The only real drawback is to lose the eBay insurance on a high value item and the recording of feedback after the deal is done.
The email address as the eBay ID makes it easy for buyers to try to buy unsold items from sellers or other side deals and that loophole is trying to be closed by not permitting that practice on new accounts. I can see the day where eBay will make all existing accounts with email addresses as the ID change to a non-emal address ID.
[ edited by bidsbids on Sep 17, 2001 10:41 PM ]
"Reserve Price Auction Listings
The Insertion Fee is based upon the reserve price of the item you list for sale. Insertion Fees are non-refundable.
When you list a Reserve Price Auction, you will also be charged a Reserve Price Auction Fee, which is based upon the reserve price. Reserve Price Auction Fees are fully refundable. At the end of the auction, if your item sells, the Reserve Price Auction Fee is refunded to your account. This also applies to Real Estate."
If you have not received a refund when an item has sold at or above reserve, I would suggest contacting their billing dept.
techforce,
Ebay assumes the transaction has been completed if you do not file a NPB form. If you don't file for your fees to be returned, they will credit your account if the reserve was met.
If you end up filing for a non paying bidder, they will refund the final value fees, but not the regular listing fee.
Since I haven't run accross non paying bidders on the other sites, I don't know how they issue credits. I would assume it was either on the honor system, or they contact the bidder that the NPB was filed against and take it from there.
posted on September 17, 2001 03:32:27 PM new
toollady...sorry, I thought you were talking about getting your listing fee back if your item meets the price of the reserve on the first listing as being why they made the fee to recoup some of the money....I do get the fee back like a regular 2nd listing listing, sorry for the mix-up
)