Sneaky Sellers

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Anyone ever have a seller completely change everything in an auction that you had a snipe set on?

This auction was originally a circa 1930s Des Moines baseball player photo and as I was checking my snipes tonight I noticed a Walter Alston card that I didn't place a snipe on...so I clicked on the auction and the seller had completely changed everything in the auction tonight.

Here's the auction as it stands now...there is no way to retrieve what it originally was.

http://tinyurl.com/34puot

Here you can see his revisions -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemRevisionDetails&item=110215236945

What's interesting is that this is the second time it has happened to me today where it has never happened to me in 9 years on ebay. The first time I noticed a complete auction change was from Tobeeecat, but I did not have a snipe set on that one, I only had it in my watchlist and I can't even remember what the original item was, but noticed that there was something in my watchlist that I know I didn't put there.

http://tinyurl.com/2u7336

here are the revisions -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemRevisionDetails&item=230213384676

I wonder what these sellers would do in the case of someone setting a snipe and not checking on it until after the auction was over???

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Posted By: davidcycleback

It's very simple. Place the minimum bid on a lot you're interested in.

Once a bid has been placed, the seller can't change the lot or description. When there are no bids, the seller can do whatever he wishes-- and I feel has the right to do whatever he wishes.

Duly note that the seller may have changed the lot specifically because he saw zero interest in the original lot and hoped to offer something new that might attract a bid.

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Posted By: Jerry Hrechka

Actually it's a way to save on listing fees. If you have an item that didn't sell, relist it. Then change the auction description (Revise Description) to the item you intend to sell.
If it sells the second time you get a refund on your initial listing fees.
I've done that. Never thought it was sneaky or unethical.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Both of these sellers completely changed the item in their auctions with less than 24 hours left in the auction....the items didn't end without selling they switched the items, but the number on the auction stays the same so anybody with a snipe set who doesn't catch it is screwed if they win it.

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Posted By: Mike

Many of the 20 cent listings from last week are ending over the last day or so. I would imagine that if you has had very few viewings, people are simply taking advantage of the cheap listing slot to try moving another item.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Well that's just sneaky in my opinion - especially for both of these sellers who have been around for a long time and know that many auctions do not get bids until the last second. They each had at least one watcher (Me).

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Posted By: Matt

Dan - While I appreciate your frustration, I only think you can call the sellers sneaky if you think they are doing this to catch people in a snipe and get them buying something they didn't want. If you want the item listed, then place a bid to ensure it can't be changed. Having an item on a "watch list" doesn't mean too much - I've seen items added to 15 watch lists not get any bids (or snipes).

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Posted By: davidcycleback

My auctioneering philosophy is I honor all bids, but there has to be a bid for me to honor. As a seller, a pet peeve of mine is people who blame me because they didn't place a bid.

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Posted By: Chris East

I had it happen one time. In addition to the good stuff (i.e., vintage), I also pick up football cards of former Auburn University players. I placed a bid on some card of one of the guys #d to 20 with a couple of days remaining in the auction. Then after the auction ended I noticed that the seller had, after I placed my bid, changed the item description to add that the card was #d out of 200 rather than 20. The seller tried to claim it was my fault (dispite the fact that he changed the description after my bid was placed and the auction title still listed the card as #d to 20). After muuuuch haggling with eBay (including a copy of a chat log with an eBay support person) they removed the unpaid item strike from my account.

So the info above that a seller cannot change the auction once a bid has been placed is not entirely accurate. To my knowledge, a seller cannot change the auction title. But, if there are more than 12 hours remaining and a bid has been placed, a seller CAN add to the auction description, and you don't receive any notification as a bidder of the amendment. However, if there are fewer than 12 hours remaining and a bid has been placed, the seller cannot add to the description. http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/questions/revise-item.html

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Well, I would place early bids if ebay did not allow other ebayers to track your bidding. This was not a particularly well placed auction and there is one particular ebayer out there who is a fine person, but he is major competition for me and I don't want him knowing what I bid on until it's too late for him to do anything about it...that's why I snipe. For a short while last year ebay was not allowing people to track other ebayers bidding and during that time I placed all kinds of early bids. I still do place a few early bids, but that's usually on items that are in the right categories, already have bids, and I'm signaling my friends out there that I've seen the auction and they don't need to email it to me.

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Posted By: davidcycleback

Another reason to place a min bid, instead of just the snipe, is that the seller can raise the minimum when there are zero bids. He can raise it from $5 to $150 if he wishes.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

One thing I've noticed with many sellers is that they raise the minimum bid of an item that they put in their ebay store after it didn't sell with a lower minimum in a true auction.

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Posted By: Mike Mccullough

Simple solution. Get another Ebay ID. If I had an Ebay stalker I would throw him off the trail by placing a minimum bid with another ID. I would then use my main ID to snipe. A large % of the bigger ebayers have a buying ID and a selling ID. Just make sure to change your secondary Ebay Id from time to time..

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Posted By: davidcycleback

As an eBay seller, I can tell you what I have done. Say real shipping cost on a lot will be $5. In the hopes of getting an early bidder, I have started said lot with $1 or free shipping. This is essentially an early bidder's discount. If no one bids after a day, I raise the shipping back to the normal cost $5. Do I feel guilty for raising the shipping price? No. Do I feel it is my fault or responsibility that someone didn't bid on day one? No. Do I feel ashamed for charging the eventual winner actual shipping cost? No. If someone bid on day one, would I really have paid for shipping out of my own pocket? Yes.

Believe it or not, auctioneers want people to place bids. They love to see folk place minimum bids, even when it's just $5. If there are zero bids after five days that's not what the auctioneer desires, and it makes no sense to blame the auctioneer for bidders who don't bid.

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Posted By: sagard

It is more common during cheap listing days. The seller has several items he wants to sell. Doesn't have the time make a creative listing for each one. Hits relist several times and changes all but one of the listings as time permits.