Ebay ethical dilemma as seller - What Would You Do?

[Jim65]

Once a buyer placed a bid, I'd have said "I appreciate the offer but someone placed a bid already."

If I lost money, so be it.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Jim65

Once a buyer placed a bid, I'd have said "I appreciate the offer but someone placed a bid already."

If I lost money, so be it.

I do the same thing. If it has a bid I do not cancel it. I also usually do not cancel a listing anyway. I hate when it happens to me when I want a card so I try too keep that in mind.

It has cost me before when the offer was way higher than the winning bid. It has also worked out for me. Recently I was offered $1200 to end a listing. Without a bid already I would have cancelled the listing and sold it for that offer. Since it had a bid I let it run and it ended at almost twice the offer.

[JollyElm]

Could you contact the bidder and explain the situation to see if he had a problem with you/him canceling his bid to sell it to the relative's-birthday-boy? That would be an undeniably straightforward, non-slimeball approach.

[BobC]

Forget how you may feel personally, what do Ebay rules say about ending any auction early, for whatever reason(s)? I believe when you sign up to use Ebay, especially as a seller, you agree to abide by and follow their rules. I'd start there first in regard to what one may think about ending an auction early to sell to someone else.

Otherwise, I'd say to follow the only truly necessary rule that if everyone followed, the world would be a so much nicer and better place for all......the Golden Rule. If you wouldn't be happy that someone closed an auction on you that you had placed a bid on already, then you probably shouldn't do the same to someone else if you're now in the auction seller position . And if you say okay, but in that case let me also first contact the person who had already bid on my auction item to see if they'd be willing to go even higher than what the person now asking me to end my auction early has now offered, I'd say go back to my first paragraph and see what Ebay rules have to say about something like that, and you technically using Ebay to maybe negotiate a final price not via their normal auction/BIN services. At the end of the day, you should abide by Ebay rules first since you are selling on their platform after all.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by BobC

Forget how you may feel personally, what do Ebay rules say about ending any auction early, for whatever reason(s)? I believe when you sign up to use Ebay, especially as a seller, you agree to abide by and follow their rules. I'd start there first in regard to what one may think about ending an auction early to sell to someone else.

Otherwise, I'd say to follow the only truly necessary rule that if everyone followed, the world would be a so much nicer and better place for all......the Golden Rule. If you wouldn't be happy that someone closed an auction on you that you had placed a bid on already, then you probably shouldn't do the same to someone else if you're now in the auction seller position . And if you say okay, but in that case let me also first contact the person who had already bid on my auction item to see if they'd be willing to go even higher than what the person now asking me to end my auction early has now offered, I'd say go back to my first paragraph and see what Ebay rules have to say about something like that, and you technically using Ebay to maybe negotiate a final price not via their normal auction/BIN services. At the end of the day, you should abide by Ebay rules first since you are selling on their platform after all.

I don't think Ebay cares at all, as long as you put the item back up for sale and didn't try to circumvent them getting their cut. They have tools in place for you to do that very thing.

It's more of a personal "Golden Rule" as you state at the beginning of your next paragraph.

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

Could you contact the bidder and explain the situation to see if he had a problem with you/him canceling his bid to sell it to the relative's-birthday-boy? That would be an undeniably straightforward, non-slimeball approach.

That would be my thought.

[Mark17]

Last week I listed a lot with a minimum bid of $5.00. I expected it might sell for around $30. An hour later I was offered $200 on it, and it was an easy decision since the guy making the offer was the only guy who'd bid. So I cancelled it, relisted as BIN, and he bought it. I'm sure he spotted something special in the lot, but that's fine; I exceeded my expectations, and the deal went smoothly.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Last week I listed a lot with a minimum bid of $5.00. I expected it might sell for around $30. An hour later I was offered $200 on it, and it was an easy decision since the guy making the offer was the only guy who'd bid. So I cancelled it, relisted as BIN, and he bought it. I'm sure he spotted something special in the lot, but that's fine; I exceeded my expectations, and the deal went smoothly.

Yeah, I think that's fine. If I had been able to get back to my guy and knew his intentions before somebody else had placed a bid, I would have probably done the same.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

Could you contact the bidder and explain the situation to see if he had a problem with you/him canceling his bid to sell it to the relative's-birthday-boy? That would be an undeniably straightforward, non-slimeball approach.

That's actually not a bad idea, but I don't think it's something I would do.

Definitely a non-slimeball thing to do, but I think it also puts that initial bidder into an awkward position.

If I put myself in that bidders shoes, I might think I'm getting manipulated, or even think to myself "How does anybody know I'm not buying if for somebody's birthday, or haven't been looking for these items for years myself?"

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by bnorth

It has cost me before when the offer was way higher than the winning bid. It has also worked out for me. Recently I was offered $1200 to end a listing. Without a bid already I would have cancelled the listing and sold it for that offer. Since it had a bid I let it run and it ended at almost twice the offer.

Yeah, it works both ways.

I've had offers I've turned down, where I know damn well, I'm not going to get that price by the end of the auction. It hurts a little, but it is what it is.

I usually respond to them, "Good luck, you'll probably win it for less then what you just offered me for it".

What's infuriating is when the item DOES go for much less then they offered, and you notice, they didn't even bid on it when it ends.


Also on the flipside, if you've ever put an item up and you get multiple people messaging you to try and end the auction early, you better NOT end that auction early, because it's going to get very interesting by the time the last bid is put in.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Yeah, it works both ways.

I've had offers I've turned down, where I know damn well, I'm not going to get that price by the end of the auction. It hurts a little, but it is what it is.

I usually respond to them, "Good luck, you'll probably win it for less then what you just offered me for it".

What's infuriating is when the item DOES go for much less then they offered, and you notice, they didn't even bid on it when it ends.


Also on the flipside, if you've ever put an item up and you get multiple people messaging you to try and end the auction early, you better NOT end that auction early, because it's going to get very interesting by the time the last bid is put in.

Have had the bold part happen many many times including fairly recently.