Ebay - Overbidding - What To Do?

[kwgeorge]

Ebay is a very strange place when it comes to how much things go for sometimes. It always amazes me to see things go for much more than retail. Sometimes I think it is due to the “need to win” and getting caught up in the bidding. I don’t sell anything on ebay but might someday but for now I am just a buyer. So from my perspective, I always look at a sellers negative feedback prior to buying from them and I think you are better off shipping the item, taking the negative feedback and then responding to it then to not ship. I have seen many sellers that have 1 or 2 bad feedbacks out of thousands and it normally is a situation as you describe. Those I just ignore and go ahead and place my bid.

In my opinion the seller places an item up for bid, people bid on it, so how can he control what they bid? Are you supposed to send everyone emails “Whoa people! You are bidding too much!”. I don’t think so! Follow through with your responsibility and be done with it. Anyone with any intelligence will recognize that.

My .02

Ken

[whitecobra]

You are under contract to ship the goods
I don't see HOW she can accuse you of ripping her off unless you set the Buy It Now option up and she used it or you used a ficticious account and ran up the bids to entice her to pay more

She like anyone can bid ANYTHING they want for ANYTHING they see. I bought some stuff on Ebay quickly and found I could have bought it with BIN on another auction for less. OH WELL

To accuse you of ripping her off is tantamount to insanity.

Keep the money spend it as you will there is NO way Paypal or Ebay dispute will side against you UNLESS you fail to ship

Why not remove the insurance you have suggersted and ship it as per EBay estimates she didn't pay for the insurance ship it as is 99% of the stuff out there gets to its end in fine shape anyway and lets get real it is a pot for gosh sakes

Sit back relax and move on. As for negative feedback you will be able to comment about it IF you get it BUT you can complain about it to EBay and they will remove it if they agree with it being wrong (and they will)

I don't see ANY reason to lose sleep over this in fact that is EXACTLY what auctioneers HOPE will happen at EVERY estate sale and auction they have. They WANT people to get caught in the frenzy

If you REALLY want to help her out and I personally wouldn't get involved you COULD give her the name of the second bidder and have her deal DIRECTLY with them

Doc

[JSCOOK]

Good point as long as there is a tracking number still ... some services (at least with our postal system here) don't provide a tracking number if the item isn't insured at all ... Make ABSOLUTELY sure you have a tracking number, I got screwed over on an item I sold simply because the buyer didn't want insurance (lesson learned) and shipped it ... then she filed a Paypal charge back against me claiming that she never got the item (which I'm possitive she did) ... but in Paypal's eyes (and their policies) you as the seller must have a way to prove you actually shipped the item, otherwise your out the item and the money

Why not remove the insurance you have suggersted and ship it as per EBay estimates she didn't pay for the insurance ship it as is 99% of the stuff out there gets to its end in fine shape anyway and lets get real it is a pot for gosh sakes

[LinuxRandal]

Good point as long as there is a tracking number still ... some services (at least with our postal system here) don't provide a tracking number if the item isn't insured at all ... Make ABSOLUTELY sure you have a tracking number, I got screwed over on an item I sold simply because the buyer didn't want insurance (lesson learned) and shipped it ... then she filed a Paypal charge back against me claiming that she never got the item (which I'm possitive she did) ... but in Paypal's eyes (and their policies) you as the seller must have a way to prove you actually shipped the item, otherwise your out the item and the money

One of my sellers changed his policies, after shipping something with paypal tracking (USPS). Tracking doesn't prove someone received it, it shows delivered. Paypal still did a chargeback on him. Only way your covered is with insurance, NOT just tracking. Even then, you could send the item after she has paid, and if she used paypal, she could dispute it with them, and if no resolution with them, dispute it with the cc company. It would end up revocing her paypal, and most likely ebay accounts, however, they would come back after you, and you would be out the money AND the goods.
I would forward the emails to Ebay, and see if they will consider removing your fees, or allowing it as not sold, the free relisting.

[JSCOOK]

YMMV ... the real sad point from all of this is that BOTH Ebay & Paypal don't really care as long as it doesn't take $$$ from them ..,

One of my sellers changed his policies, after shipping something with paypal tracking (USPS). Tracking doesn't prove someone received it, it shows delivered. Paypal still did a chargeback on him. Only way your covered is with insurance, NOT just tracking. Even then, you could send the item after she has paid, and if she used paypal, she could dispute it with them, and if no resolution with them, dispute it with the cc company. It would end up revocing her paypal, and most likely ebay accounts, however, they would come back after you, and you would be out the money AND the goods.
I would forward the emails to Ebay, and see if they will consider removing your fees, or allowing it as not sold, the free relisting.

[paintandbodtman]

Following this thread and have to say it's interesting. Everyone say you don't owe her a refund, I agree "but" the really interesting part is that these are the same people that think that when they buy something and then see it at a cheaper price regardless of whether from the place they bought it from or not they are very adamant about being due a refund, AND yes it is the same thing the only difference is the refund is going the other way this time.Not trying to offend anyone but this is the precedent that has been set by the consumer in todays economy.

Wayne

[JTimmons]

Following this thread and have to say it's interesting. Everyone say you don't owe her a refund, I agree "but" the really interesting part is that these are the same people that think that when they buy something and then see it at a cheaper price regardless of whether from the place they bought it from or not they are very adamant about being due a refund, AND yes it is the same thing the only difference is the refund is going the other way this time.Not trying to offend anyone but this is the precedent that has been set by the consumer in todays economy.
Wayne

Hardly the same thing. An auction is the sale of goods to the highest bidder once the auction is closed the sale is final. Store policies allow customers to do what you are describing as the same thing, such as price matching either a competitor selling for less or refunding the difference should they put the item up for sale a few days after your purchase. This practice was started by today's sellers not the consumers in order to be competitive.

As I said though, had she been straight up and said, she didn't realize it's worth then he could be nice and refund her the difference, but in this case she decided to blame him for her ignorance.

[JTimmons]

An auction is just like gambling, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes if you're smart you break even and cash out before it's too late.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Thanks guys.

Loring, she had 26 positive feedbacks and 0 negatives. I looked at the 4 or 5 recent auctions based upon transaction history and she had been buying AllClad stainless for $50 - $100 per piece. She also had some $1000+ auction items such as a set of 8 leather chairs. Man I would hate to be that seller when those things start to wear or tear. As you noted, the bidding history is public information that anyone can obtain.
I initially thought about giving her part of the money back, but what the heck? The second highest bidder was over $250! I have two people who are willing to pay over $250 and she wants to back out or wants money back?
There was absolutely no shill bidding or misrepresentation of the item. The 2nd highest bidder placed a bid for $250+ 24 hours before the buyer started bidding. If the market value is $150, shill bidding a day before for $250 would be insain.
I think this is going to do it for me and ebay. I will let my wife sell any of the stuff she wishes to on Ebay. As for me, I'll stick to selling tools to you guys! LOL!
Thanks again.

[TheRic]

Jeff I think you are in the right. Sounds to me like she is the one at fault. I would go ahead and ship it. You got your money. Even if you eat some the the extra shipping cost. As someone mentioned tracking only proves it was delivered. If you want to prove they received it, have it signed for. Then you have a signature that shows who it was, them, friend, neighbor, etc.

Don't give up selling / buying things on Ebay, just because of one bad experience.

As a side note, I noticed on Ebay yesterday several people selling a new HF dust collector on Ebay with the starting price higher than HF normal list price.

[LCHIEN]

Hardly the same thing. An auction is the sale of goods to the highest bidder once the auction is closed the sale is final. Store policies allow customers to do what you are describing as the same thing, such as price matching either a competitor selling for less or refunding the difference should they put the item up for sale a few days after your purchase. This practice was started by today's sellers not the consumers in order to be competitive.

As I said though, had she been straight up and said, she didn't realize it's worth then he could be nice and refund her the difference, but in this case she decided to blame him for her ignorance.

good points.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

I did eat the additional shipping costs. I would have paid the additional shipping costs for insurance regardless of whether I had been contacted or not. I have it insured for the full auction amount. I generated the shipping within minutes of auction closing so I can't change the delivery options requiring signature. In fact I don't want that since she may not be home at attempted deliveries and then it gets shipped back to me.

I honestly try to sell as little on Ebay as possible. It drives me nuts. I just donated (3) 6 x 12 UHaul trailers full of baby related stuff to Salvation Army. My wife was going nuts saying I should sale the stuff on Ebay or she would take it to a cosignment shop. Like I said, Ebay drives me nuts and I don't like the fact that cosignment shops take half the money, charge monthly stocking fees, etc. I figure we are fortunate enough to make a good living, so donating to someone who could really use it is the way to go.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

As a side note, I noticed on Ebay yesterday several people selling a new HF dust collector on Ebay with the starting price higher than HF normal list price.

Good! That will make mine look cheap since I want to get rid of it and get a Cyclone!

[paintandbodtman]

The only reason the retailers did this is because the consumer in their round about way demanded this kind of service. Anyone that thinks otherwise is delussional and naieve.

Wayne

[eltigre]

I quit the ebay thing two years ago when I paid for some $$$ items and they never showed up!! Ebay was no help other than kicking the guy out, who opened up "shop" under a new name (easy to see when he was reselling the same items again, including the same pictures and shipping address!!). The US Post Office was somewhat helpful in the 'mail fraud' aspect of it.

Bottom Line, the bidder should be happy you are really shipping the items you adververtised and be done with it. I was out $$$ with nothing to show. (But I did make some good deals before I got bit)