EBay - question...

[TonerGuy]

If you bid on a coin (and are the only bidder) and there is no reserve with 5 days left to the auction how can the seller simply cancel the auction ?

 

EBay allows this ? Ive never had an auction I was a bidder on just be cancelled.

[coinman_23885]

EBay policy allows this. Moreover, an entire listing can be pulled and all bids cancelled up to 12 hours before the end.

[coinman_23885]

When this happens, especially when closer to the final hours, I generally will not bid on the coin again if relisted, so the seller is really hurting himself or herself. I'm sure there are others out there like me.

[wdrob]

If you bid on a coin (and are the only bidder) and there is no reserve with 5 days left to the auction how can the seller simply cancel the auction ?

 

EBay allows this ? Ive never had an auction I was a bidder on just be cancelled.

 

eBay is not concerned with the auction, it is only concerned with their final value fees. If you are the only bidder and the auction cancels, that seller has to pay eBay the final value fees just as if you had won it, regardless.

 

So as always with eBay, it comes down to getting their money. All other considerations are secondary.

 

 

[coinman_23885]

eBay is not concerned with the auction, it is only concerned with their final value fees. If you are the only bidder and the auction cancels, that seller has to pay eBay the final value fees just as if you had won it, regardless.

 

Are you sure of this? If so, it was a recent policy change. Sure, the person would be out of the $0.30 listing fee (if applicable) but not the final value fee.

[gmarguli]

eBay is not concerned with the auction, it is only concerned with their final value fees. If you are the only bidder and the auction cancels, that seller has to pay eBay the final value fees just as if you had won it, regardless.

 

Are you sure of this? If so, it was a recent policy change. Sure, the person would be out of the $0.30 listing fee (if applicable) but not the final value fee.

 

He is correct. This policy has been in force for 1-2 years. I think they allow a couple of free auction cancels a year and then hit you with the fees on any above this. Of course, you can cancel the bids individually and then end the auction...

[BillJones]

The major auction houses are not too different from that. From what I understand, if you put a reserve on a lot, and it does not sell you pay a commission. It is lower than the buyers' fee by quite a bit, but you don't get to list you items for nothing, if you buy them back.

[asdfgh]

I have had it happen to me also. However in my case the seller wrote me and told me that he had

sold the coin in a previous ebay auction and relisted it by mistake. I am not out anything but my time.

I just go on and buy something else.

[brg5658]

eBay is not concerned with the auction, it is only concerned with their final value fees. If you are the only bidder and the auction cancels, that seller has to pay eBay the final value fees just as if you had won it, regardless.

 

Are you sure of this? If so, it was a recent policy change. Sure, the person would be out of the $0.30 listing fee (if applicable) but not the final value fee.

 

He is correct. This policy has been in force for 1-2 years. I think they allow a couple of free auction cancels a year and then hit you with the fees on any above this. Of course, you can cancel the bids individually and then end the auction...

 

Cancelling bids and then ending the auction is the approach I have been hit with. It doesn't happen often, but it does sometimes...nothing you can do about it, but it's poor business IMO.

 

 

[TonerGuy]

Thanks guys... so what happens in reverse then... I bid a coin up and then refuse to pay ?

 

Does my account get suspended ? Or is there no repercussions from that as well ?

[Walkerfan]

Thanks guys... so what happens in reverse then... I bid a coin up and then refuse to pay ?

 

Does my account get suspended ? Or is there no repercussions from that as well ?

 

HA-HA!! I'm afraid that there is a double standard in Ebay's favor regarding this practice.

 

Seriously, Once an item receives bids with reserve met----it should NOT be allowed to be cancelled. That is BAD business.

[Nutmeg Coin]

Ebay is a do it yourself system, correct me if I'm wrong but the 12 hour rule is only a few years old. It makes some sense if the bidding is weak and you are not shilling your auction you could end up with items "stolen", especially if the auction ends in the early morning hours. Realistically what percentage of sellers know how to get top dollar for highly desirable items?

[coinman_23885]

Thanks guys... so what happens in reverse then... I bid a coin up and then refuse to pay ?

 

Does my account get suspended ? Or is there no repercussions from that as well ?

 

I have had it happen, only to find out that the transgressor is still actively bidding on other stuff so apparently eBay isn't but so tough on it. And it is toxic as it can taint a coin - creating the appearance of a return.

[brg5658]

Thanks guys... so what happens in reverse then... I bid a coin up and then refuse to pay ?

 

Does my account get suspended ? Or is there no repercussions from that as well ?

 

I have had it happen, only to find out that the transgressor is still actively bidding on other stuff so apparently eBay isn't but so tough on it. And it is toxic as it can taint a coin - creating the appearance of a return.

 

It can also create the appearance of shill bidding...

[coinman_23885]

Thanks guys... so what happens in reverse then... I bid a coin up and then refuse to pay ?

 

Does my account get suspended ? Or is there no repercussions from that as well ?

 

I have had it happen, only to find out that the transgressor is still actively bidding on other stuff so apparently eBay isn't but so tough on it. And it is toxic as it can taint a coin - creating the appearance of a return.

 

It can also create the appearance of shill bidding...

 

That too, unfortunately. Also, since someone's IP address is private, I at least wish that eBay would assign each device that logs onto its website a unique number that could be linked to one's IP address internally at eBay. EBay could then display the custom number (not IP) associated with the seller's account and that of all the bidders. Unfortunately, it isn't fool proof, but perhaps it would restore some confidence to the system.

[bochiman]

Thanks guys... so what happens in reverse then... I bid a coin up and then refuse to pay ?

 

Does my account get suspended ? Or is there no repercussions from that as well ?

 

I have had it happen, only to find out that the transgressor is still actively bidding on other stuff so apparently eBay isn't but so tough on it. And it is toxic as it can taint a coin - creating the appearance of a return.

 

It can also create the appearance of shill bidding...

 

That too, unfortunately. Also, since someone's IP address is private, I at least wish that eBay would assign each device that logs onto its website a unique number that could be linked to one's IP address internally at eBay. EBay could then display the custom number (not IP) associated with the seller's account and that of all the bidders. Unfortunately, it isn't fool proof, but perhaps it would restore some confidence to the system.

 

No. Would create as many, or more, problems, particularly for innocent people, than it would attempt to solve.

 

Imagine an internet café....or a friend loaning a machine....or someone selling their tablet/laptop/etc .... now, you have inaccurate associations.

Sure, you could say to associate the ebay info that is currently grepped to that ID, but I would still contend it isn't worth going in to screw up....errrr....fix.

 

These issues happen, but they don't happen in the huge abundance, when compared to the whole number of transactions completed, to really make it worth it, imho.

[dimefreak]

This I why I always message the seller of its a nice Toned coin. I tell him straight! Something like this " I'd rather let this coin sell as an auction but if you decide to take offers via messages let me know please". That way somebody can't come along and steal the coin for nothing via messages.

 

 

Tonerguy check that sellers completes listings and see if he relistesd as a buy it now.

[Conder101]

Thanks guys... so what happens in reverse then... I bid a coin up and then refuse to pay ?

 

Does my account get suspended ? Or is there no repercussions from that as well ?

In theory they receive a non-paying bidder strike and after three they are supposed to be suspended. But in practice it doesn't happen. Likewise sellers who don't ship are supposed to get non-performing seller strikes as well, but in practice that doesn't happen either.

[e1cnr]

Thanks guys... so what happens in reverse then... I bid a coin up and then refuse to pay ?

 

Does my account get suspended ? Or is there no repercussions from that as well ?

 

In eBays 15 years, they have gone through different phases. Originally they gave NPB ( non paying bidder ) strikes. An account could only have 5 before being suspended. Then they must have decided that they need buyers to bring in money, so that policy changed. They also originally allowed auction cancellation at any time before close. Some sellers developed a program to cancel all bids and close auction in the last 5 seconds of auction. This bypassed the 'reserve' that gave eBay added revenue for reserve fee. They eventually closed this loophole by saying you can not close in last 12 hours of auction.

 

eBay then 5-10 years ago turned towards an Amazon model, starting stores and more BINs and monthly fees. It was great for people who sold commodity type items and cost sellers less than having an actual store in a shopping mall. The sellers also had advantage of 24/7 worldwide exposure. A big change from original 'collectibles market'.

 

At some point (5+ years ago) they stopped closing accounts for buyers that do not pay. A couple years ago, I had a buyer that purchase 80 auctions from various sellers and paid for 3 during their first week of starting an account. They answered questions and said 'they would pay' next week...., but never did and continued buying things.

 

As far as I can tell, you can be high bidder and never make contact and never pay and nothing will happen to you (except put onto blocked bidder lists of people you have never paid).

[coinman_23885]

No. Would create as many, or more, problems, particularly for innocent people, than it would attempt to solve.

 

Imagine an internet café....or a friend loaning a machine....or someone selling their tablet/laptop/etc .... now, you have inaccurate associations.

Sure, you could say to associate the ebay info that is currently grepped to that ID, but I would still contend it isn't worth going in to screw up....errrr....fix.

 

These issues happen, but they don't happen in the huge abundance, when compared to the whole number of transactions completed, to really make it worth it, imho.

 

Fair enough. It just irks me that relisted items are automatically tainted because of toxic cancers that eBay should eliminate.

[jpcienkus]

No. Would create as many, or more, problems, particularly for innocent people, than it would attempt to solve.

 

Imagine an internet café....or a friend loaning a machine....or someone selling their tablet/laptop/etc .... now, you have inaccurate associations.

Sure, you could say to associate the ebay info that is currently grepped to that ID, but I would still contend it isn't worth going in to screw up....errrr....fix.

 

These issues happen, but they don't happen in the huge abundance, when compared to the whole number of transactions completed, to really make it worth it, imho.

 

Fair enough. It just irks me that relisted items are automatically tainted because of toxic cancers that eBay should eliminate.

 

I agree with you Kenny.

 

Disclaimer, I own stock in eBay. I bought it primarily for the PayPal piece which is due to spin-off later this year. I'm pleased with the stocks performance since I purchased it early last year.

 

I'm disappointed in many of the things that happen on eBay. I wish they would do a better job policing both the bad sellers and buyers on the site. I still buy on eBay, but when I'm looking to spend $500+ on coins, I usually look at other sites prior to eBay.

 

I see eBay as the world's largest garage sale. You can find many cool things on that site, not just coins, and I do buy quite a bit via their site; however, I'm very careful when making purchases. I do have a long list of saved sellers that I'm comfortable buying from.

[Yankeejose]

Canceling auctions early that have bids do count as a strike against sellers with a top seller rating. Top rated sellers have to stay under 2% defects over a rolling 12 month period to maintain their top seller rating. Top sellers get a 20% discount off of the eBay seller fees, so they are motivated to not pull this kind of garbage. So really they are only allowed a defect in 2 out of every 100 sales.

 

From eBay-"The transaction defect rate is the percentage of your total transactions that had any one of seven defects. Note that these defects often measure how satisfied your buyers were with a transaction. We don't count more than one defect per transaction."

 

This is a good measure of the integrity of a seller.

[Houston Investor]

I believe they allow cancellation up to 5 hours before auction end.

 

I can see a seller panicking cancelling a coin with a wholesale bid of $100 (CDN) which he started at $9.95 if the auction bidding has been lame close to the end. Rather than do this start the coin around a percentage behind bid. I usually will start it at 99.99 (below bid) and then if it does not sell lower the start in the next auction a tad like to $94.99 and so on. That's assuming I am still interested in blowing it out.

 

More often than not, something will sell at retail and I simply decide to throw the coin back in my store at retail and at times this will pay off. I had a coin sell from my store at $295 (retail) I had listed at $180 (well below bid) in an ebay auction nobody bid on.

[coinman_23885]

I believe they allow cancellation up to 5 hours before auction end.

 

I can see a seller panicking cancelling a coin with a wholesale bid of $100 (CDN) which he started at $9.95 if the auction bidding has been lame close to the end. Rather than do this start the coin around a percentage behind bid. I usually will start it at 99.99 (below bid) and then if it does not sell lower the start in the next auction a tad like to $94.99 and so on. That's assuming I am still interested in blowing it out.

 

More often than not, something will sell at retail and I simply decide to throw the coin back in my store at retail and at times this will pay off. I had a coin sell from my store at $295 (retail) I had listed at $180 (well below bid) in an ebay auction nobody bid on.

 

No reserve means no reserve, not " I may implement a hidden reserve towards the close of the auction."

[bstrauss3]

A low price is not the only reason, no matter how attractive it is. Many sellers sell in multiple channels. If I bought it at the store or the coin show today, it's gone, no matter how much you want your eBay bid to carry the day.

 

The better sellers take time during the slow spells or in the evening to take down auctions.But not all sellers have Internet access at the show or hotel. Finally, when you have 10k auctions running, mistakss happen.

[coinman_23885]

A low price is not the only reason, no matter how attractive it is. Many sellers sell in multiple channels. If I bought it at the store or the coin show today, it's gone, no matter how much you want your eBay bid to carry the day.

 

The better sellers take time during the slow spells or in the evening to take down auctions.But not all sellers have Internet access at the show or hotel. Finally, when you have 10k auctions running, mistakss happen.

 

There is a difference between an honest mistake and what I interpreted the OP to mean.