What a nice buyer.... but this shouldn't happen on ebay

[jocko]

Just got back in town and noticed this truck is listed, again, as a "buy it now" only.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-...item337b0c3abc

Last week, it was listed, with no reserve. Lots of people bidding on it. So I was surprised to see it was back on the block, again (3rd time that I know of). So, I clicked on the linky to read the details - I figured it was some buyer that won the bid and then backed out and screwed the seller. But, to my amazement, it was the other way around...

I'm sorry, but when you list something on ebay with no reserve - and many people bid on it, and the winning bid is LESS than what you wanted, well, it's not really cool to ask that winning bidder to let you re-list it for more money.

The winning bidder is a very nice guy, a saint in my book, but to be honest, I'm not sure the bid was that unreasonable. Personally hot-rodded engines don't really garner a big audience, certified mechanic or not.

I'm kind of amazed. Ebay etiquette is apparently an uncommon virtue.

So, the reason for this post - if you are a bidder, know your rights. If you are a seller, stick to the rules and don't put folks in a bind like that - I think it was uncalled for. If $4050 wasn't an acceptable bid, then there should have been a reserve. Period.

[69GWC]

Heck yeah I would have been very ticked off for him to tell me he was not going to sell it to me after I just won the bidding.
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[missinfishin10]

[treveiger]

I'd like to see it not get sold until he needs it sold an the winning bid is lessthan the 4grand. Ida filed a claim with eBay.
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[POS1]

Ida been pissed and demanded he sell it at the bid price. Now seller is labeled a jerk and will have an even harder time selling it.
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[special-K]

The buyer was really nice to allow this,but he could also still report the guy to Ebay,couldn't he? Well,that may not be necessary,at least with this truck. I dunno though,I'd be willing to pay $5,500 for it. They seller just needs to learn how to list properly and he wouldn't have the problem he had.

[YBNORML]

In my opinion the seller should have his Ebay account revoked. It is supposed to be an auction, there is no guarantee unless you put a reserve on it. In my opinion he should be required to hand the truck over for the original selling price. Just my .2cents

[bigdon-70blazer]

Had a good buddy that found a very rare Baldwin Motion Corvette some years ago on ebay and owner did not know what it was. 1st of all that is owners problem to not know what he has. We all bid on stuff for prices we know is way lower than what we can sell it for in the right crowd, that is called supply and demand, know where the demand is highest and sell it there. This seller had a 20-30k reserve, still high but my buddy called, recognized vehicle, had some other guys he knows call guy and ask question or two trying to confirm the car was what my buddy thought it was. Guy who owns car starts to smell something in the air, starts to feel there is something special about the car he is not privy to. My buddy gets enough info to press the BIN button, about 5-10 minutes before the car owner figures he better stop this auction until he can figure out what is brewing. Bottom line is, my buddy bought the car and the guy tried to back out of selling it. Buddy called ebay, their lawyers and everyone got involved for a short time when the guy was instructed that he was obligated to sell the car for the agreed upon BIN price. He would have to do this or face litigation that would most certainly end up in my buddies favor anyway. My buddy got the car, did concours restoration on it and that car is worth half a million now. Know what you are selling or buying, applies both ways in this little game we all play. Winners and losers but be honorable when dealing on ebay.

[jocko]

Originally Posted by special-K

The buyer was really nice to allow this,but he could also still report the guy to Ebay,couldn't he? Well,that may not be necessary,at least with this truck. I dunno though,I'd be willing to pay $5,500 for it. They seller just needs to learn how to list properly and he wouldn't have the problem he had.

Yes, he could report it, but he won't have a leg to stand on if he indeed agreed to let the guy relist it, which he apparently did. I agree that sometimes the seller is learning how to use ebay - but this guy already knows exactly how to use ebay: he's sold 255 items. Link I posted above is his 3rd listing of this truck, not 2nd. Here's the deal -

I was actually kinda interested in this truck when it first came up for bid (originaly was not a Buy It Now) but I chose not to bid becasue it has the non-original motor, has some dents, and a LOT of holes (drill, not rust) on the cab. And because he listed it as a $5500 starting bid - it just didn't tickle my fancy enough so I didn't bid. He got ZERO bidders on this initial listing, so relisted it as an auction again with no reserve - and someone bid it up to $4050, then he (seller) backed out, and now has the nerve to re-list it for a buy-it-now at the same price he got zero bids on the first time.

Here's the original listing: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-...orcev4exp=true

[Classic Bowties]

Originally Posted by bigdon-70blazer

Know what you are selling or buying, applies both ways in this little game we all play. Winners and losers but be honorable when dealing on ebay.

, normally is the other way around with a winning flaky bidder backing out with cold feet or couldn't come up with the ca$h or made an error in the bid amount or wife said no or my kid placed the bid etc. etc. etc.... In this case, if I were the winning bidder throwing a few grand in bids around and this jackwad backed out he would have at the very least been given the appropriate feedback for his actions. Somewhere in the fine print it states, as a bidder you are entering into a binding contract with the seller so why shouldn't he as the seller have to hold up his end of the agreement? Mel

[69GWC]

If nothing else he should be banned from eBay.
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[haysonj]

More than likely the low bidder was a friend that was just trying to bid the price up It happens a lot with higher price items

[jhwkns]

It could have been a shill bid that won last time.

[Classic Bowties]

Originally Posted by haysonj

More than likely the low bidder was a friend that was just trying to bid the price up It happens a lot with higher price items

I think that you mean high bidder, and I wasn't even thinking about that whole crappy side of ebay auctions. That would explain why there was no negative feedback left on this deal, either way I would steer clear of this auction truck and seller. Mel

[jocko]

Well, if this was the case, doesn't say much for the intellect of the dishonest... if it was a shill bid, why not just say "the bidder backed out" and re-list it... If I recall, on the no reserve auction, there were quite a few bidders.

[1972_Buford]

hmm, I think $4050 is a fair price for that truck and not far off from asking price. Looking at the pics I am not sure why he thinks he deserves $5500. Looks like the under hood caught fire sometime and the interior is sub par. Oh well. Probably a friend bidding, I would have told him he needed to sell it to me. Maybe he really didn't have the money anyways.

[Sicklajoie]

Looking at the guy's negative feedback, he pulled the same crap on someone else a couple months ago with a different item. The guy's not worth the hassle and I hope he doesn't sell that truck, tacked on mirror and all.

[SS Tim]

"OK, here's your chance! killer truck, no reserve. .99 cent auction. Must be sold, don't miss out!"
Typical of what sellers pull. They start low to try and hype up the auction with lots of bidders. Then when it isn't close to what they want, pull the auction just before it closes. Had more than a couple of "no longer for sale" items reappear over the years. Feedback selling stamps isn't much help on a truck. A little research goes a long way, right Jocko?

newest http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-...item337b0c3abc

back out http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=221099313152

first I have http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-...orcev4exp=true

[huahuamick]

Had a good buddy that found a very rare Baldwin Motion Corvette some years ago on ebay and owner did not know what it was.

[MikeyMan]

Originally Posted by haysonj

More than likely the low bidder was a friend that was just trying to bid the price up It happens a lot with higher price items

Had that happen to me.
Placed a bid of $70 on a motorcycle part. Near the end of the auction, some shill runs up the price past my max bid. Seller and buddy leave each other positive feedback right after auction, then seller contacts me to say buyer backed out and I can have it for my $70 bid. I smell a rat. Told him I should get it for $25, which was the highest bid behind me. No dice, so I take a pass. Well, the seller relists it and the same shill bidder runs it up and wins again. I'm sure someone else got the "offer" to pay their max bid.
I hate getting scammed, glad I didn't give in to the ruse.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by jocko

Yes, he could report it, but he won't have a leg to stand on if he indeed agreed to let the guy relist it, which he apparently did. I agree that sometimes the seller is learning how to use ebay - but this guy already knows exactly how to use ebay: he's sold 255 items. Link I posted above is his 3rd listing of this truck, not 2nd.

I don't figure he should report it to get the sale. Like you said,he agreed to let it go. The point of reporting is to let Ebay know and put marks against the guy as a bad seller. What i meant about learning how to list it right is you can say the item is also for sale locally,which leaves you a way out if bidding is too low and at least those bidding are aware of the possibility of the auction suddenly ending. It may prevent some from placing a bid,but there will always be those driven by the hope to buy for far less than it's value.

I agree the winning bid was not that far off of reserve and within the realm of what it's actually worth. Sometimes things get bid up crazy high,but usually it's something with no draw backs. This is a really nice truck,to me,and things like the drilled holes,non-original engine,and need for more detailing don't bother me. It's a great foundation for an easy resto of a very attractive C/20.

I sent the guy a question. I told him I really want the truck and want to hit buy it now button,but I'm afraid he'll decide he wants a little more,and asked if he could guarantee this wouldn't happen.

[MARKDTN]

I would report him to Ebay and buy at the high bid. If you don't want to sell at that price, put a reserve. If you just want to get it "appraised", put a high reserve.

I definitely agree with know what you are selling and take what you get. mid 90s I was walking out at the end of the Nashville swap meet and there was a guy with 2 Holley carbs on the table. He had $10 for the pair, I offered $5 and he accepted. One was a 600 vacuum secondaries missing a bowl. I flipped it pretty fast. The other looked wierd but was complete. I searched and searched, but could not find what it was. I put it on Ebay 2-3 times with $20 but never got a nibble. Finally I was about to throw it away when I got a bid and an interesting question to go with it. After he won it, I asked what it was. Turns out it was a 383 Mopar carb used in a small production window. It was a "Holy Grail" type item for a Mopar guy. He would have paid a lot more if I had known what it was. I never thought about keeping it then, wouldn't be right. In the end I made money and he was very happy. Another time about 2000 I bought a radiator expansion tank for a '71 BB a/c Corvette in a pile of parts. Got lazy and didn't do the research to see what it was worth. Put a $50 BIN on it and it was gone in a few minutes. At the time the going rate in the shape this one was in was more like $150. I never use BIN any more.

Bottom line, know what you have when you sell, and don't complain if the bid is not what you wanted and you have no reserve.

[GASoline71]

Originally Posted by jhwkns

It could have been a shill bid that won last time.

The shill bidding that goies on in ebay is rediculous and is one of the main reasons I rarely even use ebay anymore for anything.

Gary

[special-K]

Before Ebay there were phone-in auctions. I instinctly never liked those. I've done live auctions all my life. You can "see" and "hear" the person bidding against you. My first thought with phone-in auctions was,how do you know anyone is actually bidding against you? And,how do you know they seller's buddy isn't bidding it up? It can happen at a live auction but you also have opportunities to find out if they know each other a lot more being right there all day. Then came Ebay and I couldn't believe how it caught on. I know darned well there's all kinds of room for crooked bs,no matter how hard they try to regulate it. I just bid my high bid and if a I get it,I get it,and not for more than I want. Basically,I have hardly ever used Ebay,except for lower priced items or buy it now.

I don't think this was shill bidding because it was done in a way that makes the seller look bad rather than make it appear it was on a bidder. Maybe not,though. Cuz if I was nice enough to let him back out,then saw him blame me,I would certainly file a complaint and pursue it with a vengeance.

[JCD]

This type of thing is happening in society with greater frequency.
It saddens me to find the Morals and Morality of individuals slipping more each day.
People backing out of deals.. people not living up to their word.
People out and out lying or changing the facts of an arrangement when it suits them.

And while there are still decent people out there, you find you have to be on your guard against liars and thieves that will cheat you without hesitation or remorse.

I don't know where this trend will take us.
I don't want to think of the world that way, but that seems to be the direction we're going ..and fast.

A mans word used to be his bond..
A handshake deal was all you once needed..
A simple sentiment that was once the backbone of all society.
How is it that this can so easily be undone, and without second thought by anyone?

J.