Auctions

Hello, I have a question concerning auctions. I sold an item that I had on auction. I started the the bid process at .99 per App suggestion. One individual submitted a bid of .99, no other bids. I was under the assumption that I could refuse the bid if it was not the amount or close to the amount I wanted to get for the item?

treaurehunt4512

198 View listings

Posted 2 years ago·Last reply 2 years ago

12 comments

bennotbill

·2 years ago

1025 View listings

@treaurehunt4512 wrote:
I was under the assumption that I could refuse the bid if it was not the amount or close to the amount I wanted to get for the item?

While that's not true if you are lucky you may get an understanding buyer like myself, who would give a pass to a new seller cancellation in those circumstances. Knowing full well the very bad suggestions and selling advice eBay hands out.

Unfortunately many buyers would get upset. So unless it was a high value item, that you can't possibly let go for 99c, it's best as others have said just to suck it up and send it.

ckimodog

·2 years ago

9204 View listings

@treaurehunt4512

Not a good idea if you want to continue to sell here on eBay. You must honor all final sales. My suggestion is not to run auctions or this is the result. Use a fixed buy it now price, with immediate payment required and NO best offers. You'll get the price you want and hopefully a happy customer.

Happy Selling

luckythewinner

·2 years ago

1162 View listings

@treaurehunt4512 wrote:
Hello, I have a question concerning auctions. I sold an item that I had on auction. I started the the bid process at .99 per App suggestion. One individual submitted a bid of .99, no other bids. I was under the assumption that I could refuse the bid if it was not the amount or close to the amount I wanted to get for the item?

Why did you make the "assumption" that you could back out of an eBay transaction?

Nothing in eBay policy supports that "assumption". In fact, it is quite the opposite:

A seller can cancel an order if:

The buyer asks to cancel the order and they haven't shipped the item yet
The buyer hasn't paid within the time allowed
The buyer used the wrong shipping address when they completed their purchase
The item is out of stock (this will result in a transaction defect)

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/member-behavior-policies/order-cancellation-policy?id=5298

ittybitnot

·2 years ago

18 View listings

@treaurehunt4512

You assumed incorrectly. We know eBay suggested the 99 cent thing, but for a newbie with no following it typically does not end well. When you use the auction format, you are supposed to ship when paid at the ending price for the auction. It is best to list things for the minimum amount you need for the item also considering the fees you are going to have to pay eBay.

For a 99 cent listing, the first "fee" is going to be 40 cents, leaving you 59 cents from which eBay will extract the final value fee, fee on shipping, fee on the sales tax the buyer pays, as well as the cost to you for shipping the product (buying the label).

Refusing to honor the sale/ bid/payment and cancelling instead awards you a defect on your account. Get a few of those, and you place your account in a position to be prohibited from selling at all forever.

itsjustasprain

·2 years ago

2352 View listings

@ittybitnot wrote:
For a 99 cent listing, the first "fee" is going to be 40 cents,

I thought it was still only 30 cents for listings below $10...?

wastingtime101

·2 years ago

0 View listings

@itsjustasprain wrote:
@ittybitnot wrote:
For a 99 cent listing, the first "fee" is going to be 40 cents,
I thought it was still only 30 cents for listings below $10...?

Based on total amount buyer pays. With ship/tax that lunchbox is more than $10 to almost every shipping zone.

ittybitnot

·2 years ago

18 View listings

I thought it was still only 30 cents for listings below $10...?

@itsjustasprain

Yes, you are correct. It is not listed on any policy page that I could find, but I found it in the seller update:

Starting March 15, 2024, the per-order fee on orders over $10 will increase from $0.30 to $0.40 across all categories.

Thanks for pointing it out!

caldreamer

·2 years ago

4057 View listings

No, you cannot refuse bid and must ship this item. If you cancel this sale...customer will be angry and leave you negative feedback which will tank your feedback rating.

You should have shown starting bid "as lowest price you would accept". When your starting price is 99 cents you will "lose money". EBAY fees based on (purchase price + shipping + sales tax) plus 30 cent handling charge.

Never listen to EBAY suggestions...they do not care about the Sellers (they only want commission on sold items).

albertabrightalberta

·2 years ago

PROFILE SIGNATURE! NOT DIRECTED TO YOU: I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.104 View listings

@treaurehunt4512 wrote:
One individual submitted a bid of .99, no other bids. I was under the assumption that I could refuse the bid if it was not the amount or close to the amount I wanted to get for the item?

Nope, you assumed incorrectly. You're obligated to sell the item for the winning bid.

Learn a lesson from your mistake and either do auctions with the opening bid at the lowest price you're willing to sell for or do fixed price listings.

bonjourami

·2 years ago

2513 View listings

Always start the bidding at a price you would be happy with. No, you cannot refuse a bid,never start auctions at .99.If you cancel the transaction as out of stock, you will receive a major defect to your account and leave yourself open to a negative feedback.

P.S. Looks like you are 'guessing' at your shipping prices.Are you weighing and measuring the items in their package before listing them?

treaurehunt4512

OP2 years ago

198 View listings

Thank you, lesson learned.

bonjourami

·2 years ago

2513 View listings

Good luck, check those shipping prices on your items too,or you are going to get hit with out of pocket shipping fees. You can only charge the buyer the shipping fee on your listings.And be sure to double box all those glassware items.