Buyer bid instead of making an offer
One of my buyers asked to purchase an item that was for auction. I added make an offer but they ended up placing a bid instead of making an offer. Then someone else bid. Now they're upset I can't sell them the item outright. Is there anything I can do? They don't seem to understand why I can't sell them the item now. I told them they can wait out the auction.
7 comments
gator08041971
·2 years agoDoes that not work anymore? I haven't done listings in awhile so I'm not up to date on policy.
Yes, we still have that option, but it will count against the seller. The only valid options are if you suspect the buyer you are canceling of fraudulent bidding or something. You can't just cancel them to appease another bidder/buyer.
I had a situation earlier where an out of country bidder was bidding on my items. I had blocked them, but they had bid high enough that it kept bidding for them. Eventually they were outbid, but by another bidder from yet another country. And that one was outbid by another that won. But then they never paid, the order got canceled, I made sure all of them were blocked and I relisted the item.
But if I had canceled it because they were not from the US, I would have taken the hit, as they are technically not doing anything wrong. The system lets them bid because they use US address forwards for shipment, even thought they are from South America countries that I have specified as do not sell to. So I have to watch out for bidders and block them when they try to bid if I don't want to deal with that.
More often than not, they never pay anyway and just waste my time.
But as to this, again, canceling for a reason other than a bad bidder or suspicious bidding, is considered a no-no.
simba6
·2 years agoI would not cancel it. It's unfair to the other bidders and makes your listing look " fishy " even if it's allowed. Worse yet, you could only to have them decide not to purchase it.
iamalwaysright
·2 years agoThe auction isn't over yet right? Can't a seller cancel current bids on an auction? If so, just cancel that highest bid made by that other buyer but don't cancel your Best Offer Buyer's bid. Then end the auction early thus making your original buyer the winner.
Does that not work anymore? I haven't done listings in awhile so I'm not up to date on policy.
gator08041971
·2 years agoWell, that puts you into a bad spot as well.
Honestly, you are better off fulfilling your shipping obligations to keep ebay happy, otherwise that can impact your selling performance.
Most buyers have no idea what rules the sellers have to abide by. And many don't want to hear about them, as they then interpret that as excuses. It does not put us in a good position.
The only recourse you have is to always try to keep any messages friendly and positive sounding. Don't try to throw blame, don't be aggressive, etc.
Something like:
I'm updating you to know that I will be shipping out the previous order, as I'm required to fulfill orders within my specified shipping time with ebay.
Sometimes when I ship something, I look at my shipping options. Lets say they paid for USPS Ground Advantage and it charged them say 15 bucks.
You go to actually buy the label from ebay, and maybe it is only going to cost you 9 bucks. And looking at the options, maybe its 14.25 to ship it using Priority and will get there a day or 2 faster.
You could use that as a way of saying, sorry I had to ship it separately, but I upgraded your shipping to Priority at no additional cost, etc.
I have done this a few times, when the cost was appropriate. They feel like they got helped out and don't feel as bad see.
But every situation is different, you just need to do what you can to protect your store/account reputation too, without making a buyer angry. Its tricky for sure.
My best weapon for my sales is clarity. My listings have clear photos, I try to have detailed descriptions, I send a personal message to every buyer thanking them for shopping with me, and include photos of their item as packed and labeled so they know what to expect at their address.
Hard to get mad when you have little to be mad about. 😄
Good luck though!
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoI use the auction format almost exclusively and would never use best offer in conjunction with an auction for this type of situation among others. Others have already covered your options but you may want to reconsider your strategy of including best offer with an auction. Set your starting bid price at the lowest you are willing to accept and let it go from there. Ditch the best offer.
gator08041971
·2 years agoYou have a couple options.
You could cancel the current bids or end the auction. But neither is good for you and will affect your performance ratings.
Keep your reply friendly and explain that the auction will have to run its course and hopefully the buyer will win the item for a price that's in their asking range.
But don't limit yourself from selling the item for more than they were originally wanting to pay.
I have encountered this once or twice in the past. A buyer asked about doing an offer and in the middle someone else bid and ended that option. Similar, but same sort of result.
Good luck.
bellasvoice
OP2 years agoThank you for responding. I let them know they can wait out the auction and I would hold onto their other order so I can combine shipping. They were happy with this, but they paid for their current order (of multiple items) because they were worried they would get a non payment violation. So now I have to ship within my handling time, which is before the auction ends so I don't get an overdue shipping violation. Hopefully they understand.