Buyer wanted to buy my knife collection offline
I inherited a collection of pocket knives, all of them used and not in boxes. I have very little knowledge of knives. I specialize in books. All of the knives are well-worn. I figured that they had little value and foolishly listed a Case knife for $20 without doing any research on its value. The knife sold within 5 minutes. The buyer immediately messaged me and asked if I have any more knives. I answered in the affirmative and that I would list the others in the near future. He responded back and asked me to send him a list and pictures before I list them and he would possibly buy the whole collection.I am well aware that doing so is a violation of Ebay's conditions, so I ignored him. Should I report him to Ebay, or just block him?
18 comments
relicpeddler
·8 months agoI would just say sorry no I play by the rules here but would be happy to work a deal with you. But do your research first. Google lens is your friend. Also join a few knife collector groups on Facebook it's a great way to pick collectors brains and get info on the value.
roccotacodad54
·8 months agoI don't collect pocket knives but do collect fixed blade knives and other blades. What the others have told you about research is good advice. Some discontinued and vintage knives can fetch a pretty price.
Besides the makers mark on the blade sometimes there's a code that shows year made. Buck knives for instance will have a little anvil or other marks near where it says Buck. They have a list of the symbols and dates produced on their website I think. I googled it anyway.
I have an unusual buck 110 folder I bought new years ago. I looked it up and 1986 was the year it was made.
inhawaii
·8 months agoMy advice is ... say NO or ignore.
luckythewinner
·8 months agoDid he actually ask you to take the sale offline, or did he just offer to buy the whole collection?
Because you can sell a whole collection on eBay.
fredoniacoinandtreasure
·8 months agoIf selling them in a lot is a thing you would like to do, the appropriate way is to set up a lot at an agreed on price and then your buyer buys them. You can just say no. I would be sure to figure out what they are worth before selling them in any case. Case knives have a pretty good collector base.
inhawaii
·8 months agoBlock & ignore.
the_fancy_fox
·8 months agoWhen I have this happen I tell them this (item) was a consignment sale. I also tell them I spoke to the person that consigned it and they want them to be listed on eBay.
i tell them I appreciate the offer and if the items don’t sell I will speak with the owner again and see if they will reconsider.
mamacassidy
·8 months agoNevermind, I answered my own question 🙂
tarotfindsandmore
·8 months agoIf you're using the ebay platform, in this case ebay messaging, to facilitate a sale, then unfortunately it is. That's why the messaging system doesn't allow us to include email addresses.
tarotfindsandmore
·8 months agoRather than blocking or reporting, you might politely explain that selling off ebay violates policy, but you look forward to doing business in the future. Most buyers are not familiar with policies that don't apply to them. Even other sellers may not know that this is a violation. Back in the day, we could do private sales off ebay.
The other alternative is to create a "lot" for your buyer and list it as such. There is no penalty for doing that. You can contact the buyer and let them know what you have and what you want for it, and then put together a listing for them.
12345jamesstamps
·8 months agoYou can tell buyer you will be listing items in the future for sale or auction in eBay and leave it as that.
meme6253
·8 months agoThere is extremely more value in those knives then you realized, You need to research them better & look for makers marks, Try to find out the years & anymore information that you can, I would not block the buyer, All he did was take advantage of the low cost you handed him.
pickapaper
·8 months agoWhen the knife sold so quickly, you realized that you probably made an error in pricing the knife too cheaply. The buyer jumped all over it, thinking if you made a mistake with that one knife, you would probably sell him the whole collection for a cheap price. Good for you; he was wrong.
If it were me, I would tell him sorry, you are not interested in selling the collection as a whole and you will be listing the other knives separately when you can and thank him for his interest. That's all you need to say. Then, when you do list the other knives, be sure to research to make sure you are pricing correctly. Be sure to look on the lower parts of the blades themselves for maker's marks, model numbers, etc.
If you need help with anything, be sure to ask.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoAlthough I neither buy or sell knives, and actually no longer sell anything, just had to remark that yours is one of the most interesting and most helpful comments I've ever seen here! The OP is certain to appreciate your help.
pickapaper
·8 months ago@soh.maryl
Thank you for the kind remarks. I actually did a similar thing many years ago (sold an item way too cheap and the buyer wanted to buy my others for the same price which, after realizing my mistake on the first one, told him no.) So, I kind of speak from experience.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoExperience is good and sharing it here is even better. As you know, even a bad experience can be good in that it often teaches a valuable lesson, like "well, I'll certainly not make that mistake again."
flp
·8 months agoI never knew there were marks on a knife to identify it. Thanks for the info.
bashort
·8 months agowhy would you want to report or block? If you wanted to you could call the buyer and discuss what he is interested in or just leave it at I will be listing more. My guess is that the case was way undervalued and he will not be interested at retail price.