Seller doesnt list item with reserve, then adds message that auction has reserve

[casecollector32]

Resently a new ebay seller (to my knowledge as they have a feedback score of 0) listed an item with a starting bid of $1.00 two days after the listing, I assume he/she realized that the item could sell for next to nothing. However, rather then stopping the auction and adding a reserve to the listing, he/she simply put a message in the description that the item has a reserve of $2000.00 The auction ran its 7 day course and ended with me being the highest bidder, for an amount that was not close to the "reserve".

My question, should I be nice and simply just let this person cancel the transaction and forget about it, or should I have Ebay get involved because the fees for a reserve should be paid if you want to start the bidding at $1.00 and hope to get $2000.00 or not sell.

Since I buy and sell on Ebay I'm trying to walk the fine line of not taking one side or the other side as to what the best practice for a listing should be.

[7606dennis]

All eBay auctions are technically reserve auctions since they require a mandatory  starting bid.  Having said that, if the seller places a reserve on the item he must do so at the time of listing and cannot add one later on after the bidding has commenced. 

You stated that the auction ended with you as the high bidder.  Were you notified that you were the winner?  Have you checked the bidding history and does it say that the reserve was not met?  

If you received notification that you are the winner and the notification includes a pay now button, I suggest you use it immediately and pay the amount it says you owe.  If the seller tries to tell you that there was a reserve, advise him that you expect him to ship the item according to the terms of the auction.  Be careful not to mention anything about feedback or make any threats.

[mudshark61369]

@casecollector32,

I disagree with the previous reply.  This sort of thing happens often with (0) sellers, because of ebay's over simplified List it, Sell it, Get paid, ads, and their bad advice to start auctions at very low prices... etc.  Even without the added "reserve" there would be other problems.  The seller besides not knowing about ebay's policies, probably doesn't know about the 21 day payment hold, PayPal would put in their payment, and how to deal with it.

Since you know the seller is probably not going to complete the transaction, why not contact them and let them know about their mistakes, and where to find info about selling on this site? 

[emerald_door]

Since there's no way to force the seller to ship the item, I don't think there's any chance you'll receive it.  You can still pay, and wait for the refund.  The seller needs to learn how eBay works before trying to sell.  

[futurespast1113]

I wouldn't let him/her off the hook. Let them learn the hard way. It may sound cruel, but they need to honor the auction. If they don't sell it to you for the price you won it at, report them to ebay. Years ago when I used to sell on ebay and was a newbie seller, I made the same mistake. I bit the bullet and shipped out the item at a loss because it was not fair to the buyer. This person will learn something from this costly mistake and be more careful next time.

[casecollector32]

This is news to me, but anyways.

I contacted Ebay via a phone call this morning about what to do. I was informed that this person had paid for a reserve and a low starting bid. The auction never during the bidding added the "reserve not met" that is typically seen when a reserve is actually paid for by a seller. I think Ebay just wanted to help the seller out which is fine with me. 

Just thought I would let everyone know what I was informed. I do appreciate all of your responses.

[myangelandmyprincess]

---

@casecollector32 wrote:

This is news to me, but anyways.

I contacted Ebay via a phone call this morning about what to do. I was informed that this person had paid for a reserve and a low starting bid. The auction never during the bidding added the "reserve not met" that is typically seen when a reserve is actually paid for by a seller. I think Ebay just wanted to help the seller out which is fine with me. 

Just thought I would let everyone know what I was informed. I do appreciate all of your responses.

---

Did you get an email saying you won?  Does it give the option to pay?  I'm not sure I believe the csr telling you that if you aren't seeing the reserve mentioned on the listing either that or your missing the text.  

[castlemagicmemories]

IF they really added a reserve, then you didn't win.

If they just said they had a reserve, and didn't and you won with a dollar bid, please take into consideration that your seller was new and ask to cancel.  You would not want someone to do that to you if you were the new seller.

New seller may make this all a moot point and cancel on their own, using Out Of Stock.

[7606dennis]

---

@mudshark61369 wrote:

@casecollector32,

I disagree with the previous reply.  This sort of thing happens often with (0) sellers, because of ebay's over simplified List it, Sell it, Get paid, ads, and their bad advice to start auctions at very low prices... etc.  Even without the added "reserve" there would be other problems.  The seller besides not knowing about ebay's policies, probably doesn't know about the 21 day payment hold, PayPal would put in their payment, and how to deal with it.

Since you know the seller is probably not going to complete the transaction, why not contact them and let them know about their mistakes, and where to find info about selling on this site? 

---

The reason I advised the OP to pay immediately was that the item would be paid for and the seller couldn't change anything on an invoice or file a UID after 4 hours.

Of course, this appears to be a totally moot point since the OP has advised that the seller did, indeed, place a reserve on the item.

[myangelandmyprincess]

---

@7606dennis wrote:

---

@mudshark61369 wrote:

@casecollector32,

I disagree with the previous reply.  This sort of thing happens often with (0) sellers, because of ebay's over simplified List it, Sell it, Get paid, ads, and their bad advice to start auctions at very low prices... etc.  Even without the added "reserve" there would be other problems.  The seller besides not knowing about ebay's policies, probably doesn't know about the 21 day payment hold, PayPal would put in their payment, and how to deal with it.

Since you know the seller is probably not going to complete the transaction, why not contact them and let them know about their mistakes, and where to find info about selling on this site? 

---

The reason I advised the OP to pay immediately was that the item would be paid for and the seller couldn't change anything on an invoice or file a UID after 4 hours.

Of course, this appears to be a totally moot point since the OP has advised that the seller did, indeed, place a reserve on the item.

---

If you believe was a csr said 

[dagobahgeneralstore]

Pay & proceed with your purchase.  If they cancel on you leave appropriate feedback & report to eBay.  Bad sellers make us all look bad

[castlemagicmemories]

This is a new seller.  Many cut new sellers some slack; your call, of course.

[creoleorchid]

You say you were the highest bidder but did you actually win the auction? If the item is in your purchase history then I would just pay for it. He might surprise you and ship it.

By the same token, if the seller cancels I would  just go along with it. 

[casecollector32]

to answer a bunch of the questions.

Yes I won the auction even without the reserve not met. I received the win notification and I did make a attempt to pay but didnt complete the payment because I didnt want to deal with refund issues. I did decide to give some slack to the new seller with the best way to cancel the transaction so that the "item was damaged or not available"

I do agree that The Ebay rep probably did not tell me the truth about the reserve being paid for but that is another issue that does not surprise me as I've seen it plenty of times when Ebay takes both sides to please everyone, and times when Ebay takes one side and then you have to fight with them to prove a simple point.

[7606dennis]

---

@myangelandmyprincess wrote:

---

@7606dennis wrote:

---

@mudshark61369 wrote:

@casecollector32,

I disagree with the previous reply.  This sort of thing happens often with (0) sellers, because of ebay's over simplified List it, Sell it, Get paid, ads, and their bad advice to start auctions at very low prices... etc.  Even without the added "reserve" there would be other problems.  The seller besides not knowing about ebay's policies, probably doesn't know about the 21 day payment hold, PayPal would put in their payment, and how to deal with it.

Since you know the seller is probably not going to complete the transaction, why not contact them and let them know about their mistakes, and where to find info about selling on this site? 

---

The reason I advised the OP to pay immediately was that the item would be paid for and the seller couldn't change anything on an invoice or file a UID after 4 hours.

Of course, this appears to be a totally moot point since the OP has advised that the seller did, indeed, place a reserve on the item.

---

If you believe was a csr said 

---

The reason I asked the questions in my original reply was to determine if the OP was actually the winning bidder.  However, I do get your point about believing what a CSR  says.  It is a shame that the eBay CSR's have gotten such a bad reputation for giving out misinformation.