Higher than expected bids on iPhone - should I be worried?

[r00tcoder]

I'm auctioning my iPhone SE 16GB phone which is based on the iPhone 6/6S (i.e. has a fingerprint sensor). It's in good used condition, with a hairline scratch on the back and a small hairline scratch at the top of the screen.

The garunteed price by eBay for a 7 day was about $155. I made it a 3 day auction with a starting price of $110 and a Buy It Now price of $149.99.

1 day into the auction the price is already above $190. This seems concerning - why would they bid more than Buy It Now and is this an unusually high price for this phone? Do they maybe think it's the newer version of the phone that's based on the iPhone 7 (even though I picked out the right model when making the listing)?

[partial*eclipse]

The "Buy it now" option on a phone listing disappears when the bidding reaches 50% of the BIN price, so later bidders might not even know that there ever had been a BIN option.  Your top 3 bidders have zero feedback, so probably they are just sport bidders who will never pay.  The phones category is notorious for this.  

To sell the phone to a serious bidder, you should list it in fixed price format and use the "Immediate payment required" option, which IIRC is available only if you use the Advanced (not Quick) version of the listing form.

[chrysylys]

You have no recent selling history and the highest sold item showing is another iGizmo over a year ago.  You are a prime target for phone theives.

[castlemagicmemories]

Phones can be very problematic, and your bidders may be going that high as they have no intentions of paying for it!

Fixed price, immediate payment required eliminates non payment.

I would suggest you research phones on the Selling and Buying Boards.

[gramophone-georg]

Yes, you should be worried. Problem is you should have been worried early enough to not do this.

[gramophone-georg]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

Phones can be very problematic, and your bidders may be going that high as they have no intentions of paying for it!

Fixed price, immediate payment required eliminates non payment.

I would suggest you research phones on the Selling and Buying Boards.

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I can see what's coming.

Buyer buys phone, harvests parts he needs, OR subs his non working phone, opens SNAD, sends back his junk.

Free parts/ phone, and what the buyer "pays" for the OPs phone is of zero concern, since payment is nothing more than a fully refundable deposit as far as eBay and PayPal are concerned anyways.

[campesinoplastic2014]

Chances are you will be giving this phone away

[nawlinsron2]

cancel the auction and take a defect....selling any iPhone on here ain't the wisest

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

I don’t think a defect is assessed for cancelling an auction before it ends. Tho OP will be charged FVF on the highest price though unless this is his first cancelled auction this year

[partial*eclipse]

@nawlinsron2

As noted in the other post, canceling a live auction does not earn a defect.  Defects are only given for problems with actual transactions.

But sellers who cancel an auction with bids are charged the same final value fee as if they had sold to the current high bidder.  The first such cancellation each year is free, so ending this auction early would be a reasonable strategy IF this seller hasn't canceled yet in 2017.

 If they have already used up their free cancellation, then I'd just let the auction run out. Although others think this this is a scammer, I bet it's just a sport bidder who will never pay (or the eventual winner will be one).

[nowthatsjustducky]

You may want to at least call for a proper witnessing before this item sells...

I'm sure there are plenty of us, myself included, who will gladly declare you witnessed.  😄

[swenson8781]

No, not likely they believe it's a newer version.  More so they probably believe that they can take advantage of the system, and you.

Every - Single - Bidder you have on that auction has ZERO feedback, most of the bidders have newly created ID's.  If you sell this phone this way, I can pretty much guarantee that the bids will go higher than they currently are, then either you will not get legit payment (BE SURE payment has cleared in your PP account before shipping), OR you will ship the phone, the buyer will ask to return, and you won't be receiving your phone back but will be required to refund their payment.

Consider taking others advice regarding cancelling/ending the auction.  Then research on the boards how to list these types of items, to give yourself a chance at a more successful sale.