I screwed up, help!

[gsusser]

I've only been a member since forever and I can't believe I screwed up so badly. However, I have not been an active seller for a number of years.

I listed an item as an auction with a best offer option. Here's how I screwed up:

- I didn't realize that a bid cancelled offers. As a result, I wanted to cancel the auction.

- I inadvertently accepted the one bid when I thought I was cancelling. The bid was far lower than any of the offers.

- I did not want to ship the item outside the US. However, I couldn't figure out how limit shipping and listed the item inadvertently for global shipping. Then I forgot about it. A person in Europe had the winning bid. 

Can I fix these things? Can I get out of the sale? I immediately wrote to the buyer to hold off on paying and that I would get back to him. If I go ahead with the sale, I will be out several hundred dollars than if I accepted the highest offer. I cannot afford that.

I feel so stupid!

[tunicaslot]

Boy did you goof up - but we've almost all been there. When I did something similar - I owned my mistake and the buyer got a great item that was worth 10 times what they paid - but it was my mistake and I took repsonsibility for it.

Since you are in the global shipping program - the buyer pays shipping to his country - you are only out the price to ship the item to the Global Shipping facility here in the US which was in Kentucky. 

The other option is to cancel the transaction - but that's not taking responsibility for your actions and you'll earn a defect. Being you only periodical sell - that may end your days on Ebay.

If you can't afford to accept that price - be upfront with your buyer about your mistake and don't make him wait because there really are no other alternatives to your predictament.

[gsusser]

Thanks for the advice.

I didn't know that about global shipping.

The buyer sent payment - apparently my message to him got there too late. I did as you suggested (at the end of your message) and told him that I screwed up and asked if I could return his money. He simply said send the money back, so I think I'm OK. I sent his money back plus an additional $10. Hopefully, that will deter him from leaving negative feedback.

While I'm here, just so I don't goof up again with my listing, I'd like to know how best to list an item auction style with accepting the best offer. I never listed anything this way. Normally, it's buy it now. The only reason I want to change the way I list is that I can't get a good handle on the value of the item - but I do know that I'd rather keep the item if I can't get at least a certain amount. 

I'll accept a minimum of $300 and hoping (not unrealistically) for $600.  I think the mistake I made with my last listing was to start the auction at $100. I didn't realize that a bid for $100 would cancel the auction. How much would you suggest starting the auction at?

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@tunicaslot wrote:

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 ... The other option is to cancel the transaction - but that's not taking responsibility for your actions and you'll earn a defect. Being you only periodical sell - that may end your days on Ebay....

There's a minimum threshold. One defect point won't hurt anybody.

The defect rate won't affect your seller performance status until you have transactions with defects with at least 5 different buyers, or at least 4 different buyers to impact Top Rated status, within your evaluation period.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-performance-policy?id=4347#section2

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@gsusser wrote:

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 ... I'll accept a minimum of $300 and hoping (not unrealistically) for $600.  I think the mistake I made with my last listing was to start the auction at $100. I didn't realize that a bid for $100 would cancel the auction. How much would you suggest starting the auction at?

"Best offer" on auctions is relatively new. As you've noticed, one of the provisions is that when a bid is placed on the auction, the "Best offer" option disappears and any active offers or counteroffers just expire immediately.   If there's a minimum you're willing to sell for, just set that as the opening bid price and ignore offers that are lower; in this case I'd start at $300.  Actually what I'd do is set up a fixed price listing for $600 (with Immediate Payment Required) and accept offers on that listing.

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@gsusser wrote:

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 ...  . He simply said send the money back, so I think I'm OK. I sent his money back plus an additional $10. ...

Uh-oh, I think  you might have messed up again.  Did you use the PayPal "Send money" offer for the whole $110, rather than just using the "Issue refund" link in the details of his original transaction and then sending $10?

[gsusser]

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Uh-oh, I think  you might have messed up again.  Did you use the PayPal "Send money" offer for the whole $110, rather than just using the "Issue refund" link in the details of his original transaction and then sending $10? 

No, I used the refund option, which doesn't allow sending more than the amount originally sent. I know, I tried to send more. In a second transaction, I sent $10 to his account.

The fixed price listing seems to be the most appropriate one. If I did it auction with best offer style with a starting bid of $300, my hopes of getting more than $300 would end if anyone bid $300.

Thanks.

[mypostingid15]

Just list it fixed price for $600 with best offer.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@gsusser wrote:

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 .... If I did it auction with best offer style with a starting bid of $300, my hopes of getting more than $300 would end if anyone bid $300.....

Your hopes of getting more than $300 shouldn't end if your listing switches to regular basic auction format; you'd just let the auction continue its original allotted time and hope that it got more than one bidder.

[rainbowcolorz]

@gsusser asked:  I'll accept a minimum of $300 and hoping (not unrealistically) for $600.  I think the mistake I made with my last listing was to start the auction at $100. I didn't realize that a bid for $100 would cancel the auction. How much would you suggest starting the auction at?

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One of the reasons I never listed Buy It Now /  Best Offer (it has already been mentioned that eBay recently started adding BO to BINs and that definitely would never sit well with me) is because  I have never been positive of the value of my items so I would list auction style with a starting price of ONLY what I would not mind it selling for, just in case it did not go up.   Problem solved.  

[tunicaslot]

You're right nobody - my mistake!

OP - check similar items under solds and see how much other sellers have gotten for the item. You may find that what you can actually get here on Ebay is lower than elsewhere. I'd start your listing as a Buy It Now at what you would like to get or a little higher then use Best Offer and see what offers come in. 

You are not probably not going to get the amt you would like on an auction for an item like that. Auctions rarely do well unless it's something really special that people can't find elsewhere.