eBay

michaeselset0 · ‎01-25-2018

If a buyer makes an offer through a private message when there is no best offer option and we agree on a price, am I required to end the auction and sell it to them? The listing already had a bid and they placed a bid for the price we agreed on, but I regretted accepting the offer immediately. Do I have to sell it to them? I know this may be dishonest, but I made an impulsive decision.

emerald40 · ‎01-25-2018

@michaeselset0 wrote:
If a buyer makes an offer through a private message when there is no best offer option and we agree on a price, am I required to end the auction and sell it to them? The listing already had a bid and they placed a bid for the price we agreed on, but I regretted accepting the offer immediately. Do I have to sell it to them? I know this may be dishonest, but I made an impulsive decision.

____________________________________________________

Did you verbally accept or did you actually hit the accept offer button?

castlemagicmemories · ‎01-25-2018

Emerald, with all due respect, Op said this was in a private message.

emerald40 · ‎01-25-2018

The listing already had a bid and they placed a bid for the price we agreed on, but I regretted accepting the offer immediately. Do I have to sell it to them?

Are you sure this was just back and forth talk in PM.

thatsallfolks · ‎01-25-2018

@michaeselset0 wrote:
If a buyer makes an offer through a private message when there is no best offer option and we agree on a price, am I required to end the auction and sell it to them? The listing already had a bid and they placed a bid for the price we agreed on, but I regretted accepting the offer immediately. Do I have to sell it to them? I know this may be dishonest, but I made an impulsive decision.

Your messages aren’t binding. However, negotiating, agreeing, and backing out is quite unethical.

Did the person’s bid raise the price to the agreed to amount?

emerald40 · ‎01-25-2018

Yes that was what I was trying to determine.

Sounds like it went past PM and the buyer actually placed a bid.

But on this account I do not see where the seller actually accepted it.

So I guess the seller can renig.

lintbrush* · ‎01-25-2018

It looks like you ended the listing and made the high bidder the winner.

All of the other For Parts/Not Working phone sold for $45-$60 so for the condition choice it seems right in line.

However, if it was just the battery that needed replacing (and you're sure of that), then yeah you left some money on the table by not having it repaired.

If you tried to back out now and cancel the sale, you will earn a defect on your seller standing and the buyer will likely leave you a negative.

Impulsive decisions can sometimes be good but they can sometimes be bad. How much is your integrity worth?

lightlily_arts · ‎01-25-2018

Even in private messages the seller can send an offer . Did you do that or was this simple a back and forth negotiation in messages? I thought that if the seller sent an offer and it was accepted that it would automatically end the listing. Just wait and see.

castlemagicmemories · ‎01-25-2018

@emerald40 wrote:
The listing already had a bid and they placed a bid for the price we agreed on, but I regretted accepting the offer immediately. Do I have to sell it to them?

Are you sure this was just back and forth talk in PM.

Well since you ask, Emerald, now I am not sure. Going by the OP, he said it was in a private message, but it may be subject to interpretation; perhaps clarification will help.

OP, can you clarify?

emerald40 · ‎01-25-2018

It looks like the OP decided to accept it as high bid and ended the auction.

mr_lincoln · ‎01-25-2018

@michaeselset0 First of all, I noted that you are a new Seller and hope you can find your way back to your thread here ... you got some good answers. If the Buyer you were messaging with placed a higher bid then the existing bid on the item (you mentioned that there was one) and you end the listing and choose to accept the higest bidder then you sell the item ... but "I think" regardless of how high the highest bidder bid they only need enough of their bid to beat the previaous bid based on bid increments ... so it may NOT be for the amount you agreed to in your messages ... therefore the bidder may NOT be paying you the amount agreed to ... just keep that in mind as you make your decisions on the transaction.

For myself, if I have an Auction item that already has a bid and then receive a message from someone wanting to buy it outright I politely decline letting them know to be fair to the other potential Buyer I need to let the Auction run its course.

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

farmerphil2 · ‎01-25-2018

Can you accept a ebay best offer or make one on an auction item that already has a bid? That would be unethical to me if ebay actually put those buttons up in the message.

I'm guessing it had to be a back and forth without an actual offer.

michaeselset0 · ‎01-25-2018

Sorry I wasn't here to reply right away. Looking back at my original post, I should have made it more clear that all of the offers/negotiations/agreements were made in private messages.

I agreed through messages to sell for 50 dollars and posted this topic before the bid was placed. Then, the buyer placed a bid for 35.99. I messaged back saying that they probably set their max bid at 50 instead of their actual bid amount. While waiting for the 50 dollar bid, another interested buyer made an offerer of 50 dollars coincidentally. I waited to reply to see if the first bidder was going to fix his bid to honor the agreement. After a while, I decided that I would inform both potential buyers that I had two matching offers. Then they had a mini bidding war, and I ended up selling to the second buyer. From now on, I'm making it a personal policy to let the auction run its course no matter what. I tend to make bad decisions when I see immediate gratification. Thanks for all the replies everyone.