Seller increased price by $15 and sent $5 off to a watcher: ethical?

[beautifulbeauty2012]

I marked as "watched" $30 item and received $40 "offer" from a seller. He changed the price to $45 and "offered" me $5 off from the new price. I knew I wasn`t losing my mind and went to the revision history-indeed price was revised.

Do you think it is ethical? Obviously, I declined that "offer" and blocked him. Does the seller think buyers are stupid? I can see increasing by a buck or two, but $15 on $30 is just rude.

[dirk12955]

Tagging on:   So the bottom line,

Lowering price is good.   Sunshine and roses.

Raising the price is unethical.    Call the cops.    

This is the free enterprise system in action.    

How do you suppose the consumer feel when the new couch,  the Diamond ring,  The TV set, 

  The new mattress,   or any other consumer item goes on sale the day after he buys it?

Sometimes the merchant will rebate the $$ difference and sometimes they won't.

Free enterprise, and the right of the seller to do whatever he wants with the price.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

1) Why would a seller randomly message you if you haven't offered on or bought their item?

2) simply not true that they won't be able to contact you.

Blocking prevents people from bidding on / buying your items. Yes you can check the box to prevent blocked individuals from clicking "Contact Seller" button found on your listings, but they can always contact you directly through your profile (whether you're a buyer only or seller). That is an option to everyone whether or not you block them.

[meme6253]

I know in my category of collectibles, Item's can increase or decrease over time, I am constantly watching for market value & competitor's condition of item, Also they may have thought that there asking price was very fair & got upset about someone asking for it for less!

[beautifulbeauty2012]

You are not getting what I was talking about. It is not about increasing the price because of inflation, cost of labor, demand, etc; it is because one person showed some potential interest and got a targeted increased price for that. Too funny actually-so much work and scared away a buyer. He would have to lower the price back again because his price doesn`t make sense now.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

If the seller was asking $30 and you didn't want it for $30 and there are "PLENTY" at $20-$25 (I believe you later on mention someone selling it for $12 with lower shipping cost?)...

Why were you watching it in the first place if you didn't want it for the originally high price an get it so much cheaper from so many other people? I mean, you have every right to watch it. But why? And why are you so bothered by the price hike if the seller was already overpriced to begin with? 

This makes me think of all the times buyers message me wanting MY item for a cheap price. There are sometimes 100+ listings for the same exact item as mine. I'm often priced in the upper range of prices. Someone decides, instead of buying someone's who has it listed for $30, they'll message me (listed for $40) and ask to get it for $30. If you want to pay a certain price, go buy it from the "tons of people" that are listed at or around that price. Why do you want mine so bad? Hmm... 

[toomuchstuffagain35]

You keep saying this, but you have NO way of knowing if that's why this seller did it.

[dirk12955]

I know exactly what the seller was doing.    I'm not confused about the issue 

or your concern.

I had a set of stamp that stagnated at $12.95    Had 100 sets and they weren't selling.    I raised the price 

to $14.95 and started sending out offers at $12.95 and sold 20 sets the first week.

A stamp block, I ended up with a stack of them.   $3.99 and they drew dust.    Raised the price to $4.99 

and sent out offers for $4.00    Last I looked I've sold 80 of them.

Business 101 covered in the first hour on the first day.   

[retro_entertainment_collectibles]

---

@beautifulbeauty2012 wrote:

I marked as "watched" $30 item and received $40 "offer" from a seller. He changed the price to $45 and "offered" me $5 off from the new price. I knew I wasn`t losing my mind and went to the revision history-indeed price was revised.

Do you think it is ethical? Obviously, I declined that "offer" and blocked him. Does the seller think buyers are stupid? I can see increasing by a buck or two, but $15 on $30 is just rude.

---

A great many sellers think buyers are not too slick and seller activities such as you mentioned can loose the entire site a buyer(s).  One of things understand here goes right along the lines of the former uBid site or the former iDeal Supersites both of which lost heaps of buyers due to sellers activities and very very little due to site management.  Just like back then before the "fallout" there were many many alternative placed for folks to spend they're money.  When the "fallout" occurred due to Amazon jumping into the fray and then subsequently the reverse price competition as well as the "oops" of the Onsale Supersites and Surplus Direct merger effectively killing both heaps and I do means heaps of B2C and 3P2C sites bellied up.  That left eBay, Amazon and scant others... Back in the day, Etsy would never have never had stood a chance to get traction just as Yahoo back in the day tried and failed.

If a consumer is "taken" or "manipulated" they are very unlikely to trust the platform, especially relatively new users when there exists many places to spend they're money.

iDeal and uBid both declined due to seller activities far far far more so than any other factors.  iDeal's sell through rate which were new items only was so very good albeit every seller processed their own credit/debit cards it was incredible.  Sell through averaged 50-60% weekly quite regular like so what happens?  Sellers raise prices thinking the buyers don't remember or realize what's going on.  By the time iDeal reacted performing two week price locks it was too late.  Then they literally booted sellers who engaged in price manipulations, another oops.  With a period of perhaps 6-8 months what was incredible traffic and sales diminished to a point of perhaps 10-20% and soon the entire platform was sold off.  I can't recall the name of the place that bought it, but they changed up the software and it'd become one of the first penny auction sites which bellied up as well.

[albertabrightalberta]

---

@soh.maryl wrote:

How does one block a seller? 

---

---

@beautifulbeauty2012 wrote:

same as you block a buyer-they won`t be able to contact you

---

Nope, cannot be done!

[albertabrightalberta]

---

@beautifulbeauty2012 wrote:

 Obviously, the seller in question doesn`t do research, as exact same item is selling for $12 with lower shipping. $40 + $13 shipping "offer" vs $12 + $11 shipping without offers. 

---

So instead of wasting time and energy complaining, why not just buy that "exact same item" from the other seller for $12 with lower shipping? 

[chapeau-noir · Accepted solution]

I think the original point is being missed here - it's not raising and lowering the price, it's the way it was done, which supposed that the buyer/watcher wasn't actually paying attention to anything that went on.

It's as if a store had a sign that said proclaimed "Golden Widget $75!!", then the next day replaced the sign with "Golden Widget $105, 10% off!!!!"  Sure, the store can do that, no one disputes it, but anyone who saw that sign yesterday would just be shaking their heads because basically, it's just such an obviously poor marketing strategy.

Saying "You should have bought it when it was $30", etc. etc. is totally missing the point.

[gone.c-33]

---

@beautifulbeauty2012 wrote:

So, if making analogy with the gas station you mention, is it ok with you if the gas station would jump the price as soon as a car approaches it (not in between or after)? That is what you are suggesting is ok to do.

---

Not that they are an example to follow buy Ticketmaster essentially do exactly that and call it “dynamic pricing”…

[powell-memorabilia]

---

@slippinjimmy wrote:

Yes it's slimy and in many countries that have better consumer protection laws it would be illegal.

---

It is illegal even in the United States. There have been suits brought against places like Macy’s for engaging in such practices. The Macy’s case wasn’t quite so bad Dash they were deemed with putting things on sale when they were never at regular price. There is a certain waiting period that retailers need to use before they put something on sale Macy’s and other retailers got in trouble because they would release a new item have it at $50 online and $75, with $25 off, as soon as they put it in their stores. This was seen as manipulative - tricking brick and mortar customers into thinking that something was really on sale, when it was really just being lowered to its actual real starting price.

[beautifulbeauty2012]

where did you get that "a seller randomly message you if you haven't offered on or bought their item"?? Sellers send offers to watchers - in case you are new to the platform.

[beautifulbeauty2012]

haha, so funny to read all the assumptions you guys are making.

I ddn`t not offer anything at all, so there was no "upset" seller because a buyer offered a low price. I simply added the item in my Watch list and got the offensive "offer"

PLEASE READ before you make up your stories.