eBay

tisa6971 · ‎10-12-2023

I put my first item on Ebay and it was suggested that I start the bid at $.99 which I did. Someone bought the item and is bullying me to sell it at that price. I have contacted Ebay on the chat line and the representative said that I can cancel the sale. The buyer disagrees and insists on me honoring the sale. Has anyone had this happen?

titipeo · ‎10-12-2023

Your first mistake is using eBay suggestions and listening to their customer service reps. eBay makes money no matter what. Your starting bid should be the least amount you are willing to accept for the item, that way you are not stuck with an undersold/undervalued item and lose money. The customer service rep is correct, you can cancel sale, but you will also get a strike against your account, I bet they didn't tell you that. Several strikes against you and you will find yourself having a hard time selling here, or you account close. At this point, it is up to you to decide, continue with the sale, or cancel.

If you cancel, you can relist at a higher price, or not use the auction format and have it as a buy it now at the price you will like to receive.

Good luck.

monica-sells · ‎10-12-2023

You are 'technically' obligated to honor the sale......

there are possible repercussions with the regard to your ebay account if you do not....

and you will probably get a negative feedback to start your ebay career...

I guess my question is how did you not realize that whatever the final bid was, that it would not be the final selling price?

1786davycrockett · ‎10-12-2023

@tisa6971

Never offer anything on an eBay auction for less than you can afford to lose.

While eBay continues to suggest that sellers should offer an opening bid of only 99 cents on auctions, obviously this is a VERY bad idea if the seller receives only ONE bid.

And the "advice" that you received from the eBay rep is BAD -- should you cancel the sale due to the low bid, eBay will punish you with a defect. Too many defects, and eBay will kick you off the system -- and, since you are just a beginner, that might not take long.

Swallow your pride, and honor the sale -- ship the item to your buyer, and say "thank you for your patience."

Then STOP offering to sell ANYTHING for less than you can afford to lose.

And, unless your items are very HIGH in demand, don't do anymore eBay auctions.

Good luck.

tisa6971 · ‎10-12-2023

It seems to me that this $.99 suggestion by Ebay is an open door for scammers to take advantage of people who are new. What a wonderful world we live in! Thanks for the advice.

dbfolks166mt · ‎10-12-2023

Others have already provided some good advice. It is best to never listed to advice eBay offers you as others have stated their objective is to move items and make money although their fees on this are going to be pretty small. They probably also suggested you utilize promoted listings which, depending on what you are selling, is also a bad idea. The auction format was probably a good choice for the item you were selling but you should always start the bidding at the lowest price you are willing to accept and I would avoid using the best offer option.

Ultimately the decision is yours you can cancel the order or you can ship it and honor the sale. Hopefully you did not pay too much for the item or were not looking to make a huge profit on it. No doubt the buyer got a good deal and knows it and may in fact flip the item.

Also noticed that your shipping is possibly insufficient to cover what it will cost you to purchase the priority mail shipping label. Not sure of the dim's or weight of the item but it is showing $8.82 to ship from your location in FL to my address in VA had I made the purchase.

gb58 · ‎10-12-2023

You weren't scammed, no scammer took advantage of you. You started the bid at 99 cents, one person had an interest in your item, they placed an opening bid. No one else was interested so the opening bid won your item. It is how an auction works.

I once listed an item with a "buy it now" price of $5 rather than the price I intended, which was $50. Of course someone jumped right on it and bought the item for $5. I wasn't scammed, it was my error. I shipped the item and thanked the person for shopping with me.

You should ship the item quickly and thank the person for shopping with you. You will most likely get good feedback and begin to build your ebay reputation in a positive way.

monica-sells · ‎10-12-2023

@tisa6971 wrote:
It seems to me that this $.99 suggestion by Ebay is an open door for scammers to take advantage of people who are new. What a wonderful world we live in! Thanks for the advice.

I 'think' the .99 "suggestion" is to generate interest in an item that otherwise might not be attractive....Once people are engaged, they are more likely to participate in a "bidding war".....

The alternatives are

1. Start the auction at the smallest amount you can accept for your item and hope you get a bite...

2. Price it a bit higher with a "Buy it Now" format, buit add the "Make An Offer" option.....

Either way you do it, with all else being equal (exposure, time frame, etc...) you should realize the market price for your item......

oh, I would not call it bullying either...if you saw an item available for $1.00 you thought was worth $50.00 and paid the advertised $1.00, and they said "Oh, that's a mistake" you would want that item, too........

luckythewinner · ‎10-12-2023

@tisa6971 wrote:
I put my first item on Ebay and it was suggested that I start the bid at $.99 which I did. Someone bought the item and is bullying me to sell it at that price. I have contacted Ebay on the chat line and the representative said that I can cancel the sale. The buyer disagrees and insists on me honoring the sale. Has anyone had this happen?

You are morally obligated to honor the sale, because you freely chose to take eBay's advice and give your item away for 99 cents.

When a seller backs out of a sale, it disappoints buyers and erodes the overall reputation and confidence that buyers have in eBay as a venue. That negative buyer experience affects all sellers, not just you.

isaiah53-57 · ‎10-12-2023

@tisa6971 wrote:
I put my first item on Ebay and it was suggested that I start the bid at $.99 which I did. Someone bought the item and is bullying me to sell it at that price. I have contacted Ebay on the chat line and the representative said that I can cancel the sale. The buyer disagrees and insists on me honoring the sale. Has anyone had this happen?

In my opinion the people who manage the site have killed the ability to do auctions, especially at a .99 cent starting price - As @monica-sells mentioned below, listing it at the lowest you would be willing to take is best, especially when auctioning a niche item.

I see you also did not have a very good title - "Limited edition woodblock print" should have been in the title. That may have helped, but sadly, there is a high degree of likelihood, you still would have fallen far short of the $100 to $300 valuations of these limited prints. I believe the site has been greatly diminished by the constant implementation of abrasive short term gain strategies that have killed the appeal of shopping here, of course, unless you are selling the most highly sought after items, but those you can sell anywhere without having to pay exorbitant fees...

m60driver · ‎10-12-2023

@tisa6971 wrote:
I put my first item on Ebay and it was suggested that I start the bid at $.99 which I did. Someone bought the item and is bullying me to sell it at that price. I have contacted Ebay on the chat line and the representative said that I can cancel the sale. The buyer disagrees and insists on me honoring the sale. Has anyone had this happen?

The buyer is absolutely correct in that you need to honor the sale, that is not bullying. Yes, technically you can cancel the sale but given that you are a new seller your "metrics" will be severely impacted and you are now on the road to having your selling rights curtailed.

jgrit · ‎10-12-2023

Your mistake. Buyer is not bullying, just wants you to do the right thing. Your mistake, your lesson learned and it cost you this sale. Complete the sale as you posted it. I have made many mistakes on selling. But when it costs me, I only make the mistake once. Lesson learned at my expense is a lesson remembered.

ckimodog · ‎10-12-2023

@tisa6971

You need to honor the sale and sell it at the price that it was sold for. In the future, start your auctions off with the price you think it is worth or just use a buy it now format, with immediate payment required and NO best offers. Sorry...lesson learned, but I know you'll do better the next time.

Happy Selling

thelongball · ‎10-12-2023

After all the Smoke Clears all that remains is YOUR reputation. Do What you Feel Your Worth. But Remember that a Negative Start Off Feedback Will Not Help You sell your second item. I'm sure everyone here will agree

tisa6971 · ‎10-12-2023

I am not calling the buyer a bully because he wants to buy for $1. I admitted my mistake, apologized, canceled the sale and he continues to send me threatening messages. That is bullying.