eBay

coinsnioc · ‎11-08-2017

i just got one of the dumbest questions after an auction ended... "Hey, I only bidded that much so no one else would have won but me could we negotiate?"

his ending bid was right in line with what it's worth.. not like it's a million dollar bid or anything... so, i suppose i'll have to cancel/relist huh..... can you believe this?

chirovette6yg3 · ‎11-10-2017

@ted_200 wrote:
Well, you see the problem with the Unpaid Item case from the other post on this topic. If he does go ahead and pay, you're exposed to bad feedback, a potential SNAD case they'll win, possibly a "faulty return", etc.... loss of outbound shipping cost, you eat fees, maybe pay for a return label...

I've found as a general rule if they want out of the transaction, no matter the reason, if you can do it before anything gets paid and before you've shipped anything, you want to do that. I'd add him to the BBL regardless, but particularly so on the other example here since they've accused the seller of shill bidding. Once you're clear of the transaction, I'd report the buyers to eBay too.

So my vote is for cancel / relist, as you've suggested... certainly no negotiation, and no UPI, you just want to be done with this bidder... forever... ASAP.

I 100% agree with you.

I am a buyer-only in my almost 20 year eBay history, but I have posted here a lot several years ago, but mostly lurk. I have been toying with the idea of selling on eBay, but never have. The only reason I bring this up is that even I, as a buyer, know how ridiculously "buyer-friendly" eBay is.

It is truly an @ss-backward system when eBay/PayPal forget that the sellers are their actual customers and us buyers are YOUR customers, not eBay's, since you pay eBay not us. Unfortunately, eBay treats ME like I am a god and opens you sellers up to about the most ludicrous abuse I have ever seen. Part of the reason I have never once sold so much as a .99 cent item on this site.

This is all a long way of saying that your post is the best answer I have seen in this thread to the OP's problem. Because you are suggesting a purely pragmatic solution, while I think the natural instinct is to try and "win" or beat this idiot-buyer who hasn't a clue about anything. Trying to assert your rights as a seller, no matter how right you are and how wrong they are, in such a lopsided buyer-seller environment just gives the unscrupulous buyer all the power to screw you over.

The reality is that according to the rules of eBay, the seller (OP) should be able to politely demand the buyer pay the agreed upon price since "Your bid is a contract and blah, blah, blah..." but we all know that the moment the seller makes this adversarial or escalates his or her "rights" that this will stand a better than even chance of backfiring on the seller.

I have already made up my mind that if I am going to ever decide to sell on eBay, that in order to avoid trouble, mostly in the form of retaliatory negs and so on, that I would have to very seriously consider just letting NPB's out of the so-called "contract" and cancelling the transaction "on their behalf" with a tactful email before they can neg me.

Anyway, sorry about giving an opinion when I have been only a buyer for decades, but I think you are absolutely right, and there are enough opportunities to get Negged on this site without opening yourself up to one more, just in the hopes that you can WIN the e-brawl.

ted_200 · ‎11-10-2017

This is all a long way of saying that your post is the best answer I have seen in this thread to the OP's problem. Because you are suggesting a purely pragmatic solution, while I think the natural instinct is to try and "win" or beat this idiot-buyer who hasn't a clue about anything.

This isn't a new discussion for this Board...

The primary reason people insist on opening an Unpaid Item Dispute is because it gets the buyer an "unpaid item strike". Sellers here believe this is worth something, and that if everyone opened the UID everytime, these problem buyers would accumulate enough "strikes" to get booted off the site. And if you don't, you're somehow allowing these buyers to stick around, and they'll end up having to deal with them some day. It's a nice theory, but the problem with this theory is that eBay won't say how many unpaid items you get before getting the boot. I suspect it's slightly less than infinity.

My "pragmatism" is mostly about protecting me. If they don't pay, I don't ship. It's a mild irritant (and one that happens very infrequently, in my category... which is also the OP's category). Clearly eBay isn't going to protect me... and I don't want a month-long hassle, a red donut, and to lose a bunch of money on shipping labels and maybe get a damaged item or a box of trash for a return.

The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves.

ted_200 · ‎11-10-2017

I have already made up my mind that if I am going to ever decide to sell on eBay, that in order to avoid trouble, mostly in the form of retaliatory negs and so on, that I would have to very seriously consider just letting NPB's out of the so-called "contract" and cancelling the transaction "on their behalf" with a tactful email before they can neg me.

I do open Unpaid Item Disputes on buyers who simply bid, win, and then vanish... but only after invoicing them twice, sending them a personal Message at least once, and letting 10-14 days go by. These people never reply to anything, and they're blocked from leaving f/b once you open the dispute - unless they pay. About half the time, they do pay, and everything is usually OK. I only try to cancel if they've said they want out of the transaction - communicated that to me somehow.

The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves.

janet9988 · ‎11-10-2017

@chirovette6yg3 wrote:
@ted_200 wrote:
Well, you see the problem with the Unpaid Item case from the other post on this topic. If he does go ahead and pay, you're exposed to bad feedback, a potential SNAD case they'll win, possibly a "faulty return", etc.... loss of outbound shipping cost, you eat fees, maybe pay for a return label...

I've found as a general rule if they want out of the transaction, no matter the reason, if you can do it before anything gets paid and before you've shipped anything, you want to do that. I'd add him to the BBL regardless, but particularly so on the other example here since they've accused the seller of shill bidding. Once you're clear of the transaction, I'd report the buyers to eBay too.

So my vote is for cancel / relist, as you've suggested... certainly no negotiation, and no UPI, you just want to be done with this bidder... forever... ASAP.
I 100% agree with you.

I am a buyer-only in my almost 20 year eBay history, but I have posted here a lot several years ago, but mostly lurk. I have been toying with the idea of selling on eBay, but never have. The only reason I bring this up is that even I, as a buyer, know how ridiculously "buyer-friendly" eBay is.

It is truly an @ss-backward system when eBay/PayPal forget that the sellers are their actual customers and us buyers are YOUR customers, not eBay's, since you pay eBay not us. Unfortunately, eBay treats ME like I am a god and opens you sellers up to about the most ludicrous abuse I have ever seen. Part of the reason I have never once sold so much as a .99 cent item on this site.

This is all a long way of saying that your post is the best answer I have seen in this thread to the OP's problem. Because you are suggesting a purely pragmatic solution, while I think the natural instinct is to try and "win" or beat this idiot-buyer who hasn't a clue about anything. Trying to assert your rights as a seller, no matter how right you are and how wrong they are, in such a lopsided buyer-seller environment just gives the unscrupulous buyer all the power to screw you over.

The reality is that according to the rules of eBay, the seller (OP) should be able to politely demand the buyer pay the agreed upon price since "Your bid is a contract and blah, blah, blah..." but we all know that the moment the seller makes this adversarial or escalates his or her "rights" that this will stand a better than even chance of backfiring on the seller.

I have already made up my mind that if I am going to ever decide to sell on eBay, that in order to avoid trouble, mostly in the form of retaliatory negs and so on, that I would have to very seriously consider just letting NPB's out of the so-called "contract" and cancelling the transaction "on their behalf" with a tactful email before they can neg me.

Anyway, sorry about giving an opinion when I have been only a buyer for decades, but I think you are absolutely right, and there are enough opportunities to get Negged on this site without opening yourself up to one more, just in the hopes that you can WIN the e-brawl.

The problem with this is the the buyer did not ask to cancel the sale. If the seller cancelled the sale then the buyer can complain to ebay and the seller would get in trouble for cancelling. Even if the seller cancelled the buyer can still leave a negative feedback. You can't escape the negative feedback by cancelling, even if the buyer asked to..

Lift your left leg at midnight to start off on the right foot. Happy new Year!

castlemagicmemories · ‎11-10-2017

Ted, you are right.

Retaliation could ensue from a UPI if they pay. One needs to protect oneself against this.

castlemagicmemories · ‎11-10-2017

@myboardid wrote:
@gracieallen01 wrote:
It sounds like he wants his partial refund before paying, rather than after.

I'd tell him the price is not negotiable once the auction has ended and ask him if he wants to cancel.

This^^^^

castlemagicmemories · ‎11-10-2017

@fern*wood wrote:
@ted_200 wrote:
Well, you see the problem with the Unpaid Item case from the other post on this topic. If he does go ahead and pay, you're exposed to bad feedback, a potential SNAD case they'll win, possibly a "faulty return", etc.... loss of outbound shipping cost, you eat fees, maybe pay for a return label...

I've found as a general rule if they want out of the transaction, no matter the reason, if you can do it before anything gets paid and before you've shipped anything, you want to do that. I'd add him to the BBL regardless, but particularly so on the other example here since they've accused the seller of shill bidding. Once you're clear of the transaction, I'd report the buyers to eBay too.

So my vote is for cancel / relist, as you've suggested... certainly no negotiation, and no UPI, you just want to be done with this bidder... forever... ASAP.

The problem with this is I didn't read in the opening post where the buyer asked to cancel -- they asked to negotiate. A cancellation also leaves the OP open to bad feedback in addition to a possible defect.

That is my concern as well. Cancel may be best but you need to get the buyer to ask you to cancel. Hopefully if you just tell them you cannot negotiate as Ebay does not allow that and they charge the seller based on the item price, buyer will abandon his negotiating tactic and ask the seller to cancel.