posted on September 7, 2000 08:48:00 PM
What do you all think of sellers that put an item up for auction than cancell it while the auction is going on and it has bids? They usually cancel because they get convinced by another that the item is worth more than what they may get and they should cancel it and relist it at a higher starting bid or with a reserve.
Funny thing is a lady had posted an item a couple weeks ago. She didn't think it was worth anything. She had a couple bids and I was the 3rd bidder which made it jump to $20.00. I had put a proxy bid of $100.00. She was told by a couple folks that it probably should go for more than the $20. that was there already (they based it on the fact that 3 of us were bidding hard on it). Funny thing is she still had 6 days to go out of the 7 days she had set it.
Than I read on an email list that my being the high bidder I should retract my bid and not have hard feelings. Before I could contact her and let her know my high bid was $100 and with 6 days to go who knows how high it would go she had cancelled it.
After I read these emails in the group I let them know my highest bid was $100.00 . No one made anymore comments after that about it. I'm sure the poor lady feels bad for having done so because I haven't seen her put it back up yet. And if she does I would not bid on it again because as a seller myself I don't believe we should do this kind of stuff.
Now if she didn't have any bids on I think it would have been o'kay but not when bids are going strong.
Anyway what are all your feelings about this? eBay states that as bidder we should not retract so why should sellers be allowed to cancel an auction with bids and think it's o'kay for them to do so.
posted on September 7, 2000 09:10:04 PMguyuellas; The direct answer is that Sellers pay a fee to list their auctions and have every right to pull any auction of theirs at any time for no reason whasoever. In contrast, Bidding costs you nothing.
There are many, many reasons why Sellers pull their auctions, not just because they discovered that it was more valuable than they thought. If that auction really is a real concern for you, why not e-mail that Seller and let them know that you are still interested in buying the piece and make an offer?
posted on September 7, 2000 09:14:59 PM
I believe eBay rules state that sellers and bidders are to go thru with their auctions if their are bids and if the bidder won. Is that not so?
posted on September 7, 2000 09:22:55 PM
A seller may NOT remove an item which has received bids UNLESS that Seller gives Ebay a very valid reason, such as listing with 1.00 reserve instead of 100.00 or listed wrong item. It is not a game, and Ebay does NOT consider it a game. It happened to me 2 years ago, and I had to really convince Ebay that I had acted in good faith. And I am not a crook, nor a flake. I was Emailed by a few bidders, and after checking my registration date (and 0 feedback, as this was my 2nd listing) they accepted my apology as an honest one.
posted on September 7, 2000 11:14:48 PM
Hi Shosh ...... As far as eBay rules & regs go I believe a seller can end an active auction for any, or no reason at all? If the auction has bids the seller must cancel the bids first.
I've seen this question answered by CS reps many, many times & I've never heard one of them state that the seller must have a valid reason for ending an auction early.
posted on September 8, 2000 02:48:02 AM
Yeah, I coulda sworn that a cancelled auction with bids is the same as a regular auction that someone won.
If guyuella's seller cancelled the auction with out cancelling the bids (asking a potential buyer to retract a bid and get a black mark on their record is lame), then guyuella should be the proud owner of the item that was being auctioned.
posted on September 8, 2000 05:07:39 AM
I had two auctions that double-posted this week and had to cancel one of them. When I was on the "how to cancel your auction" page, I remember reading that if, as a seller, you need to end your auction early, you must cancel all bids prior to ending the auction or you must sell to the highest bidder.
On another note, I also got my listing fees back for the two auctions that double-posted.
posted on September 8, 2000 05:21:03 AM
Borillar, sellers do not have a right to pull auctions for any reason whatsoever. That is only allowed in what eBay calls "exceptional circumstances."
From the User Agreement (sec. 5.2):
5.2 Binding Bids. Except for items listed in a category under the Non-binding Bid Policy, if you receive at least one bid at or above your stated minimum price (or in the case of reserve auctions, at or above the reserve price), you are obligated to complete the transaction with the highest bidder upon the auction's completion, unless there is an exceptional circumstance, such as: (a) the buyer fails to meet the terms of your listing (such as payment method), or (b) you cannot authenticate the buyer's identity.
posted on September 8, 2000 05:22:44 AM
That's exactly right--if an auction is ended WITHOUT cancelling all bids, then the seller is obligated to sell to the high bidder at the end of the auction. Not everyone understands this, though. There was recently a post on the Ebay boards where the seller interpreted the instructions to mean that he need only cancel the HIGH bid, and refused to sell to the second high bidder.
I have to agree--refusing to cancel the bids before ending the auction and expecting bidders to make retractions which will be part of their bidding records is VERY poor business. I do hope that this seller has thanked her "friends" for costing her possibly $100 or more.
posted on September 8, 2000 05:23:11 AM
Twice I've cancelled auctions that had bids (I cancelled the bids first). Both times I did it because I found a flaw in the item. Once was a pair of shoes that looked fine but - once you tried them on - you realized that they weren't made right. The second was something I dropped and it broke (major flaw (grin)). I would tend to think something like that happened, especially since the seller hasn't listed it again.
If you're curious, just e-mail the seller and ask.
posted on September 8, 2000 05:41:39 AM
In eBay help under "Canceling Bids and Ending an Auction"
[b]You can cancel bids in an auction if one or more of the following circumstances apply:
1. You've decided to end the auction
2. A bidder contacts you to back out of a bid
3. You can't verify the identity of a bidder after trying all reasonable means of contact[/b]
While eBay says that you must have a valid reason for retracting a bid, there is no such admonition for canceling bids and ending an auction.
It should be noted that if you end an auction without canceling bids, you are obligated to sell to the high bidder.
