posted on September 25, 2000 03:54:39 AM new
I just had my 6th deadbeat winning bidder in almost 19 months of eBay.
-Pretty good track record - I'm not complaining, but my most recent deadbeat auction ended at $465. Not devastating - but annoying & disappointing...
Now I have an item up with a current bid of $455 --- that's REALLY pushing it. The high bidder joined yesterday & hasn't bid on anything else. The underbidder has the same ISP and between the two of them, they've accumulated 16 out of 48 bids in the last day.
I'm not up to date with eBay policies so please inform me.
Do I have the right to request personal information so I can decide if I need to consider canceling bids?
posted on September 25, 2000 04:30:49 AM new
I don't know that the contact information will help you to determine what to do, but this is the link to what eBay says about contact information.
posted on September 25, 2000 07:32:57 AM new
I read both of your links - Thank you.
- I'm still not sure what to do & eBay doesn't make it clear on either page how to handle this situation (I won't say I blame them...)
So? -Do I have a justifiable right or reason to inquire? Would I be flat out "rude" and possibly brush up against eBay's policy about requesting personal information?
If I were bidding on eBay the first time and the $ was reasonably substantial ($100+), I honestly think I would appreciate my seller checking to see if I'm on the level.
I've had many winning bidders who joined "the day of" or "shortly before" an auction ended. Nearly every one of them were quicker at responding and paying than a lot of "seasoned" eBayers...
I don't want to come across as paranoid - but like I said in the beginning: it's almost obvious something is not right and I'd like to know what other people here think is right to do.
posted on September 25, 2000 09:18:07 AM new
Yes, you have a justifiable right to pull their contact information - this is clearly transaction-related.
But, if you do request their contact information, you may be making them - if they are indeed newbies - unduly nervous.
posted on September 25, 2000 09:32:01 AM new
I believe you have every right to request contact info and make sure there aren't any obvious connections between the two ID's. In addition to that, if you have time, pull up any closed auctions in which the older of these ID's was the high bidder, and see if another similar ID had also bid, how their high proxy bids compare, and if one of them retracted late in the auction(s), leaving the other person as the winning bidder. Given the fact that one of these ID's is new, things are probably OK, unnless you've been set up by a newly created bid shielding scheme.
[ edited by pickersangel on Sep 25, 2000 09:34 AM ]
posted on September 25, 2000 09:46:11 AM new
Most newbie bidders seem to be pretty good in my experience, but I always wonder until it's a done deal.
You might just send an email that if they are the winner you want to make sure there's a successful transaction and here's the routine ABCs for newcomers. Then ask them if they have any questions or concerns?
posted on September 25, 2000 09:57:29 AM new
I agree for the most part - I do have a right and a reason.
But I agree with Glenda, I don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable if I'm out in left field.
---
I'm 99% sure I should just do it. How can I tactfully eMail the bidder with a short explanation before he/she gets eBay's notice of my request?
Did I type that out loud???
posted on September 25, 2000 10:01:26 AM new
mballai- Thank you. That sounds like good professional advice. I'll go that route, it seems like a friendly approach and I'll know what's going on without putting a ripple in the water.
