posted on December 18, 2000 04:40:44 PM
It was bound to happen, but the way it happened made me want to share this with my fellow eBay buyers & sellers.
I just sold a guitar on eBay. I had a reserve on it because I had to make my minimum, the usual. Halfway through the auction, I received an email from a fellow in Germany, telling me how much he wanted the guitar and asking me how much I wanted...
Zero feedback, sunglasses, eBay member for about a week. I emailed back that I was not shipping out of the states - first guitar sale and I was worried about damage, etc. I asked that he not bid any more. I thought I made it pretty clear that he was out of the running, but... he was a newbie.
He was no longer high bidder and I thought it was all over. Then he bid again. I debated what to do, decided that there was no way (based on emails I had received from several other parties) the guitar would ever reach my reserve, so I let it go.
Three days later, the auction ended. My German bidder's bid was lost in the dust as a single bidder bid way over my reserve (she told me what she bid in her email - said she would have paid $300 higher, rats) and got the guitar for exactly what my reserve was set at. Guitar is sold stateside, all's clear and final, right? Nope.
Two days after I had finished the sale with my US bidder, PayPal payment in the bank and the guitar on the UPS truck; here comes another email from Germany. He tells me that he will handle freight, pay the customs etc, but he wants me to send the guitar C.O.D! At the end of his email he asks me again how much I want for the guitar.
I sent him a kind reply telling his that the auction ended for much more than his high bid, that someone else had already paid for the guitar and that it was long gone. I told him I was sorry if he didn't understand the eBay auction process (pretty obvious by now) but the guitar was sold.
My wife was stunned by his response, though I myself thought it was relatively tame compared to things I have seen in this forum.
In part: "I don't bother you anymore. I know americans gotta problems to vote a president for such a big country........CU in hell rednex outta TX !!!!!"
I have to smile. I think it is just the beginning of the references to our election process. But if he can't figure out eBay, he will never figure out the Electoral College!
I'm so glad he wasn't my high bidder in the end, but I thought some of you might get a kick out of my first such experience on eBay. It was a long time time coming. Am I christened?
posted on December 18, 2000 05:16:21 PM
that sounds more like an American to me. my husband has sold many items to Germans and they've always been very nice. i used to live there when i was in the service. always very nice to me. except the really old ladies in lines -- then pushy and shove ya out of the way.
your bidder did sound like an American, tho. How would a German know about CU as something to replace SEE YOU???????
posted on December 18, 2000 07:48:34 PM
This guy is definitely from Germany. All of his emails had German prefixes and his name is very German, Weitergeleitet von Dominik W******* is pretty definitive. As far as letter abbreviations for words like CU, the world is a pretty small place now that there are so many computers and this sort of thing is not unusual. "rednex" isn't exactly typical.
I think he just needs to study up on eBay a little before he jumps into any more auctions. I don't think he ever understood that it WAS an auction. There are people who just don't get it in every country.
Such is life.
Dennis in TX
I got a haircut and I got a real job.
