I sell x widgets all the time at $1.50 each on a duction auction with 6 available on each auction.
Bidder XYZ has outbid 2 other bidders at $5.95 per item on all 6 items. This concerns me because I think that is a lot to pay for X widget. Yeah, I know the bidder determines the price.
So, I politely emailed Bidder XYZ: " Just a friendly reminder on dutch auctions. The bid amount is per WIDGET. Please note that you are the current high bidder at $5.95 & quantity 6 WIDGETS. $5.95 x 6 = $35.70 plus shipping. If this dollar amount was not your intention, please retract your bid and rebid accordingly."
Bidder XYZ reponds with "but being in a dutch auction it would be the lowest winning bid."
Well, uhm she is the ONLY WINNING BIDDER at this stage and I seriously doubt any one is going to out bid her.
I think she thinks she is going to pay $2 something per widget like other people have previously bid on the auction. It just irks me that she questioned if I knew how a dutch auction works. I've done nearly 3000 dutch auctions, I think I've figured it out by now.
So, should I let her bid stand or cancel her bid or what? I really don't want to deal with her when the auction ends in a week with her having to pay nearly $6 a widget and hearing her complain about the price.
I would ever so delicately point out to her that although she is correct in that the lowest winning bid determines the price, since she put in a bid for all -6-, she is the current lowest winning bid, as she has outbid all of the other dutch bids.
posted on December 20, 2000 04:50:55 PM
i would leave it as is. send her EOA after you "know" she's gotten the eBay notice. then if she complains, reply back from the original emails between the two of you.
posted on December 20, 2000 05:12:13 PM
Many people do not realize that dutch auctions DO NOT use the proxy bidding system. So, if you are selling 10 widgets at $1.00 each, and they bid $10.00 for all 10, the price becomes $10.00, not $1.00. Of course, if they had bid for 9, it would be $1.00. You may want to remind her of that.
posted on December 20, 2000 05:14:36 PM
This is an EXTREMELY confusing part of dutch auctions. I've seen many comments here from experienced sellers who don't understand it.
I would let it go, and if the bidder complains DEFINATELY give it to them at the "regular" price.
Of course, you'll have to file a partial payment NPB.
On the other hand, if I were the winning bidder and you held me to my high bid price, you would get 6 big negs. Even though it was my fault for not understanding the system. Doing this would be deplorable customer service, and would deserve such reviews.
posted on December 20, 2000 05:22:48 PM
Cancel her bid and send her an explanation of how dutch auctions work. (cut an pasted from Ebay)
Otherwise she will never pay, you will eat the listing fee, and have to wade through crap to get your FVF refunded.
It is much cleaner this way. (and she will probably appreciate it) Chances are, if she doesn't know how a dutch auction works, she may not know how to cancel a bid either.
posted on December 20, 2000 05:24:53 PM
Amalgamated,
I agree. I once held a dutch auction for 3 used widgets. A good price would have been around $8.00 per widget. I started them at $1.00. Near the end, someone came along and bid $18.00 per widget (more than they cost new!!), and bid for all 3. Of course, she ended up the winning bidder at $54.00 plus shipping.
I wrote her and told her I would not sell them to her at that inflated price, and she could have all 3 for $20.00 plus shipping. She agreed, and ended up sending me an extra $5.00 just for doing that for her. I felt better, and she was happy.
I wish Ebay explained the system a bit better, since so many people are so confused over it!!
posted on December 20, 2000 05:27:24 PM
mikeylou & paulswife... I totally agree with both of you.
amalgamated2000... I think I've gone above the call of duty to help explain dutch auctions to this bidder. FYI: One bid on 6 dutch items does not qualify for 6 feedbacks, it is only one feedback.
posted on December 20, 2000 05:27:31 PM
Well ... someone has come along and bid $6.45 for 3 widgets! Well if these people want it that bad, that's the price they are willing to pay.
posted on December 20, 2000 05:44:33 PM
The DUTCH Government should sue Ebay for misusing the term "Dutch Auction" Look it up in an unabridged dictionary. It ain't what Ebay's doing.
A DUTCH auction is a declining price auction. i,e, The price stars high and gradually devlines until someone buys the item.
posted on December 20, 2000 05:54:10 PMamalgamated2000... I think I've gone above the call of duty to help explain dutch auctions to this bidder. FYI: One bid on 6 dutch items does not qualify for 6 feedbacks, it is only one feedback.
See how confusing these dutch auctions are... Actually I never run them, so I didn't know that about feedback.
Anway, I agree that you have gone beyond the call.
And it's quite possible that they buyer will quietly pay the full amount. Likely, I would guess.
But, if you do get that email after the EOA goes out with the actual price, and the bidder says, hey, I didn't understand this. I would gladly pay the regular price, but I didn't understand that I would have to pay this much.
At that point, if you say no, pay the full amount, I think that's just bad customer relations. You are taking advantage of a VERY confusing system. I'm not saying it's your fault. It's clearly the customer's fault. But ethical business people don't take advantage of their customer's ignorance, in my opinion.
posted on December 20, 2000 07:07:02 PM
I very politely wrote a fellow who did the same thing and said I would only charge him the opening bid price because I was sure he did not understand has bid as entered obligated him to the full bid price as there was no competing bidder.
I got back a profanity filled hateful e-mail telling me there was no way he was paying that.
I e-mailed and said read it again jackass - I offered you the lower price but now I am canceling your bid and banning you from bidding on my auctions due to your rude reply and inability read with understanding.
He e-mailed back after about 3 days that he finally understood I had offered the low price. Did it take that long to figure it out or did he have to go for help? If you can't read at a high school level go AWAY!
posted on December 20, 2000 08:32:55 PM
I've been buying on ebay for a year (now am selling too). I really wanted to bid on a color print recently--dutch auction, several available--but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how it worked, and the seller wasn't any clearer in his e-mail to me, so I didn't. The item was around $85, no small potatoes to me.
Is it really the *lowest* bid that wins the item??!!! I thought the highest bid set the price for everyone else. See how much I don't know? But then, I'm a Democrat. . . . !
posted on December 21, 2000 05:30:57 AM
Dutch auctions 101... to clear up any confusion here LOL
Example #1
I have 10 widgets in a Dutch auction for $1 each.
Buyer XYZ bids for all 10 widgets at $1.50 each
Buyer XYZ will owe $1.50 for every widget because they bid on ALL AVAILABLE widgets. (the price is no longer $1 per widget)
Example #2
I have 10 widgets in a dutch auction for $1 each
Bidder ABC bids $6 for 10 widgets
Bidder LMO bids $3 for 5 widgets
Bidder XYZ bids $1 for 5 widgets
Only bidder ABC is the winner for all 10 widgets at $6 each
Example #3
I have 10 widgets in a Dutch auction for $1 each
Bidder ABC bids $6 for 5 widgets
Bidder LMO bids $3 for 3 widgets
Bidder XYZ bids $1 for 5 widgets
All 3 bidders win at the lowest successful bid of $1 per widget. However, bidder XYZ only wins 2 widgets at $1 each.
Example #4
I have 10 widgets in a Dutch auction for $1 each
Bidder ABC bids $1 for 5 widgets (bid at 1 pm on 12-21)
Bidder LMO bids $1 for 5 widgets (bid at 2 pm on 12-21)
Bidder XYZ bids $1 for 5 widgets (bid at 3 pm on 12-21)
Bidders ABC & and LMO win 5 each at $1 per widget. The earliest bids take precedence.
... and why am I having flashbacks to my logic class in college?
posted on December 21, 2000 06:51:43 AM
Heatfries:
To make it more confusing
Also remember, in your example #3, bidder XYZ is not obligated to purchase, because he qualified to win less than he bid for. In dutch auction format, if you win less than the quantity you originally bid for, you don't have to buy any, although you CAN if you wish.
posted on December 21, 2000 10:00:27 AM
Heatfries and kidsfeet:
Good God, y'all! No wonder it's hard to understand! And why doesn't ebay produce a tutorial for it, available at each dutch auction site?!
My daughter, who is a computer guru in Silicon Valley, e-mailed me the other day to ask just how these things work, and she's no slouch.
I think that if I were ever to run a dutch auction, I'd provide a link to my very own tutorial for prospective buyers so they could get a handle on it.
posted on December 21, 2000 01:25:06 PM
Great info given by everyone! I know now that I will never run a dutch auction!! Too confusing and looks like a good way to get negs.
posted on December 21, 2000 01:42:51 PM
I've been pondering this all day, and I really don't think I'd ever take a position with a customer of "Here, since you're obviously too stupid to understand what's going on, I'm going to sell this to you at the price that you SHOULD HAVE paid." As pointed out, the customers in this case may very well know exactly what they're doing and intended to bid the amount they've bid. Also, some people get VERY upset when you point out a mistake, even when admitting to a mistake could save them some money. If the customer objected, and said they'd made a mistake, I'd be willing to work with them, but why risk offending them when you can instead offer them a "thanks very much for buying and I hope to do business with you again SOON"?
