posted on January 18, 2001 01:35:10 PM
We have several auctions running (and some that have just ended) for identical, brand new items. We did a search for other auctions for similar items. We noticed that the high bidder on an auction we are running right now (ends in less than 2 hours) is a power seller that is auctioning items almost identical to ours. We took a look at what he is selling and what he is bidding on, and the items are all remarkably similar. He has a history of being a non paying bidder (based on feedback), and we think he is just padding the market so that his items will sell for more. He has even received neutral and negative feedback that say he was "p.o.'d at low winning bid" for some of his items. My question is this: Should I cancel his bid on our auction based on this information? Or should we let it run, hoping that someone will outbid him? We are still vulnerable to his tactics because we have just listed more auctions for the same item.
posted on January 18, 2001 01:49:14 PM
I'd cancel his bid....sounds scary and destructive to me! What a shame that some people feel that they can act like that!
posted on January 18, 2001 01:51:38 PM
For me, I think it would just come down to how bad his feedback is - how many negs/neutrals does he actually have, and what are the stated reasons. While I would be suspicious as to why he is bidding on so many items similar to what he is selling, I would not cancel his bid for that. I'd also be influenced by whether this is an expensive item or not.
I'd probably also be influenced by how much a negative from him would hurt my own reputation. (In other words, could he be bidding so that he can leave a neg for his competition?)
posted on January 18, 2001 01:58:39 PM
He has only 1 bid retraction in the last 6 months. He seems to leave a lot of negative feedback for both buyers and sellers. We are really worried about retaliation if we cancel the bid. The cost of the items are about $20, so our financial exposure is not that great. We also have a lot of this particular item to sell, so we can afford to wait him out if does win the auction and then not pay us.
posted on January 18, 2001 02:04:28 PM
I'd worry more about retaliatory behavior if I let his bid stand.
From what I've been reading here lately, you can cancel the bid, email him (cc: safeharbor) advising him why and asking him not to bid on your auctions again, and if he does, contact safeharbor and they will handle him.
Doing nothing will only further involve you in his destructive doings.
posted on January 18, 2001 02:06:15 PM
He was just outbid!! I guess that makes my life a little easier (except my husband thinks we should use the extra dollar we made to buy him a thank you card). Now I feel like I have to keep my eye on the other auctions we are running. This guy bothers me. Thanks for your time and help.
posted on January 18, 2001 02:08:54 PM
If you can "afford" a negative from him, and are less worried about that than any harrassment from him if you cancel his bid, then you probably should just let his bid stand, and maybe he will be outbid.
You say he "seems" to leave a lot of negatives for both buyers and sellers. Have you looked to see exactly how many and what he says in the negatives? You can check easily at vrane.com and knowing just what he says could make a difference in your decision.
posted on January 18, 2001 02:16:08 PM
I did check his feedback at vrane. Most of the negatives he has received are from buyers saying they did not get the right item, or the item was defective. He replied to most of them saying that the customer didn't contact him, bad buyer, etc. Almost all of the feedback that he has left for buyers was retaliatory. He didn't respond to the negatives accusing him of being a dead beat. We can't really afford an undeserved negative. We have worked very hard to get over 230 feedbacks with no blemishes.
posted on January 18, 2001 02:19:57 PM
In addition to that, I would contemplate the simple fact that I wouldn't want to do business with someone like that anyway!
posted on January 18, 2001 07:04:29 PM
You know, even though he's been outbid, I'd cancel his bid anyway and tell him not to bid again (cc'ing SafeHarbor). He can still snipe this auction, deadbeat, and neg you. Given his history of NPBs and penchant for retaliatory negs, I'd feel safer cutting him off at the pass rather than giving him the chance to snipe. Smells like a setup to me.
