posted on January 19, 2001 01:44:35 PM
I accidently mis-identified an item in my auction title & item description. The item is actually worth a bit less than the item I originally identified it as. However, there are clear photos of the item in the auction.
I have 3 bids on the item now, and they don't add up to nearly what the less-expensive properly-identified item is worth. (Of course I don't know what the high bidder's proxy is.) There is plenty of time left in the auction, & I updated the item description, but I was wondering if it wouldn't be better to cancel the bids and relist the item (in the interest of integrity). What do you guys think?
posted on January 19, 2001 01:48:47 PM
I think as long as you updated the page (with plenty of time remaining) it should be fine - but you should also email all the bidders to let them know of the changes.
posted on January 19, 2001 01:50:37 PM
You could email each of the bidders, explaining the situation, and offering to cancel their bid if they would prefer to back out at this point. That way, you may not need to cancel the auction.
posted on January 19, 2001 02:16:17 PM
I had a situation where I found a chip on a piece of crystal half way through the auction. It had several bids as well, I updated it, notified all the bidders. They all thanked me and stayed on. Two of them actually went and bid on some of my other auctions so it worked out very nicely.
posted on January 19, 2001 02:16:37 PM
I, personally, would cancel the bids and end the auction after notifying the bidders and relist. I know this isn't absolutely necessary, but I'd rather go through that inconvenience and not have to deal with a winning bidder that's unhappy with their purchase because s/he didn't re-read the listing before the auction closed. You'd be OK, if you knew that one of your current bidders would for sure be the winner after receiving your email, but you have no way of knowing who's put the item on their "watch" list and will snipe at the last minute, without checking the listing.
posted on January 19, 2001 02:19:03 PM
edited because of double post- see post below (which I wrote after reading only the 1st 2 responses to this thread!)
sheesh, coming back later when the net is moving a bit quicker- I'm on a dial-up modem & this is too painfully slow! Thanks for your responses everyone!
[ edited by CAgrrl on Jan 19, 2001 02:43 PM ]
posted on January 19, 2001 02:39:11 PM
Exec. Girl & mrpotatoheadd- I think that is good advice, and that is whay I will probably do- but then what about the fact that people who are looking for it (what it really is, not what I identified it as) won't be able to find it in search? should I be worried about it?
(the net is really moving slow today isn't it? at least it is here! laaaaaaaaaaaaaag)
posted on January 19, 2001 03:14:06 PM
I think your decision should be based on what the item is you are selling, whether it is ordinary or rare and desirable.
There is one aspect you need to consider that is giving some sellers difficulty with changes to the description of the rare objects. Sellers usually just add to the auction's description when they find they need to update the auction information. However, with buyers that use esnipe or vrane, these buyers see the item on day one of the listing, they place the bid with the ensipe or vrane and then they don't look at the auction again until they see they won. Well, if something changed with the description text, the winning bidder will holler and scream, make life miserable for the seller because the bidder never saw the additions to the description.
I learned about this from my dealer friends. It has happened to them.
posted on January 19, 2001 04:50:11 PM
I agree with the posters that say end the auction.
I would cancel bids and end it. Then email the bidders and tell them why, and you will be relisting, and they can email you if they want the new auction number.
In view that some bidders do not read the descriptions themselves, I do not trust add ons in a sensitive area where you could be accused of misrepresentation. The hassles are just not worth it.
True, you say it hasn't reached it's value yet, but we all know about last day, and last second bids.
posted on January 19, 2001 09:24:18 PM
I would email the bidders that are on it now and I would tell them why I am ending the auction, and that I am relisting it with the correct info. and if they like you can email them the new item number so they could find you item with no problem.
I have done that before on one of my auctions and all my bidders thanked me, plus they were still able to rebid on the new listing.
posted on January 19, 2001 09:38:30 PM
I think you guys are right, I've thought it over and I am going to end the auction. Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it.
