posted on March 28, 2001 02:21:45 PM
Hi..Just had some reserve auctions end with no one reaching the reserve, but I did have several bids. I know Ebays policy is not to sell to anyone during the auction so they dont miss out on their FVF, but what about after the auction is over?
Two auctions closed with the bidders close to the reserve but not enough. Can I use their email addy provided in the notice from ebay to contact them and offer the items to them..or will this cause me problems? I'm a little confused as to how this works. I've quite often sold items through email when I was contacted by users on other auction sites but Im not sure about Ebay and havent absorbed all of their TOS yet..but I surely dont want any problems.
Anybody have any suggestions as to what I should do? Help would be appreciated! Thanks.
posted on March 28, 2001 04:12:24 PM
I don't sell very often, but eBay probably frowns on that sort of thing (fee avoidance, etc.).
What you could do (at least *I* think it's acceptable) would be to relist with a lower reserve, BIN for the price you're willing to accept (or the one that the high bidder had), and immediately e-mail some or all of the bidders with the new auction number politely letting them know that you have relisted the auction with a LOWER reserve (you might even want to disclose what it is), and thought they might be interested. Assure them that this is the only mail they will get from you--you don't keep a mailing list, it is just a courtesy notice for this particular widget.
As a buyer, I would not be offended by such an e-mail, and if it's a widged I wanted, I'd probably be grateful for advance notice (things can take several hours to show up in a search, I believe, but if you have an auction number you can see it immediately).
posted on March 28, 2001 04:36:46 PM
Thanks mcbrunnhilde..that sounds reasonable. Does anyone else know if this would be ok with Ebay? I'd like to try this..seems a shame for the high bidders to miss out by only a couple of dollars.
posted on March 28, 2001 04:57:58 PM
Krystalroz, I neglected to mention that I have been the bidder several times in a situation like yours, and one seller DID e-mail me with an offer to buy the item at the price I had bid. It's unlikely that anyone would catch you if you did that, but only you can decide what you're comfortable with. It's a bit like the situation where the high bidder is a deadbeat and you offer the item to the second-highest bidder.
BTW here's what I've done if I really want the widget: I e-mail the seller immediately after the auction closes, ask if my bid was anywhere near the reserve price, and try to strike a deal. Note--I always let the seller make the first monetary offer, and a couple of times I got the item for less than I thought I might have to pay!
