posted on May 9, 2001 06:51:37 PM
Buyer uses buy in now to win my auction ~ then emails me looking for two compelely different items in addition to the one they bought.
Item number 1 I have never had up for auction and item numbe 2 I have had up for auction in the recent past (within 30 days) and it did not meet reserve. To be fair item #2 was up for auction as part of a set and will now be sold without the rest of the set.
Is there anything agaist ebay rules for me to sell the two items in question along with the winning auction to this person?
posted on May 9, 2001 06:54:49 PM
As long as they're not up for auction now, you can do whatever you please with them. eBay doesn't care what you do after the auctions end. The only thing I would hesitate about would be the lack of support from eBay for the off-auction sales. You can't leave feedback and you can't have them back you in case something goes wrong.
posted on May 9, 2001 07:25:14 PM
My understanding is that eBay cares very
much about your dealings with anyone that
you meet on or through eBay -- and that you
can be suspended for selling an item outside
of a normal eBay auction. eBay has outlined
what they call fee avoidance. I cannot say
if your situation falls under these rules,
you'll have to decide that for yourself.
Using member contact information obtained from eBay or using any eBay feature to offer to sell any listed item outside of eBay.
Canceling a listing to sell the item to anyone who contacted the seller through eBay, or became aware of the item through eBay.
Ending a listing early to sell the item at a higher price to the winning bidder.
Using member contact information obtained from eBay or using any eBay feature to offer to sell an item outside of eBay to any of your bidders in a Reserve Not Met listing.
Using member contact information obtained from eBay or using any eBay feature to sell duplicate or additional merchandise outside of eBay to underbidders.
posted on May 9, 2001 07:52:09 PM
But thekismeme isn't doing any of the things outlined in the eBay fee avoidance rules.
Using member contact information obtained from eBay or using any eBay feature to offer to sell any listed item outside of eBay.
No offense here. Buyer contacted the seller. The buyer is breaking an eBay rule, but the seller is not.
Canceling a listing to sell the item to anyone who contacted the seller through eBay, or became aware of the item through eBay.
Does not apply to this situation as outlined by the original poster.
Ending a listing early to sell the item at a higher price to the winning bidder.
Also does not apply to this situation as outlined by the original poster.
Using member contact information obtained from eBay or using any eBay feature to offer to sell an item outside of eBay to any of your bidders in a Reserve Not Met listing.
Again, seller did not make any offer. Buyer wrote to seller with an offer to buy.
Using member contact information obtained from eBay or using any eBay feature to sell duplicate or additional merchandise outside of eBay to underbidders.
From the information we have, the seller did not use any eBay information or feature to approach underbidders. The buyer approached the seller.
It's always best to play by eBay's rules, but don't be so afraid of eBay's rules that you pass up an opportunity to make an honest sale.
posted on May 9, 2001 08:19:32 PM
As I said, I have no way of knowing if this seller is in violation of these rules -- only the seller knows that!
For example, item #2 that was previously listed on eBay as part of a set that did not meet reserve but would now be sold individually ... I have no way of knowing if this buyer is one of the people who bid on the set but did not meet reserve. If this buyer bid on this item previously, and the seller now sells it to them outside eBay, they would be in violation of the rules.
I don't know all the facts.
I don't make the rules.
I only listed the rules so the seller could decide for themselves whether they would be in violation of eBays rules should they choose to complete this sale.
When eBay revised these "selling" rules there was much discussion of the fact that if you had a seller you wanted to "get rid of" you could simply contact them after an auction ended, ask to buy the item, and if they said "yes" turn them over to Safe Harbor and get them suspended! For myself, I think the whole "rules" thing has really gotten out of hand --
I much preferred the good old days when eBay was still a community and I didn't need to comb through the "sell your item" form with a fine tooth comb to be sure that I had it right ...
As always, just my opinion -
freely given and worth what you paid!
posted on May 9, 2001 09:08:18 PMketzel My post was not aimed at you and I apologize if it was taken as such.
I was simply taking the rules and applying them to this seller's situation as outlined in the post.
If the seller had contacted the buyer with an offer to sell the merchandise, it could have been a violation of eBay rules.
But from the information the seller outlines here, there's no violation -- even if the buyer was an underbidder. eBay's rules clearly state Using member contact information obtained from eBay or using any eBay feature to offer to sell an item outside of eBay to any of your bidders in a Reserve Not Met listing.
According to the post, the seller did not contact the buyer with an offer to sell. The buyer contacted the seller with an offer to buy.
The buyer is violating an eBay rule -- but what seller in their right mind would turn anyone in for that?
posted on May 9, 2001 09:15:34 PMUsing member contact information obtained from eBay or using any eBay feature to offer to sell an item outside of eBay to any of your bidders in a Reserve Not Met listing.
Actually, if this the rule, the buyer is not violating it. He's offering to buy, not to sell. This rule appears to apply only to sellers.
posted on May 10, 2001 01:26:09 AMContacting a seller and offering to purchase the listed item outside of eBay.
I believe that could be interpreted to apply to open auctions. If an auction is closed, it is no longer "listed" on eBay. They just don't want a buyer to make a deal with a seller for a current auction, have the seller close the auction early (thus depriving poor eBay of their much-needed FVF).
I've purchased a number of items from closed auctions. I ask if the item is still available, and if I can purchase it or are they going to be listing it again. All have sold to me at the auction price except one seller. It was an item with no reserve, but when I said I'd like to buy it, he very graciously offered it for $15 over the auction price. I politely declined, since I had always been able to purchase for the opening bid price. Behold my surprise a couple of months later when he had the same item listed for half his previous start price and still no reserve! There were no other bidders, so the seller lost money by not closing the deal with me in the first place. I did a happy dance over that one!!
posted on May 10, 2001 12:37:30 PM
Is there a way anyone, to route these after auction sales back thru ebay, pay the fees to avoid rule conflicts ect. It would be a way to make the sale without waiting to relist and still not have to worry about a suspension? This would be similar to local auctions where I have sold where, if the sale ended without getting to all of a sellers items, he was allowed to direct deal to a buyer as long as he ran it thru the ticket office and paid the auction fee.
>Buyer uses buy in now to win my auction ~ then emails
Once a buyer and a seller have done a "deal"thru ebay, they BOTH have each other's email addresses, and ebay has NO say over any further deals worked out in emails. (just so long as you don't kill auctions to sell to a repeat buyer)
