posted on May 29, 2001 11:49:39 PM new
I've come across two different sellers in the last couple of days who have something to this effect in their auctions:
"Seller reserves the right to cancel auction and bids due to E-Bay outages in last hours of bidding."
I've been unable to find, specifically, where this is discussed in the eBay TOS. Could be there and I just overlooked it (always a possibility). My question is, is this something which is allowed under eBay's rules for sellers? I'm asking here instead of emailing eBay because my chances of getting a coherent answer are much better.
I've been on eBay since 1998 and I can't recall seeing that particular caveat in an auction more than a few times until lately when I've encountered it twice in one week.
posted on May 30, 2001 08:11:22 AM new
I asked them about this some time ago and they stated a person could end an auction for any reason, as long as all bids were cancelled. My wife has the same thing in her TOS, as well as the right to void the auction if there are any bid retractions in the last 36 hours.
posted on May 30, 2001 08:17:21 AM new
I remember a few months back quite a discussion over on eBay's Soapbox about this very issue.
It was quite a good go-round between a seller and a Pink. What it boiled down to was, yes, you may cancel the bids and end the auction early. However, if the site goes down and your auction ends with bidders you must honor the high bid amount.
The catch is, that if the site's down when your auction ends you can't very well cancel any bids and end the auction so you're obligated to sell at that price.
Unfortunately, the only way a seller can really protect themselves during an outage is to make sure their opening bid is bare minimum they'll accept for an item or set a reserve price.
posted on May 30, 2001 08:54:17 AM new
"However, if the site goes down and your auction ends with bidders you must honor the high bid amount. "
Wallypog, you are right, that is what ebay says, but if there's ever a stupid rule this is it.
Most bids are placed within the last 5 minutes of the end of auction, and if ebay is down you will get sh!t for your item.
Me, I will tell the bidders that the sale is void -- as long as you warn them of this possiblilty in the description thay shouldn't b!tch.
Of course if they do, ebay may scold you but its your money not theirs.
Maybe best just to say sorry the dog at the item, or I dropped it and it broke. Then relist 3 months later.
