posted on July 12, 2001 11:20:59 AM
More and more I am receiving requests to end an auction without a BIN early and then sell to the person who asked me to end that auction. I think this is unethical and so far have refused. I am also certain that this is a violation of eBay rules. Can someone direct me to the particular eBay TOS that applies? And what about yourself? Have you rolled over for the big bucks?
posted on July 12, 2001 11:25:49 AM
You could always cancel the auction (if there were no bids) and then relist with a BIN price equal to what the buyer is looking for.
Yes, it would be wrong to cancel and then sell outside of ebay.
Notice that they say "You may end your auction if you decide not to sell the item." Hmmm, sounds to me that if you end the item for the express purpose of selling, you're violating ebay's rules.
I'd also consider it unethical and quite possibly foolish. It's unethical because there may be bidders out there expecting to get a bid on it at the last moment. You'll find out if they're there because of the numerous "love letters" you'll receive if you cancel the auction to sell to somebody off-line. And yes, I did cancel auctions twice in my early selling days - though even then I never canceled an auction with an active bid, because I always felt that was really wrong.
It's also foolish because there may be bidders out there willing to pay more than what the person has offered. I was once made an offer to cancel an auction and sell for $100. The guy got more and more frustrated, finally offering me $240 to sell, telling me straight out that I'll never get a better offer. I auctioned the item and it sold for close to $400. Since then, I've received more offers - usually the auction goes higher than the offer, sometimes the offer has been higher than the auction - but the final auction price has never been significantly lower than the offer.
posted on July 12, 2001 11:38:37 AM
Everytime someone has contacted me to end an auction early, I've declined. Everytime, the auction ends higher than the offer.
There's a thread on this somewhere on AW, but I'm not sure where.
posted on July 12, 2001 11:51:36 AM
holdenrex & sadie999,
It's nice to have my feelings seconded. Sometimes this online auction business can be so damned isolating!
posted on July 12, 2001 11:52:34 AM
I ended an auction early one time (my one and only time I will ever do it). Lady offered $50 for an old catalog. My eyes turned into dollar signs as I had about 20 cents invested in the item and I greedily accepted her offer, closed the auction and prepared to sell it to her for $50. When I sent her my email I reiterated what the item was and it turned out that she hadn't bothered to read my description and thought the item was something else. What trouble that turned out to be. I wound up not selling it to her (and my greed cost me more in ebay fees when I reposted it). It sold the second time for about $25-- and thankfully that buyer followed through.
Never again!
posted on July 13, 2001 10:09:31 AM
Well, ending early is neither unethical nor against eBay's rules. In fact, if an auction is ended early and there's at least one bidder, the finished auction page will say something to the effect of "This auction ended early because seller decided to sell to the high bidder." Also, somewhere in the whole discussion of why proxy bidding is a good thing, eBay recommends it because there's no guarantee the seller won't end the auction early.
What is against eBay's rules is ending an auction early and selling the item for more than the high bid. That is considered fee avoidance.
I would also add that I wouldn't end an auction early, because (as previously stated) the high bid if you let the auction run will almost definitely be higher than whatever the desperate buyer is offering.
Last, if your auction has no bids, you can go in and revise it to add a BIN price. That way, if your buyer's serious and you're willing to accept the price, you can.
posted on July 14, 2001 07:47:49 AM
If you end the auction and sell outside of eBay, you loose any eBay protections (not that they are worth that much anyway).
I don't see much advantage to end the auction early anyway. It could be a time factor if it is a long running auction and the buyer wants it quick. It could be because the buyer knows it is likely to go higher than they want to pay. In that case the seller is better off to let the auction run its course.
If I were a distrustful seller I would wonder if I were being setup since this could be fee avoidance and against ebay rules.
If there are bids and the auction is ended, does the high bidder win or is the auction cancelled with no winner?
Auctions can be closed early for valid reasons, but IMNSHO I don't think this is one of them.
posted on July 14, 2001 09:06:44 AM
I sometimes end early and sell to the high bidder if the price has risen to a good amount, and if another identical item is listed at a low starting price. Don't want my bidders to retract and move bids to the other auction. Perfectly legit. eBay endorses this, and gets their fees and all.
What I don't do is end an auction at the request of a potential bidder who makes an offer. Items usually do better if you let them run.....
