posted on August 6, 2001 11:07:53 AM new
Please advise me the best thing to do. I recently had an auction close for $91 and sent out my end of auction email.
I got a reply saying that my email has been forwarded to a friend whose behalf my winner was bidding on. I was given the friends email address and told if I had any questions not to hesitate to contact the "friend".
Naturally I think this is wrong but I am not sure if this is OK by ebays rules or against the rules.
I want to email the original winner and state that my sale is to him and what arrangement he has with his friend is between them, not me. However, I have not done this because I don't want to antagonize anybody and put the sale at risk.
Almost 24 hours have past and I have not heard from "the friend" yet but I don't want to email the "friend" and start a correspondence with someone who is not my auction winner and who has no obligaton to pay me.
I have also considered contacting the runner up and offering them the item but I am guessing ebay would slam me if I did that so soon ?
Please help !
posted on August 6, 2001 11:10:40 AM new
What kind of feedback does your bidder (not the friend) have? I once had this happen to me. I told the winner that since it would be his ID that gets the neg and NPB, I suggested he speak to his "friend." I also gave him the option of paying my listing and closing fees and I would then relist, which is what he chose to do.
posted on August 6, 2001 11:15:11 AM new
I would politely and firmly e-mail the winner and tell him that it is great that he is helping his friend; however, you have to deal with him (the winner) directly since his ID was used in the auction. I don't think it is necessary to cite a specific rule. I defy him to find something in eBay's TOS on the proper chain of command or etiquette when bidding for a friend!
Maybe this will "larn" him to tell his friends to get their own eBay ID.
posted on August 6, 2001 12:23:30 PM new
Do not send it to the "friend". The "friend" has no obligation to pay for it as he did not specifically order it (at least there is no record of it)and the bidder can do the refund/chargeback thing for not "receiving" his purchase.
It is not like drop shipping where there is a record of the third party ordering it.
posted on August 6, 2001 12:26:31 PM new
Well, I would not really mind completeing the transaction with the "friend", but I would first make sure the "bidder" realizes the "binding contract" is between you and them. So it behooves them to see to it that the "friend" completes the transaction in a timely manner!
posted on August 6, 2001 12:26:59 PM new
It seems to me that the contract which came into effect at the close of the auction would be between the seller and the bidder, NOT the seller and the "bidder's friend". The high bidder is obligated, it does not matter what arrangement he/she has made outside of eBay.
If the high bidder doesn't wish to complete the transaction I would simply file a non-paying bidder alert and move on.
posted on August 6, 2001 12:35:27 PM new
I think you original thought is great, email the high bidder and tell them that you will deal with them directly and ship to them and then he and his friend can work it out between them. I have done this, a man in TX bid and won a group of baby clothes and they were for a friend in Mexico. I dealt with him, he paid and I shipped to him, he then shipped to her. It worked out very smoothly.
posted on August 6, 2001 12:41:46 PM new
Thanks for your advice so far !
In answer to a question, the bidder's feedback is a respectable 137.
No-one mentioned anything about contacting and /or selling to the second placed bidder, do you have any views on that ?
posted on August 6, 2001 01:36:31 PM newNo-one mentioned anything about contacting and /or selling to the second placed bidder, do you have any views on that?
I do. You stated it's only been 24 hours since you emailed the "friend" which isn't enough time to assume this transaction has gone south.
I'm in the minority here. I've sold things to mothers to be shipped to their daughters, daughters to be shipped to their fathers, sisters to be shipped to their sisters and the occasional friend to a friend. I've had people buy for other people and, so far, it hasn't been a problem.
My most unusual was a "celebrity" who was bidding and the payment was handled by his management company. Heck, I don't care where the money comes from, so long as it comes.
Now, I do try to take precautions..insisting both parties be involved (unless it's a present from one to the other & I'm asked to not mention it).
If you haven't heard back from the friend in another day, then I'd email the original buyer back & tell them that you've had no contact and (in a nice way) that the clock is ticking on the payment due date.
posted on August 6, 2001 02:22:50 PM new
I agree with Eventer. I have had numerous friends, family members, etc-etc bid on items that were in the end paid for & shipped to someone else. One of these items was for $800+, and the high bidder didn't want any of her local fellow collectors to know she had sniped them. [surrogate snipe in this case]
posted on August 6, 2001 03:07:37 PM new
I'm fine with shipping an item to someone else (assuming no CC fraud, etc.) at the request of my winning bidders. However, in this case the winning bidder seems to want to wash his hands of any involvement in the deal and have the Seller work directly with the friend. Personally, I'd insist that the "winner bidder" be my contact person. Happy to ship to the friend once the cha-ching is in my hands, but all e-mail contact would be with the Good Samaritan/Chump who lets his friends use his eBay account.
p.s. All typos, mixed metaphors, allusions to eBay's typos, and puns are intended---whether I know about them or not.
posted on August 6, 2001 03:14:28 PM new
I've done some bidding for friends, and this is how we handled it. Friend gets a money order for the winning amount, gives it to me, I mail it to the seller (it is MY responsibility to see that he gets it), and have the seller mail item to me. When I get the item, I give it to Friend.
The only contact is between the buyer & seller, too many people involved can get it complicated very fast!
I also, as a seller have had Gparents win items for Gkids, and along with their payment they send a note to please mail to... with an address.
Having seen both ways, I know that it can work. Give it a little more time before you start to worry.
posted on August 6, 2001 03:32:02 PM new
I've had this same thing happen to me TWICE!
The first time I was a bit put off and very leery of the whole deal; it turned out just fine and we both exchanged nice feedback.
The next time, I just went along with it and dealt with the "friend" directly. Again, no problem at all.
I think the E-bay member whose ID bid on your item KNOWS that if his friend doesn't pay, he risks a Neg. If you have trouble with the friend, then certainly notify the bidder. Give the friend a chance to contact you.
posted on August 6, 2001 06:10:16 PM new
THIS SELLER is acting as their So-Called "Friend's" BROKER or AGENT, you are "Not a Party to their Transaction". eBay will not protect you no matter what happens. Politely and Firmly tell the Buyer (ID) that they are the Buyer of Record. Payment is Required within XX Days by or Negative Feedback will be left and Item re-listed. DO NOT get too friendly with this Buyer from now on in any E-Mails. You should NEVER have contacted "Friend". Move on. -PJ187-
posted on August 6, 2001 06:40:55 PM new
I had the "friend bidding for a friend" experience once. After the initial contact redirecting me to the "payer" email, I went ahead with the deal BUT I cc'd the "bidder" on each email. The "payers" check bounced (luckily BEFORE the item was shipped) and when I contacted them both (cc'd copy to "bidder" he SWIFTLY had his friend email me & send a MO in record time. All in all, not TOO bad an experience.
posted on August 7, 2001 07:20:36 AM new
Thanks "Eventer" for addressing the "should I contact the second bidder ? " issue, and thanks to everyone else, particularly "misscandle" for your impartial advice.
It is now 2 days and I have not heard anything else from the winning bidder or friend so I have decided to email the second bidder and put the feelers out to ask him if he is still interested in buying, if the original deal falls through !
Depending on his response I will then make the decision to either work with the winning bidder risking a lot of wasted time OR write him a firm but polite email stating my position and feelings and to send me the money or I will void the transaction.
If anybody wants to be kept informed of what happens please post again and I will update when necessary OR if there is any more advice or views, please of course post them,
Thank you all again for your help so far !
posted on August 7, 2001 07:35:11 AM new
IMO you shouldn't have put "feelers" out until you were certain the original deal had fallen through. No response in 2 days [48 hours] is WAY too soon to even be considering voiding a transaction. It's summertime & lots of folks are out & about with their families. I've had scores of high bidders take 2-5 days to respond to my end of auction emails, and 99% of them have always come through in the end.
posted on August 7, 2001 07:42:20 AM new
Kiawok, Thanks for your input but you seem to be missing the point. The winning bidder has already responded and is trying to not be a party to this transaction.
posted on August 7, 2001 07:48:24 AM new
I don't think I missed the point. I'm simply going by what you stated in your original post. It seems to me that right off the bat this caused you great concern as you were already considering & wanting input on contacting the runner up.
posted on August 7, 2001 07:56:04 AM new
I have to agree w/kiawok. It's still WAY too soon.
Your information was forwarded onto the other buyer by the original bidder and the check may already be in the mail. About 50% of my customers send payment w/o ever responding to my EOA (drives me nuts, but can't MAKE anyone respond).
Also, please keep in mind, there are many parts of the country that are dealing w/weather problems right now. Flooding in Tennessee & W.Va, the storms in the south. Just because they aren't answering doesn't automatically mean they can.
posted on August 7, 2001 08:21:48 AM new
I think I need to clarify something. I thought my original posting was clear in stating that I did not want to deal with a third party friend who has no obligation to pay me and I was asking for advice on how to deal with it. If that was not clear then, please let it be clear now. T
The last few comments seem to be addressing waiting for contact from the "friend" who has no party to this transaction, which is where the point is being missed.
However, just because I do not agree with every point of view does not mean it is not valid good advice and I do appreciate everyones comments.
Eventer, the contact information the winning bidder has that he forwarded only consists of my email info and an option to pay via Paypal, so there is no possibility of payment being in the mail. I would be contacted by Paypal if I had been paid or I would be contacted by the friend asking for a payment mailing address.
Told the high bidder that it was "their" user ID that bid, therefore "they" would be paying for the item, and it would be "them" that I would be shipping the item to. It would be up to "them" how & when they got paid from their "friend". If they didn't like that response I would have moved on & chalked it up to just another whacky eBay transaction.
The reality is that even the runner up bidder has "no obligation" to pay you, so they could leave you hanging for a lot more than 2 days.
posted on August 7, 2001 08:59:25 AM newL.C....My friend..Hi!
Well, if it were a very low-cost item, It is possible that one could assume it might have been "impulse" buying...But $91.00 is already a respectable figure. I agree with everyone, that you should nicely remind this bidder that no matter who the friend is, the BIDDER is still responsible for the purchase, should anything go wronf; then go ahead and allow this one "diviation" for the norm.
Last year, I sold a very expensive Zsolnay Hurricane lamp. The person bying was not available to the place bid, so his "Registered" friend" bid for him, and then put me in touch with the "friend"..All went very well, and all were very pleased...
BTW: The FRIEND Paid and item was shipped to him, not to the bidder, but I sent I notice to BOTH that Item was being shipped to FRIEND, and I SAVED ALL EMAILS
Best wishes, and "Hello" to the family
********
Gosh Shosh! My "About Me" Page
posted on August 7, 2001 09:11:45 AM new
OK, thanks again for your advice.
This is what I have done: I contacted the second bidder and explained the situation asking IF the transaction fell through, would they be interested ?
I got an immediate reply saying Definately yes.
I then just sent the following email to the winning bidder :
Hi ?
Thanks for your message. Unfortunately I do have concerns.
While helping your friend out by bidding for him is great, but what arrangements you have made with him is between you and him, not me.
If there were any problems, your details and feedback records are the details I have, and it is the security of the registered user and feedback system of ebay that allows troublefree transactions to take place.
The winner of my auction is yourself, and so while you can deal with this on behalf of your buddy or do anything you want, my part of the transaction must be done with you as the winner of my auction, including communication, payment and shipping.
If this causes too much of a problem, I am happy to agree that the auction be voided with no bad feedback being left or any other problems, and I can sell the jaws to someone else very easily.
Please let me know which you would like to do as soon as possible,
Thanks, ?
I have taken these steps after taking into account all your advice. I hope this solves the problem one way or another.
he SWIFTLY had his friend email me & send a MO in record time. All in all, not TOO bad an experience.
