posted on October 10, 2001 07:25:04 PM
It's hard for me to write this because I don't like to b*tch about trivial things considering what has happened over the past month. However, I guess I'll make an exception this time.
I had an auction close a couple days ago.
I probably lost $1.00 on the sale which is no big deal. I have other auctions which more
than make up for this. I had a person contact me after the auction and wanted to buy one directly from me if I had anymore of the item.
I've done this before, on occasion. The person had over 200 positive comments and no negs.
I said "Sure" and quoted a price which was a
$1.50 higher than the price which I received in my auction. (Basically, it was my break-even, get rid of item, and get something else to sell ) price.
I had sold this item in the past and received
several $$$ more than the price I gave this person.
He wrote back and said "Please sell it to me
at the price that your auction ended at.
Needless to say, I was a bit put-out that he had the nerve to complain about $1.50.
I didn't write back and tried to forget about
him.
He writes back a few days later and says "I haven't heard from you...."
I wrote back and told him that I was running
another auction for that item and said he was
welcome to bid.....Here is the e-mail exchange that took place tonight.
(HIM) "no I want to buy it directly from you.
I am surprised this is so difficult and you're not welcoming my business ?"
(Me) "Hello,
It's not that I'm not welcoming your business. It's just that the ending price for that particular auction that you inquired about was low
enough that it wouldn't have paid to sell another at that price. Of course, I did sell it to the individual that won the auction because
they won, but it didn't make sense to sell another one at the same price. Please don't be offended. One of my more recent auctions
closed at $1.25. I happily agreed to sell it to the winner at that price. However, if I had had a duplicate of that item, I wouldn't have sold it for $1.25.
I was only informing you of the auction because I thought you might want
to bid. It closes in a day anyway. If it closes for less than my previous auction, the winner will get a better deal. If it closes for a
little more, that is better for me......
(Minor edits which are not relavent)
"I don't want you to think that there is any bad blood brewing here.
There isn't. I hope this has made things clearer. Please feel free to write back."
(His Reply) "I am just rather surprised that you have an abundance of these XXX but you're glad to turn my business away rather than offer me a XXX for a reasonable price. It's unfortunate. Like yourself, I am also a seller and I am honored if anyone choses to buy from me or bid on my auctions. Although I am making no money from my auctions b/c I am donating 100% of all profits to the Red Cross, but I am proud to do it."
___________________________________________
So $1.50 is the difference between reasonable and unreasonable. If I buy an item for X and
lsit it and it gets less than X that's
fine. An auction is an auction. However, I
don't think I should be expected to sell off
auction for less than I paid so that I can lose money and receive no feedback for
my trouble.
I purchased these items and didn't acquire them for FREE. If I had received them for FREE I probably would have sold to him.
So, what do you think. Just feel free to post anything. I'm not looking for anything special. I am just hoping a few will read this and respond.
Does anyone else
ever turn away potential sales like I did?
BTW, my usual profit margin is much better than $1.50.
[ edited by professorhiggins on Oct 10, 2001 07:26 PM ]
posted on October 10, 2001 07:38:51 PM
The guy is totally off the wall. I'd end it by saying that you are sorry he feels that way and bottom line is- go bid on the auction. It almost sounds like he is trying to set you up and force a sale so he can report you to ebay for fee avoidance. In any case, I sympathize with your situation. Personally, I could not have been as nice in the emails as you have been.
posted on October 10, 2001 08:14:43 PM
By not bidding on your item HE keep the price lower than it should have been. If someone gets outbid at the last minute I have no problem selling to them, but they must bid....
posted on October 10, 2001 08:20:42 PM
I haven't ever had to block a bidder and couldn't even find the right link on how to do
it. Well, I found it and DID IT.
At first I was trying to encourage him to bid, but given what has taken place, I would probably be upset if he did bid and win the
auction. Perhaps he would give me a neg just for spite. Another one bites the dust!
Yes, I would agree, he did seem a bit nutty
especially since the auction ended in just a
day.
I usually go out of my way to write thoughtful, polite, and even caring e-mails to potential bidders. However, it would've been extremely easy to get very nasty with him if he
continues to write me.
posted on October 10, 2001 08:22:14 PM
You got into this one way too deeply. Explaining your pricing is a no-win situation. Just state what you want to sell the item for, take it or leave it. Nobody looking to buy this product will really care WHY you're pricing it as such, they'll just care whether they want to pay it or not. It's almost never productive to get into negotiating with low-ballers.
posted on October 10, 2001 09:46:23 PM
Nervy weasels abound it seems.
I am getting a disproportionate amount of low ball offers on closed auctions that did not meet the reserve.
One
"I would like to buy your widget for $20"
for a $150 item. I felt like emailing back
"I would like to buy a Lexus for $300, can you arrange it for me?" but chose instead to ignore it.You have been FAR more polite than I would have been and the guy is quite clearly an idiot and should be ignored, blocked and reported to Safe Harbour if he continues to annoy you.
posted on October 11, 2001 04:14:58 AM
I figure that every extra email costs me money. I would not even reply beyond the word "No" and blocked him. Who needs a lowball bidder?
posted on October 11, 2001 05:52:58 AM
You were quite polite to this person and have nothing to question yourself over IMO.
I also received a lowball offer while the auction was still running yet, and like you, I responded nicely. Which led to another email from the "lowballer", responded again, received a more intense email, etc. It ended when I refused to respond again.
posted on October 11, 2001 06:01:54 AM
In the future respond by stating it is against your policy to sell items off line and that you would be glad to create a "special" auction just for them. I do it all the time. The only catch is that it goes public after 2 hours (or about the same time time eBay takes to update the boards with new listings). I list or relist the item, send them the link to the new auctions and let it go from there.
posted on October 11, 2001 07:24:50 AM
keri - that's what I do, but I've only once had the person who specifically asked me to start or relist the auction actually bid on the darn thing! It really annoys me!
El
"The customer may not always be right, but she is always the customer."
posted on October 11, 2001 07:49:21 AM
Bottom feeders are not playing by the rules, and can be very annoying to boot. I feel an obligation to answer their pleas to sell items below cost, if only on the unlikely chance they might actually bid.
I recently offered a highly collectible flag on ebay with a reserve, had a few bids, but the reserve was not met. At the end of the auction I had more emails from people wanting to make a private deal than actually bid. I was really surprised, and simply told all of them it was spoken for and was sorry they did not bid as they might well have won it.
I won't play their game.
It is also against ebay rules. (That is NOT the deciding factor for me, but that is for another thread...)
posted on October 11, 2001 03:45:51 PM
You guys are great. I'm actually laughing now because this guy won't go away.
Here is his latest reply:
"it's a shame that you're such a stingy individual; very common though so I am
used to it as I have spent over $100,000 on my collection and have received
almost zero curtesy from any seller."
I was thinking about writing him back and asking him what other seller's have told him when he keeps harrassing them. Does anyone
know a nice (Martha Stewart like) way to tell someone to **ck off. It's a Good Thing."
Apparently he has no idea why other seller's have been mean to rude to him.
Here's the funny thing. He originally offered me X. My latest auction for this item (with 6 hrs to go) is $3.00 below
X so if he would just bid.....Oh I forgot...Thanks to capotasto's and fountainhouse's advice.....HE CAN'T
It's probably a good thing. I'm afraid my EOA would probably be something like:
Dear scumbag
.................
[ edited by professorhiggins on Oct 11, 2001 04:00 PM ]
posted on October 11, 2001 04:06:25 PM
This guy has entertained a bunch of people all day. I love the 100000 thing. I can hear his next comment already; "I could buy and sell you." The stingy remark is also cute- he has now spent the better part of his valuable day screwing you around for 3 bucks! It does make us appreciate all the great ebayers we deal with every day.
posted on October 11, 2001 06:27:42 PM
Your pest is a liar. Ignore his email. He's trying to get under your skin in the hopes he'll crack. Ignore him, and he'll go away.
