posted on October 11, 2001 03:47:11 AM
Good morning,
This morning I recieved this email:
I would like to buy one of the size xx widgets that ended today. I couldn't bid today because I had to come home and measure my daughter's waist. Will pay via Pay Pal. Please respond to me at [email protected]. Thanks - happy.
This is an adult size widget. I really want to dump the widget, but could this be an issue with ebay?
posted on October 11, 2001 04:28:14 AM
If you want to make it "ebay acceptable" - tell them you will relist the item with a BUY NOW and they can bid (buy now) at the price right away that you agree on.
This way you can't get into any kind of trouble with ebay, since it wouldn't be done off of ebay.
Chances are though, that this wouldn't become an "ebay issue" since the buyer contacted you, not the other way around.
posted on October 11, 2001 07:52:53 AM
Once an auction is over, you can do whatever you want. Your obligation to eBay is only for current auctions. About the only benefit for seller and bidder is feedback if you relist but you'll be out a FVF and the time to complete everything will be more.
posted on October 11, 2001 07:57:01 AM
Actually, I believe selling an ebay item outside of ebay is considered fee avoidance. That is why sellers are not allowed to contact 2nd, 3rd, etc high bidders if they have more of one item.
posted on October 11, 2001 02:53:39 PM
Yes, this is why Ebay is called Greedbay. Sell the widget and don't feel guilty. If you should start to feel guilty, pull up your account and add up how much you have paid ebay!
posted on October 11, 2001 07:55:34 PM
Good grief. Have to put in my $0.02 cents.
If I have 10 identical widgets (heck, they could even be different widgets) and I list one on ebay, the only one ebay has a claim to for
fees etc. is that ONE item. They do not own
or have a claim to my entire stock.
If a buyer
contacts me about a widget that is not up for auction (it could be identical to the
one up for auction or slightly different---smaller, larger etc.) and wants to buy it off ebay so be it.
Ebay has a claim on the piece of merchandise that is up for auction at their site during a
particular time period.
They do not have a
claim to identical items that are not yet listed, items that could be listed but are not yet, never listed items that will never be listed on ebay but could conceivably
be listed on half.com, items that are
bought at Walmart, returned at K-Mart and acquired by an old lady in Carmel who sells them out of her trailor which happens to be located in California and is in the same state as ebay......
posted on October 11, 2001 08:36:19 PM
I think ebay's issue isn't the widget.
The issue is the access to the marketplace they provide your widget.
That's why they are freaks about selling directly. They want their cut.
I'd sell it, I have a direct email contact, it helps, but bidders don't know the rules, etc.
I am not having much excitement on other venues, so I am starting to list again.
sigh.
Back to work...
posted on October 12, 2001 06:34:47 AM
Why is it against eBay's rules to sell the item after the auction??? What gives them the right to dictate to us how we can sell our property, yet they can bombard us with their offers in every EOA notice
posted on October 12, 2001 08:35:43 AM
Ebay seems (the way I see it) to be working under the theory that without their services that buyer would not have known you had that widget to sell and therefore you would not have been able to sell to that buyer. Because you and the buyer were brought together by ebay's service, ebay feels they are owed compensation for that service.
This theory is not that far out...it is similar to the theory that allows a real estate agent who listed your home for sale to sue you if you sell your home, during a certain period after the listing ends, to a buyer that was shown the home by the agent prior to the listing ending.
This is different from an ad in a newspaper. The advertiser's contract with the newspaper doesn't involve a percentage of the sale made through the ad, only a fee to insert the ad. Ebay's contract with us does require a commission on the completed sale (as a real estate sales contract does) as well as a fee to insert the ad.
CAVEAT!!!...just because I have tried to explain the possible reasoning of ebay on this subject does not mean I agree with them. If it were me, I would sell to the customer (I just had a customer paypal me payment on a book that ended the other day without a bid...he wants the book and is willing to pay, I am in the business to sell my merchandise)
