posted on May 14, 2002 09:22:47 AM
Ok, I listed my first 7 or so auctions on ebay last week. A co-worker I don't care much for but have to work with daily nonetheless overheard me mentioning my stuff on eBay and wanted to know what I had. I told him and he was interested in Item A so I told him to go bid on it if he wanted it.
He did and won and sent me an email saying "I'll pay you when I get back in town next week."
Fine, no problem, saves me the hassle of having to bother with shipping. Great. Wonderful.
The problem comes in when he bid on 4 other of my items and when one of them got up to 40.00 he decides he 'really doesn't want it after all'.
Obvious bidder's remorse, but what do I do? If I give him negative feedback that creates tension in the workplace. If I just relist the item but don't file a NPB with eBay is that going to cause me problems later? (There was a slight bidding war between co-worker and another bidder, the winning bidder before him already moved on and isn't interested anymore)
posted on May 14, 2002 09:27:44 AM
i prefer not to let friends and relatives know what i am selling on ebay.
if they do and said they want the item,i would just tell them i will sell them at a fixed price and ask them to reimburse me for the listing fee.
that way,there is no bad feeling that they may have overpaid for the item
posted on May 14, 2002 03:30:27 PM
As soon as he indicated he didn't want the item, I would have said in a nice voice, "Hey, that's okay! But I will need you to reimburse me the Ebay fees because they will charge me whether you follow through or not." If you don't say something to this dimwit now, he will continue to bid and not pay.
posted on May 15, 2002 11:05:47 AM
I agree, block his butt from bidding on your other auctions and don't talk to co-workers about what you are selling again.
Let this auction go and count it as a learning experience. This guy is taking advantage of you so you have to decide whether or not you want to pursue the issue of him reimbursing you for your fees. Maybe mention to him that eBay charges you fees to list and they get a percentage of what you sell the item for. The only way to recoup the FVF is to file a NPB (non-paying bidder) on him and you don't want to do that because he could lose his account if he gets more than 3.
If he offers to pay for the fees, good. Take it and move on. If he doesn't, then you dislike him more than you already do. Just remember, everything you do has consequences and you should decided if the consequences are worth the principal and a few dollars. This is someone you have to work with and you have to consider if having that sort of tension on your job is worth the few dollars you are out on the fees.
We have signs from God because some of us are too stupid to figure things out for ourselves.
posted on May 16, 2002 02:04:00 PM
Don't talk to coworkers or friends about what you are selling on eBay.... Just keep it to yourself... Less tension & less heartburn!
posted on May 16, 2002 05:14:53 PM
As a part time seller, I often list things on our company's sales board before I put it on eBay. I usually price items a little above what I think average sell would be and give it a week or two. If it sells, great! Didn't have to hassle with listing, shipping, worrying if the checks good, etc. If not, take it off the board, send it to eBay!
Works for me! of course, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary)
