posted on April 24, 2004 07:58:18 PM
Ok, here's a new one for me after selling for 5 years! I listed & sold a pc strategy guide today with a BIN. Immediately after the auction - I received this email: "i accendentaly pressed the buy button and it got submited for an ebay seller can i revearse this action?"
So I replied, that a bid is a binding contract, etc. Then I get this email "Hi,
I am the mother of the person who sent you this email. He is a 12 year old boy, who apparently does not understand this process. He is telling me that he did not bid on this item, but from reading what he wrote below, he must have accidentally bid. I am not familiar with this process, so I am unsure how easy it is to bid "accidentally". I guess we need to know the procedure for this, and whether as a 12 year old, he is bound to this bid. Please let me know how he needs to proceed with this, and more importantly, who I need to contact at Ebay to make sure that he is unable to bid in the future. Thanks!"
This is a person who registered 2 days ago & is bidding on 3 items. I replied that I would let him out of his contract and that I would also contact ebay. I suggested that she cancel his account.
All of this for $6.99! Has this happened to anyone else? Obviously I've had NPBs, but not this supposed 12 year old. Doesn't eBay require a credit card to register now?
posted on April 24, 2004 08:07:06 PM
Sounds like mom is registered and was logged in, kiddo hit BIN on the already logged in account.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on April 24, 2004 08:32:06 PM
Treat it as you would any deadbeat. File for NPB, wait 10 days, and file for FVF. Feedback is your call, but with this newbie, you're just inviting a neg in return. For $6.99, it's hardly worth it. They'll learn more from the emails they receive from Ebay for NPB than they will from a neg.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on April 24, 2004 08:40:30 PM
Thanks. I reported the id to eBay as a "minor" and included the email quotes. I'll let eBay check it out and cancel the id, if it is true. Of course, I don't completely believe it! I mean how many times have we heard "I have been in the hospital, just had an operation, etc."
posted on April 25, 2004 05:26:06 AM
If it is a 12 year old boy, you would be able to tell for sure by looking at the other items he's bidding on. If he's bidding on PMS vitamins, you know it's really mom.
posted on April 25, 2004 09:50:18 AM
I would tend to believe the boy...
My 12 year old grandson browses eBay frequently, but is not allowed to place a bid unless supervised...NOW!
He placed a bid a couple of years ago (from my computer through my buying account) without asking, and quickly learned some hard facts about On-Line shopping. His allowance was wasted on high shipping fees and poor product — a Game Boy game that was over-used and useless.
Today, he is a WISE eBay shopper. He knows to check feedback of the seller, check for S&H fees and READ the listing thoroughly! He even has his own 'Favorite Sellers' links in my computer and his. When he visits me I send him on searches for my favorite buys (still under supervision), and he will often email me links, from his home computer, to items he's found he knows I might like or that he would like but is unsure of.
Yes! A new eBay buyer in training!
I would have to agree with Sparkz on the NPB and FVF, and leave no feedback. A lesson has been learned — be it Mom or Junior who did the bidding.
Bizzy:
If Mom uses the account for her own buying, as I do with mine, and Junior has ALSO bid through that account, the items purchased/bid would not clarify who is doing the bidding. If anyone tried to 'analyze' my buying habits during the grandson's visits, they would certainly have a challenge!
posted on April 25, 2004 11:41:42 AM
Good News! I reported the minor to eBay. This morning - that bidder is no longer a registered user! And, I saved another ebay seller from dealing with this - as all other bids of course will be canceled. It may have been a kid - as the only bids were for PC Game related items.
I'll follow up with the FVF credit! Hopefully that mother & son learned a lesson.
