posted on December 20, 2004 04:23:16 PM
I've noticed that a seller or two have been running "preview" auctions that tell you not to bid on them! The starting bid is a penny and then they say "do not bid on this auction" because it is just a preview of the auctions they are going to put up after January 3rd.
I noticed that one poor soul has, of course, put a bid down.
I remember that this same seller, a while ago, titled her auction "for whatevertheIDwas ONLY!" Then that buyer purchased that item with the buy it now.
Can anyone explain this? Is this allowed? Can the person who put the bid down (dumb though she may be) on the "do not bid preview auction" have any recourse to force the seller to sell it to her?
posted on December 20, 2004 04:52:28 PM
Ebay has a category for test auctions. That's the only place it's safe to list these types of previews. Anywhere else, a couple jokers can run up the price at the end and the system will automatically slam your account with a FVF that will cause your credit card to melt before you can make it through the FVF refund process.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on December 20, 2004 09:25:13 PM
Jack...The test auction category is used primarily by the third party providers such as Vendio, although there are many individual sellers who try out new templates, etc. over there. And yes, there are a few dummies who go over there and bid, but it doesn't count because they're not real auctions.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on December 21, 2004 07:44:19 AM
Rather than using "for whatevertheIDwas ONLY!" , the seller should have used pre-approved bidders list. Handy for when you are creating a BIN for someone who has made an offer you want to accept.
posted on December 21, 2004 02:03:17 PM
Those are called BILLBOARD (or something like that) auctions, and are not allowed. I ran into some this past fall .... they'll prob be shut down.
