posted on August 25, 2000 06:45:03 AM new
I just received a confirmation from Yahoo that an auction ended successfully. I got a message from the bidder too wanting to pay for the item ASAP.
I listed this auction with a buy price. The "winning" bid is a LOT less than the buy price. The buy price is listed very clearly on the auction page.
Do I have to honor this bid and sell this item at a BIG loss?
What is the point of having a buy price anyway? Does it have to be the same as the opening bid??
posted on August 25, 2000 08:11:44 AM new
You confused the buy price with the reserve. A reserve is the smallest amount you will take to sell the item. If bidding doesnt hit the reserve, you dont sell. The buy price is the highest amount you will take. If bidding hits the buy price, the auction closes automatically with a winner.
You can try explaining to your buyer that you made a mistake. It probably wont help. You will probably get negged. The fact is that you should read and understand the terms before you start selling. If you do get a neg, you have to decide if you want to continue selling with that neg there or if you want to get another ID and start fresh. You will need another credit card.
Just as general advice, start your item price at the minimum you will take and dont use reserve at all. This will protect you from future mistakes.
posted on August 25, 2000 08:52:02 AM new
I will honor the bid. I had no intentions of trying to back out of the auction.
Thank you for the comments about my lack of reading comprehension skills, pointing out my clearly stupid mistakes, and your advise about how to run online auctions. I'll keep it in mind.
posted on August 25, 2000 09:06:30 AM new
Sorry about the tone of my post. What I meant is that every auction site is different and what works on ebay wont necessarily work on Yahoo and the rules are different on each site. Just because you have experience on one, dont assume that it will work identically on the other. Ebay allows you to post multiple auctions for the same item. Yahoo doesnt and calls it spam. Yahoo can cancel ALL your auctions if you spam one. Ebay doesnt allow you to post links to your wen site and suspends people for violations. Yahoo allows these links almost never suspends anyone for anything. I joined two sites where people post their wants and sellers respond. I responded identically on both sites. Then one site cancelled all my responses. They didnt allow links to my web site or mentioning my email id. They wanted ALL transactions done through their site (strange because they charge NO fees). The other site encouraged placing your email id and web site in the response. You really have to learn all the rules and terms before you take chances with big ticket items.
By the way, it is admirable that you're completing the deal. Considering that Yahoo is a playground for jd's with 80 ids and negatives in three digits, I dont consider a mistake made on Yahoo enforceable. Depending on how big the loss is and what your current feedback is, you might just want to explain to the bidder what happened and if they do neg you, take another ID.
If you want me to email you a seller's guide to ebay and yahoo (tips compiled by sellers on both sites) just email me at [email protected]
posted on August 25, 2000 10:48:47 AM new
Coming from eBay and with certain concepts in place, I have/am suffering from learning what certain things mean or how different features work.
"Only list one item in one category" means only list an item once anywhere on the auction site at any given time. Not, as I mistakenly interpreted it to mean, that you can only put one listing in any single category but you may list the item again in another appropriate category.
The "Buy Price" is the amount at which the auction will immediatly close and the selling part of the process is complete.
For example an item may have a starting bid of $1.00, a reserve price of $25.00 and a buy price of $35.00. No sale if the item doesn't reach $25.00. Any buyer can end the listing at any time by offering $35.00.
Like visiting England. While many things are the same there, somethings like which side of the road to drive on are quite different.
