Well it seems you can't win for losing around this stupid ebay thing. Some say they won't even bid on a private auction and now you're saying that he won't bid on a relisted auction. I don't know what to do.

Chris

 

give it to me for free?

 

Rob

 

Ummm... You have a quasi-legal issue here Chris.

Since you didn't set a reserve on the auction, and you have bids pending, then if the auction were to end right now, _technically_ the current high bidder "should" win the item. You could certainly state that "the item is no longer for sale", but I'd bet that the high bidder will notice it being relisted later on.

If you pull the item now, then you're running the risk of the high bidder filing a complaint against you with eBay. It may or may not happen, and if it did, it may or may not come to anything, but pulling an auction that's accepted bids this late in the game is a bad way to play.


What makes you think that hiding the bidder info is affecting the draw? I would bet that a number of people are ready to pounce on this in the final 30-60 minutes.

 

i think the seller can cancel the auction at any time before the closing date . . . reserve or not.

creed

 

Yeah, I think I mislead what I was trying to say...

Yes, a seller can do what he wants in terms of cancelling an auction. But they're not going to make any friends by pulling an auction that has bids with <24 hours to go, only to re-list it very soon thereafter.

The current high bidder has grounds to file a complaint with eBay and report the seller as unscrupulous and complain that the seller may have been trying to avoid his/her bid. It's considered dirty pool in the eBay realm.

 

i agree - it's poor etiquette . . . it defeats the principal of a no-reserve auction!

i think it's going to get high enough for you anyway, chris . . it's already up to $1700, and the bid usually increases a lot in the last 2 hours. when i sold a guitar a few months back, it hovered around $450 for a while and then ended up selling for $730 at the last minute.

creed

 

I thought it would be a problem too, but after contacting ebay, they said it's the only way for me to take the private auction aspect off. They also said that I need to notify the bidders of what's going on, so that no one does get angry, etc. My concern is that as the seller, I can view the high bidder's email address, but I can't see the previous bidder's email addresses. My question is that once I go through the end my auction early section, will I be able to see everyone's email address, so I can notify everyone of what's going on? I understand what may happen at the end of the auction with many people waiting to bid at the last minute, and I'm not worried about that. What I'm worried about is all the people that have emailed me concerning the private auction looking like I'm doing some shady with the bidding, so they won't bid.

I'm also wondering if I decide to relist, what price should I start it at? Should I start it back at the same $1.00 as I did in the beginning, or should I start it $25 less than the current high bidder's bid? I'm so lost at all this ebay stuff, and I don't want to have a bad wrap on ebay just in case I ever want to buy or sell anything again. Any comments from experienced ebayer's would be greatly appreciated.

Chris

 

Yeah, I'm not really concerned about it getting high enough, but more concerned about all the emails I've recieved asking why I have it as a private auction and how they won't bid because it's set up that way. What a pain in the butt! You can't win for losing when you're dealing with a lot of people, I guess.

Chris

 

I agree with Mark's (midiwall) comments. I have posted numerous items on Ebay for sale and with several of the more expensive ones I made the email identity private. On all of the ones I made private I got over $400 more than the reserve I set on one and over $250 on the other. People who want your stuff will bid on it and those who can't afford to bid will whine about the email identity being private. :cry: Don't worry about it Chris, you will go crazy trying to please everybody!

 

Chris, in short... Welcome to eBay.

I've been buying/selling for a long time and have sold anything from a $1 cable to a $5000 unique synthesizer.

In _every_ auction, I get a long list of questions from folks about things that are clearly outlined in the auction (shipping, condition, "will you...", etc). The short form is that you will always find people that are whining just to whine. Nothing can teach you how to separate the folks with legit questions and worries from those that are just professional eBay hasslers.

How much do you _want_ to get for this stuff? Yes, everyone wants to get $10 for the piece of string they found on their floor, but how much will make you happy? You're at $1700 now, with 14+ hours to go. I think you're doing well.

There's no legit reason for anyone to care about a private auction. Nothing that the bidder can see in a "public" auction will sway them on how _THEY_ will bid. Take a look at any non-private auction on eBay from a bidder's point of view and ask yourself what info on the bidding list will change what, when and how you will bid.

The only thing that's remotely understandable is if I'm trying to pick-up on shill bidders. If two of people with 0 feedback are bidding and re-bidding on the same item, it may be a shill. But I'd only be concerned about that if the current high bid is close to what I value the item at. I don't think you're anywhere near there yet.

You have to develop a strong backbone to play on eBay. People will say anything to you to try to swing the auction in their favor. For example, "I'll give you $1800 now if you cancel the auction". That's just plain silly... What that person is telling you is that THEY know that the item will sell for more than $1800, and they just want to get a hot deal.


Stick it out Chris. And again, welcome to eBay.

 

Hey guys,

I really appreciate the help on all this. I'm hoping the price keeps going up, of course, and I'm not going to relist so I don't have to mess with the hassle of dealing with the potential problems that could arise. I really didn't want to let this stuff go for less than $2250, but it looks like I might have to. I hope not, but I have no idea what will happen at the end of this thing. What should I expect, you think?

Chris

 

you can end it at any time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

18 minutes left, and I'm getting really nervous! Wish me luck!

Chris

 

now you've got 9 minutes and you're only $200 from your goal . . .lookin' good!

creed

 

Thanks dude! I hope it keeps climing. Wish me luck! This is one of the craziest things I've ever done, and it might just pan out.

Chris

 

it's fun huh? now you're only $150 off with 5 minutes!

creed

 

Man this is stressing me out like crazy!

Chris

 

whoohooo!!!!!! you hit your goal!!!!!

1 minute left - tired of the refresh button yet????

creed

 

No kidding! Thanks man! I can't beleive it ended right where I wanted to be. This is completely nuts, and I have to thank the Lord it all worked out! Awesome! Time to contact the high bidder!

Chris