New eBAy seller tactic

[bzja]

Recently I have sniped several auctions of guitar parts (what else) on eBay for lower than expected prices. From what I can tell, the sellers are not honoring the bids. There is no communication, no shipment and then when I submit a Item Not Received complaint they just let it run it's course and my money is fully refunded several weeks later. Has anyone else witnessed this?

 

The last two auctions I was able to leave neg feedback, they must be willing to take the neg feedback hit

[notjonahbutnoah]

But.... why?

 

Seems like a waste.

 

Robots.

[bzja]

 

But.... why? Seems like a waste. Robots.

 

 

 

 

I think the idea is they can get full price for the item in another auction, so why sell at a lower price? These are high volume sellers with many auctions they must not feel obligated to complete the transaction. It's just a thought at this point, but it seems reasonable that there is no repercussions for the seller if they don't ship.

[jrockbridge]

Can you be more specific? What were the items and the prices paid?

[ColoradoFenderB]

I must be lucky... never had a seller back out of a deal once I won.

[bzja]

 

Can you be more specific? What were the items and the prices paid?

 

 

One auction was for reflector knobs the regular auction price was $12.95

I sniped them for $8.25

 

The other was for some over sized strap buttons with felts Reg $3.99. Sniped for .99.

 

No communication, no response at all. Not even a gee we missed this. Repeated e-mails and I paid immediately at the end of the auction.

[notjonahbutnoah]

Ass holes

[CoqBelliqueux]

Merchants have been honest businessmen since the beginnings of trade. They are out to serve and bring the riches to the people so that they can benefit from them.

 

errrrrrrrr

 

Meh. No penalty, no problem. Maybe eBay will do something eventually when it gets too bad.

[JTEES4]

You can still leave negative feedback, I think? And you should....it's deserved.

[harold heckuba]

Seems weird that a seller could afford negative feedback over a .99 cent item. If it happens to much, ebay will put the clamps down on them.

[PunkKitty]

It happened to me. I ordered a pedal from a dealer that had a 99.9% good feedback rating with thousands of transactions. 3 days later, I got an email saying that the seller backed out of the deal and refunded my money. I really didn't care about it too much since I got my money back with no issues. I was not able to leave feedback for the deal. If I had been able to, it would have been negative.

 

My guess is that the guy who was selling it didn't really have it in stock and his source for the pedal didn't deliver. Or he was able to get full price for it from someone else.

[jak83]

I've only had one seller back out on a transaction on eBay. Maybe it's that I never can find good deals, everything I'm after on eBay usually sells for more there than I can buy it brand new from a retailer.

 

Anyway, I scored a near mint LP Studio w/case for $600 about a year ago - a good deal by any standard I think. I talked to the seller a few times, she answered my questions, the auction ended, I paid immediately because that's how I roll... and I get an email saying that her friend had knocked the guitar over and messed up a tuning key or something (I forget) that would have to be repaired, so she couldn't follow through with the auction. I'm not sure if I left negative feedback, though at this point I think I should have. I'm positive she just wanted more money out of it. I could've attempted to force her to follow through, but my guess is that she would have actually jacked up the guitar before sending it to me. What are the odds that an item gets messed up a few hours before an auction ends? Slim, I think.

[thick_mike]

Similar thing happened to me in the UK. Won an Ibanez AGS83 and a Randall 100w combo and a random fuzz pedal for 250GBP.

 

Got a message saying the guitar got knocked over and broke the headstock, so couldn't complete. I emailed back and offered to take the guitar and repair it myself for a reduced price, but nothing doing.

 

Obviously the guy just got cold feet and the auction price didn't meet his valuation.

 

Didn't leave negative feedback in the end...can't think why now! I'm angrier in retrospect than I was at the time.

[Belva]

I've gone with buy it now on everything lately. I just don't like playing the auction game. Quite often I can do better than Ebay elsewhere. BLT Sound comes to mind.

[BryanMichael]

 

I've only had one seller back out on a transaction on eBay. Maybe it's that I never can find good deals, everything I'm after on eBay usually sells for more there than I can buy it brand new from a retailer. Anyway, I scored a near mint LP Studio w/case for $600 about a year ago - a good deal by any standard I think. I talked to the seller a few times, she answered my questions, the auction ended, I paid immediately because that's how I roll... and I get an email saying that her friend had knocked the guitar over and messed up a tuning key or something (I forget) that would have to be repaired, so she couldn't follow through with the auction. I'm not sure if I left negative feedback, though at this point I think I should have. I'm positive she just wanted more money out of it. I could've attempted to force her to follow through, but my guess is that she would have actually jacked up the guitar before sending it to me. What are the odds that an item gets messed up a few hours before an auction ends? Slim, I think.

 

 

 

ACtually, what if she was telling the truth? Then she was being honest and trying NOT to send you an item that was broken. Many times people are listing something on Ebay and are also trying to sell it on Craigslist or locally, so it isn't sitting in a case in an inventory room. Why is it when things don't go your way it's automatically a scam or someone being dishonest? Maybe she was telling you the truth.

[Belva]

 

ACtually, what if she was telling the truth? Then she was being honest and trying NOT to send you an item that was broken. Many times people are listing something on Ebay and are also trying to sell it on Craigslist or locally, so it isn't sitting in a case in an inventory room. Why is it when things don't go your way it's automatically a scam or someone being dishonest? Maybe she was telling you the truth.

 

If she was really being honest she could've taken a pic of the damage and let the buyer decide. And then negotiated a lower price. 25 bucks off would be agreeable if it was a tuner.

As far as listing on CL I think it's best to let it be known and the auction may be ended early if a local buyer comes thru.

[CoqBelliqueux]

 

ACtually, what if she was telling the truth? Then she was being honest and trying NOT to send you an item that was broken. Many times people are listing something on Ebay and are also trying to sell it on Craigslist or locally, so it isn't sitting in a case in an inventory room. Why is it when things don't go your way it's automatically a scam or someone being dishonest? Maybe she was telling you the truth.

 

She's a human and she's a woman, c'mon now.

[notjonahbutnoah]

 

She's a human and she's a woman, c'mon now.

 

 

Hehe.

 

My worst deal on ebay was a hat I bought for eleven us dollars. Some big asian emporium. It never came, they refunded me. W/e. I even did BIN tho, weird. These are some damn annoying stories, but at least no ones getting totally robbed/screwed out of money.

[BryanMichael]

 

If she was really being honest she could've taken a pic of the damage and let the buyer decide. And then negotiated a lower price. 25 bucks off would be agreeable if it was a tuner. As far as listing on CL I think it's best to let it be known and the auction may be ended early if a local buyer comes thru.

 

 

But the fact that she didn't doesn't prove she was being dishonest. She "could have" done a lot of things, including volunteering to get the item repaired and then ship it, or just shipping it AS IS and claiming UPS broke it, or lots of other things, many of which are outright dishonest. Even if you SUSPECT she was not telling the truth- you have no proof.

[Sheraton]

 

But the fact that she didn't doesn't prove she was being dishonest. She "could have" done a lot of things, including volunteering to get the item repaired and then ship it, or just shipping it AS IS and claiming UPS broke it, or lots of other things, many of which are outright dishonest. Even if you SUSPECT she was not telling the truth- you have no proof.

 

 

Ignorance is bliss. :poke:

I wish I could go through life believeing in the goodness of mankind. I would be a happier person overall. And I'm sure BP did nothing wrong and the gulf oil spill was an unfortunate accident.

[Belva]

 

But the fact that she didn't doesn't prove she was being dishonest. She "could have" done a lot of things, including volunteering to get the item repaired and then ship it, or just shipping it AS IS and claiming UPS broke it, or lots of other things, many of which are outright dishonest. Even if you SUSPECT she was not telling the truth- you have no proof.

 

I'm just saying what I would do if I had a mishap like that. And I'm not saying the seller WAS being dishonest. But I'd always have my suspicions. And the buyer could also have offered to buy at a lower price after requesting a pic of the damage. As they say, hindsight is always 20/20.

[bigspan]

 

One auction was for reflector knobs the regular auction price was $12.95 I sniped them for $8.25 The other was for some over sized strap buttons with felts Reg $3.99. Sniped for .99. No communication, no response at all. Not even a gee we missed this. Repeated e-mails and I paid immediately at the end of the auction.

 

 

Question: was it just those two times, or are there more occurrence that you've just not mentioned?

[nicholai]

I had a guy do it on a 1957 Gibson double 8 console steel. I argued, threatened, complained, filed and got the guitar in the end. Which is awesome because in the end the thing has 8 string stainless PAF pickups. Don' bother arguing, been there, talked to Gruhn, Lollar and even smarter people, bored of it, and it does.

 

 

 

[Sheeeeeeep]

Not really a new tactic.

 

It's basically people who don't want to pay the extra cash for a Reserved price or for a high starting bid.

[steve_man]

I hate evilbay...but it's a necessary evil...