Ethics question (again, sorry)-selling to underbidder

airplanenut

Ok, this one is simple...

Suppose you see an auction and go, "hey, I have one of those!" You see that two people are both bidding often and, obviously, only one can win. Is it ethical (or against ebay rules) to email the underbidder and say, "I have one of the coins like that in auction #xxxxxxxxxxxxxx. I saw that you were bidding well to get that coin and was wondering if you were still interested in that coin, since I have one that is identical for sale now. It is $x (somewhere between his bid and final cost to allow for possible negotiation to his final bid). Would you be interested?"

Thanks for your thoughts,

Jeremy

kieferscoins

I believe this violates ebay rules. Let me check.

Cameron Kiefer

KlectorKid

i would only tell them when the auction was over.

braddick

It is a violation of rules and ethics.
You're locating a possible buyer of your coin on eBay's dime.

That's not playing fair.
I know eBay isn't always returning the favor of fairness, but their actions shouldn't dictate ours.

I wouldn't do it.

airplanenut

<< <i>i would only tell them when the auction was over. >>



Of course... he could still win

Petescorner

Jeremy, I believe you can start an auction of your own with a Buy It Now price being lower than the previous auction's winning bid. After the previous auction is over, you can send a link to the underbidder. While it may still be a questionable marketing strategy, it doesn't cut eBay out of their fees and I don't believe it violates their rules. Plus, it still protects you and the buyer by allowing feedback to be left and given. One warning, though, make sure the underbidder isn't a shill for the seller.

braddick

<< <i>i would only tell them when the auction was over. >>



It's still a solicitation found via the eBay format.
Who's to say this same underbidder wouldn't be searching eBay for a second example?

No- if you want to sell to eBay's "clients" post your own auction.

airplanenut

Petescorner,

I assume no seller would have a shill with hundreds of positive feedbacks

Petescorner

I assume no seller would have a shill with hundreds of positive feedbacks

Don't be so sure of that. I know a seller with over 2,000 + feedbacks under his "selling" account, and over 500
+ feedbacks under his "buying" account.

And no, he doesn't buy or sell coins.

danreller

I think eBay would view this as OK ...after the conclusion of auction , not before. Then it wouldn't be a sell "off-eBay". It doesn't affect the previous sell. It only alerts a potential interested bidder for another chance if the re-offer is via eBay.

I'm interested in the responses to this one as I've just recently entered sales for the first time.

Dan

DHeath

It's unethical, and additionally pretty scary if you're the buyer. It seems I get 2 or 3 of these solicitations per mo, and in all candor, there is no way I would send money to someone I don't know for coins I haven't seen without the little protection ebay affords through the use of feedback and written return policies. Besides, if the customer came from ebay, they deserve their commission.

dlshaw

Its really a form of spam.

ldhair

I don't feel this a good way to sell. Not ethical to me. Ebay could shut down your user name. Not sure if Ebay could do much more to you. If you don't mess with the auction results I don't see how they could claim any loss in court. But they might want to make an example of you. You might win but it will cost lots of bucks to do so.
To add a twist. Is it ethical for the seller to contact the next bidder with a second coin? I know Ebay would have a fit.

airplanenut

I was assuming that the seller's auction was completed successfully and of the two very active bidders, only one came out with the coin.

presleyh

It is a violation of ebay rules. I did it once years ago and it turned out the seller emailed me in a complete tizzy and reported it to ebay. never heard from ebay ,myself. But i finally figured out the guy was pissed because he was shill bidding his items. Generally if ebay cant make a buck you are not supposed to do it.

IrishMike

At one time my daughters were into collecting quarters, building sets, it wasn't unusual for us to have 20-30 bids out and if we won 2 or 3 auctions on ebay they were thrilled. I can't imagine every seller sending me emails for finishing second. Therefore it's a bad idea. They learned it's easy to buy anything if you are willing to pay too much for it. They also learned how to correctly assess value before they purchased something.

griffin6

eBay is capable of masking e-mail addresses from both potential off-eBay buyers and sellers. They choose instead to "discourage" off eBay trades by trumpeting the increased risks. In doing so, they are tacitly condoning off-eBay trades if you are willing to accept the increased risks. As eBay is the primary entity hurt financially by trades outside the zone, their position dictates what is acceptable. The ethics are determined by how each individual interprets their actions, and in this case, those opinions may vary greatly.