What would you do if the Ebay high bidder...

Lakesammman

had a rating of about 50 but the last 8-10 were all negative?? Would you cross your fingers, wait for the money, block their bids or.....?? What options are there (especially with less than 6 hours to go)?? What have you done??

LucyBop

If the last 8-10 were all negs I wouldn't sell to them...

ursabear

I almost never block bids, but this one sounds serious. If all the recent ones were negatives, I would seriously consider canceling and blocking the bidder. This also assumes that the negs appear to be justified, and not vengeance from one or two eBay members...

That said, I tend to "work with" folks on my auctions more often than not. I have a positive view of the human spirit, and only a few have proven me wrong.

merz2

Without a doubt block the bids.

BigD5

The kicker is that there is only 6 hours to go. You may want to let the auction end, and hope for the best, with the worst case scenario being you wait a week or so, and relist the coin. If you cancel that particular bidders bid, you may end up with the coin selling for less than what you would like. You don't say what kinds of negative comments have been left, so I'll assume that they are non-paying type comments. Really a tough call. I think I'd just let the auction run it's course, and go from there. Good luck.
Any linky to the auction?

goose3

I would have cancelled his bid (even if it meant dropping the current price back under reserve) and blocked him.

I have done this in the past and would not hesitate to do it again.

IrishMike

I would have probably let it go, not sure, but sometimes things have a way of working out.

BigD5

That's kind of what I was thinking Mike. Worst case, the coin ends up relisted, and the only thing lost is time. Time could be the deciding factor though, too. If the seller NEEDS the money right away.........I guess in that case I'd cancel/block the bidder and hope for the best.

Dog97

It really depends on what the negs say. Maybe his ISP was down or his puter crashed or a hurricane blew his house away and he was without electricity for 2 weeks like gsaguy.
Either way I would probably cancel his bid until he got some good feedback proving he was over his problem.

BSqr

if you get the money then who cares about their feedback - I would however get a signature upon delivery (this can be accomplished by insuring the parcel)

lordmarcovan

With that many recent negs (unless he posted some believable explanation), I'd cancel his bids for sure.

mbbiker

I would say let it ride and hope for the best what Dog97 said let him get poz. feedback before accepting bids from him again how would he get poz. if everyone blocked him?

Lakesammman

Here's the auction - check out the underbidder - tealshark5 - I don't know where the truth lies - would just be very concerned were this my auction...would like to know what my options are. The underbidders may spend their money on other auctions in the meantime and are not a guaranteed sale down the road.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1387911891&rd=1

mbbiker

link

Dog97

Oh. Deadbeat. Block him. Should be NARU soon.

WWBillman

Let it go whats the worst that can happen? At best you will sell the coin for more money. If he does not follow through and you have to relist the underbidders will still be there.

He might have had something gobad in his life that caused some chaos for awhile never know.

relayer

Glad it worked out.

I would have blocked him. Way too flakely for the price level.

I see DHRC gave him some negs, but he since paid.

At least now you don't have to worry about it.

sinin1

I hate to say it - but I would be rather reluctant to send 5grand to this seller - 3 feedback in last year - New York City - only traceable feedback from another low feedback seller from New York. The bad feedback on Teal stems from 3 deals - One guy that didn't follow through and send him money for a purchase (5 feedbacks - and this buyer has a (1) rating) - 3 feedbacks from DHRC which was a extremely slow pay - a 9grand gold piece that is unknown.

This auction (although I am sure is truly legit - coming from a longtime board member) shows too many danger signs for me to get excited about as a bidder - maybe a different story if I wanted that penny.

If I had my preference I would rather sell to Teal than buy from tp - a slow sale can get refunded from ebay for listing fees , and you can go back to second bidder. $5grand can be gone rather quick - I had enough trouble losing $200 from a lady jeweler for a gold dollar (ANACS said die-struck copy).

Different story if this seller was selling weekly (DHRC, centsls, HNAI, etc.) with high ticket coins- probably different story if name/address/phone number included, but I understand the reluctance to post a message like that saying "I have valuable coins at my place - come get them"

I don't know the answer - ebay definitely less expensive than Teletrade/Heritage/ etc. Maybe have a dealer friend take with to a big show? Or take with yourself to a big show and tout it to dealers and get best offer? At least a monster coin in your possession has a better chance of being yours than a picture on ebay - remember masterful-collections?

DCAMFranklin

In the past I have warned sellers of 3, perhaps 4, bidders with very similar circumstances. In every situation the seller told me they had looked into it and they would allow the bids to stand. After all, the bidder may not be the high bidder at auction's end. In every situation the DEADBEATS ended up winning the auctions. In every situation the DEADBEATS ended up stiffing the sellers for their purchases. In one instance a bidder had won auctions for high value graded sports cards with values in excess of $6,000. There were like 8 or 10 sellers that refused to cancel the bidder's bids. The bonehead sellers were never paid for their auctions.

I would immediately cancel the bids and put a bidder block on his/her ID. I would check to see which other auctions he/she was bidding on and notify those sellers. If they refused to act upon the information, then they deserve what they get.

wingedliberty

I agree with everything that has been said.


Brian

toothpuller

Sinin 1

The seller in this auction was a board member who is extremely trustworthy. Luckily he found a good buyer.

Gilbert

My question, just so I can understand the "why" of the question:

You wanted this item and checked out the competition. Seeing one of the bidders has a recent less than stellar track record you wanted, were hoping there was some way to "bump" him from the competition? Is that about it? I ask because, well initially, I thought it was your auction and you were trying to limit your potential losses, but, after I looked at the auction, it looked like you were only a bidder.

Of course, your inquiry might have been for future info in case you are the seller.

Just curious.

edited to add: Almost sounds like an election of sorts.

boiler78

That was a nice coin! Don't think you will have a problem with the winning bidder.

RNCHSN

I would inform him/her that, due to his recent feedback history, signature delivery would be required. As long as his/her money was good and the transaction goes smoothly, he/she still gets good feedback from me when the deal is done.

Lakesammman

Gilbert:

No...interesting twist, though...hadn't thought of that angle.....if I had wanted the coin that badly, there wouldn't have been any competition......was just looking on with interest and wondering what the average board member/seller would do if faced with that situation, just in case it occurs with a auction of mine down the road.

Gilbert

Lakesammman,

Thanks for not taking the question personally.

RHCHSN,

Signature delivery? Are you talking about delivery verification so the person cannot claim non-receipt? If so, I would hope everyone would do so with an item of this value.


What is the greatest perceived danger with this or similar persons; non-paying bidder, a non-negotiable instrument OR a false claim of non-receipt OR does the negative feedback history make this person a candidate for either?

keets

Lakes

looks like all was for naught as tealsharks lost the auction. one thing i've noticed about deadbeats or scammers is that when there is a negative posted they will retaliate to the sellers comment, which didn't happen. as in all things, it's difficult to give an informed opinion with only half the story.

my thinking was the same as gilberts----i assumed it was your auction, shame on me!!! there seems to be much in the way of over-policing going on here lately. bidders wanting to set things straight. i'll step out and make a prediction----some member will be posting a thread and whining that they were NARU'd
for interfering with a sellers auction. it happens. i can't understand why some get so disjointed because they don't win a particular coin. this one adds a new twist, an underbidder not interested in winning who is interested in whinning!!! maybe there should be concern if tealshark was a seller, but why as a buyer? to confusing.

al h.

shylock

As Keets said it was all for naught, and fortunately a major dealer wound up winning this auction of mine. When I checked it out Sunday morning and noticed the then high bidder's recent feedback, I mentioned my concern to a few forum members. I'm glad Lakesammman posed this question because I personally struggled with an answer to it yesterday.

I'm not a very experienced Ebay seller and wasn't even aware you could remove a bid. I ultimately came to the same conclusion as many here and let the auction run its course. But I have to admit, the thought of waiting weeks for a payment that would never come, then having to relist the auction from scratch -- possibly without the same group of enthusiastic bidders -- made me come close to pulling his bid. I realize some negatives can be misunderstood, but this guy's response to many of the negatives painted him as someone you really don't want to deal with.

keets

hello paul

all things pertaining to the thread aside, let's talk about that beautiful cent!! why is that coin NOT designated red? what exactly is the photoseal that rick snow does? from the scan on eBay it appears free of carbon spots, a clean bright cent, as lovely as could be expected. while i don't generally agree that the green holdered slabs are undergrades, don't you think this one would benefit from another look see by PCGS for the color designation, if nothing else?

al h.

shylock

Keets -- There may not be a single red graded 1872 without some brown toning, so an example like this one makes you wonder if it could upgrade some day. The winning bidder may see some potential along those lines. Either way it's one of the nicer examples you'll find, and would fit nicely into a collection that has eye appeal weighted heavier than registry points. I was pleasantly surprised with the price, but if it turns up in an NGC 65RD holder 6 months from now I'll post one of those "woe is me" threads.

Lakesammman

Glad it worked out the way it did - congrats on the price realized. It is a beautiful coin.

toothpuller

The questionable bidder in the above auction today was the high bidder for an 1871 MS65RD IHC. It sold for under 8K which is a pretty low amount for that coin. I looked at that auction and wondered about the SELLER also. Could be one shaky deal. I can't wait to see the feedback.

Lakesammman

I asked for additional pics on that one - looks like they were taken with a satellite system - I could kinda tell it was the reverse of a coin.....

toothpuller

Lakesammman, if the seller didn't have sunglasses, and he wasn't from Florida, and if 95% of his sales weren't for less than $1.00, then you could have taken a look at the 1871 knowing his return policy of a complete refund was mentioned in the auction description. Sure.

Neptune

fOR "future" ref - I would cancel bid immediately and not let folks like that bid on your coins. Neg said non payer so why take chances? Glad it all worked out for you in the end.

IrishMike

Not only is that a fabulous coin, but I think the photography played a major role in the price it brought. Congratulations!