Ebay has become such a cesspool

RYK

Unrelated to coins, I am selling an old (last year's) cellphone on ebay. So I get an email from someone who wants to know if I can tell him my price, so we can "end it now" and make a deal for it outside of ebay. The same occurred when I was selling a Playstation for a buddy--I was peppered with emails about the deals that I could make outside ebay. Naturally, I ended up selling the video game on ebay for far more than anyone was willing to pay outside ebay. And I expect the same will occur with the cellphone. Same garbage probably happens with coins. Okay--done venting.

Back to your regularly scheduled program.

Russ

I frequently eMail sellers if they have an item I want, and ask if they'll close early and sell to me, as do many other people. It's common practice.

Russ, NCNE

TWQG

Shoplifting is a common practice too.

Petescorner

Nobody has ever asked me to end an auction early. The closest I came to that kind of thing was when I was selling a rare PC game. A guy emailed me to ask if I would sell him a burned copy. I told him "No, but you can win the game from me and I'll buy it back from you at half price after you've burned your own copy." I never heard from him again.

DCAMFranklin

I tell them to bid away. If they bid the right amount, then they have the same opportunity as all the other bidders. Ebay provides the medium for buyers to find the coins. I don't think I should cheat them out of their fees.

Russ

<< <i>Shoplifting is a common practice too. >>



TWQG,

Did you have a point, or just punching keys? Shoplifting is illegal. Theres nothing illegal about ending an action early. In point of fact, it is perfectly within eBay rules to do so.

Russ, NCNE

andy007

oops, wrong post.

dakra

In a post a few weeks ago, Russ got an Accent Hair JFK by asking someone to end early... That's about the jist of it, right Russ....

Inspired by Russ... I emailed two sellers about certain Peace Dollars, one seller ended the auction early for me. The other happen to have the same date/MM but in better condition, I got the coin I wanted and it did not affect his auction.

It doesn't hurt to inquire.

-Dave

crito

I'm paying eBay for a service. If they provide the service as advertised, I owe them the money. However, they routinely have "glitches" that cost me money, for which eBay never takes any responsibility. I recently sold an NTC (sorry Russ, it was properly graded and the buyer was more than happy) Jefferson for $1.25 because of eBay not fullfilling their end of the contract (couldn't search or browse to my auction for 5 days). In that case, I would of had no problem ending the auction early and selling to someone else. But to be honest, I've only received one request (out of 100+ auctions) to do so (and declined).

edited to add the auction link before anyone slanders themselves: Auction Link

DCAMFranklin

<< <i>Shoplifting is a common practice too. >>




Point well made.

andy007

Straight from Ebay policies:


Topics > eBay Policies > Rules for Buyers > Solicitation of Off-site Sale





Solicitation of an Offsite Sale

eBay Policy
Soliciting off-site sales is a form of fee avoidance that circumvents the eBay fee structure. It is strictly prohibited.


Examples:
The following activities using member contact information obtained through eBay are not allowed:
Using member contact information obtained from eBay or using any eBay feature to offer to sell any listed item outside of eBay. However, it is acceptable for a buyer to email the seller and ask to end the item early at an agreed upon winning price.
Offering to sell any listed item outside of eBay
Canceling a listing to sell the item to anyone who contacted the seller through eBay or became aware of the item through eBay
Ending a listing early to sell the item at a higher price to the winning bidder
Offering to sell an item outside of eBay to any of your bidders in a Reserve Not Met listing.
Offering to sell duplicate or additional merchandise outside of eBay to underbidders
Sending unsolicited (without prior permission) commercial email offers to bidders for the same or similar products that they have bid on in the past.



Report a violation of this policy:
If you have received an offer to buy or sell an item outside of eBay, please report the situation to us by sending a copy of the email with the full header included. We always need the full header of any email you send as evidence because it enables us to trace the pathway of the email. You can review what a header is and how to locate it.


Note:
Only report a case once--multiple emails about the same case slow an investigation.
eBay will consider the circumstances of an alleged offense and the user's trading record before taking action.
Disciplinary action may result in a formal warning, temporary suspension, or indefinite suspension.
If a complaint can't be proven with certainty, we may take no action.
Due to privacy issues, it's not possible for eBay to discuss the results of an investigation.



Related Help topics
Rules for Buyers: Overview
Policies for Sellers
Unsolicted Email (Spam)


Report listing violations or problems with another eBay member.



Address of this page: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/solicitation-offsite-sale.html

dakra

However, it is acceptable for a buyer to email the seller and ask to end the item early at an agreed upon winning price.

So... it is acceptible practice?

-Dave

Russ

<< <i>Solicitation of an Offsite Sale >>



When a bidder eMails a seller, that seller has solicited nothing.

Russ, NCNE

gmarguli

Yes, a seller has the right to end the auction early for any reason.

Yes, they can end up selling the item to someone that contacts them. It is against eBay rules, but so are a lot of other things that eBay does nothing about.

I personally will try to avoid sellers that yank no reserve auctions or reserve auctions that have met the reserve just to sell the coin outside of eBay. It sucks to all the other bidders. However, as for eBay losing money on the sale, who cares? Screw eBay.

RYK

However, it is acceptable for a buyer to email the seller and ask to end the item early at an agreed upon winning price.


I did not know that this was acceptable. I guess that I understand where buyer and seller may benefit, and as long as ebay gets their cut, everyone is whole. I also assumed that the transaction would be outside of ebay, but this is not the case.

A apologize, if I offended anyone (ie. Russ). Thanks, for the clarification, Andy.

Russ

<< <i>I recently sold an NTC (sorry Russ, it was properly graded and the buyer was more than happy) >>



Crito,

a) If you had an NTC slabbed soin I wanted, I'd buy it. I buy them all the time. That doesn't negate the fact that they slab a lot of junk, and overgrade as bad as ACG, and b) Your coin was the exception to the rule.

Russ, NCNE

Russ

RYK,

I wasn't offended at all. You expressed an opinion to which you certainly have a right.

Russ, NCNE

RYK

Well, Russ, I did not have the facts straight--opinions notwithstanding. So regardless of your position, I am the one who looks like a schmuck

Thank you for clarifying it.

Russ

<< <i>I personally will try to avoid sellers that yank no reserve auctions or reserve auctions that have met the reserve just to sell the coin outside of eBay. It sucks to all the other bidders. >>



Greg,

I happen to completely agree. Every auction I've gotten a seller to close early had no bids yet. I also refuse to close my auctions early after bidding has started.

Russ, NCNE

crito

Having actually submited coins to NTC, Russ, unlike you, who searched long and hard to find an overgraded Kennedy, I can say definitively that NTC didn't give ME any "gifts". That's not to say they don't overgrade a point or two, especially for 'insiders", but the same can be said about all the other grading services. I don't use them anymore for other reasons: I kept getting green flakes of their insert material in my holders, and they got 2 out of 20 labels wrongs (left the mintmark off).

Russ

<< <i>Russ, unlike you, who searched long and hard to find an overgraded Kennedy >>



Crito,

Long and hard? Takes about two seconds. And, it's a hell of a lot more than one. Try about three dozen I've purchased, every single one overgraded by two to four points. They completely suck in proof Kennedy's. But, hey, maybe they're fantastic in every other series.

Russ, NCNE

danreller

My question is... If you agree to end the auction early and agree upon a mutual price to sell the coin, how, do you let eBay know of this and make it legitimate (paying eBay final value fees, trading feedback...)? I have been asked numerous times to end auctions early, but, have never done so.

Dan

Russ

Dan,

When you end an auction early, I think there's a "Sell Item" feature that appears during the process. Using this should have the same effect as running the auction to the end.

Russ, NCNE