Home PSA Set Registry Forum

What would you do?

Someone has e-mailed me and asked me to end an auction early and made an offer on a card. Wondering what others would do in this situation...

Thanks,
Robert
Looking for:
Any high grade OPC Jim Palmer
High grade Redskins (pre 1980)

Comments

  • mikeschmidtmikeschmidt Posts: 5,756 ✭✭✭
    98% of the time I do not and would not end an auction early, if others have already bid on the card.

    1) It damages your credibility as a seller. (There are sellers that I do not typically buy from because they pull auctions....)

    2) It is unfair to the whole auction process, in general. Even if people have not bid, perhaps they have set up snipes.

    3) 90% of the time, if a bidder asks you to end an auction early, they do it because they want to spend less than they are willing to bid.

    4) Some big name/dollar players ask people to end auctions early, and try and use their "name" as leverage. (which sometimes work, unfortunately......)



    The only time I would even consider it is if it is
    a) someone I've done business with before
    b) they are offering an above expected selling price
    c) they e-mail me within 12 hours of the auction open
    d) it is someone I probably would have offered the card privately to, anyway, but neglected to remember...
    I am actively buying MIKE SCHMIDT gem mint baseball cards. Also looking for any 19th century cabinets of Philadephia Nationals. Please PM with additional details.
  • kobykoby Posts: 1,699 ✭✭
    Everything MS said is correct. However, if the buyer is offering more than what you think you can get on ebay, go for it. You don't owe anyone anything. Just be aware that it may hurt your credibility with future ebay auctions.
  • aro13aro13 Posts: 1,961 ✭✭✭
    I have never ended an auction early despite people emailing offering a price. If somebody wants it that badly they can always bid on the card.
  • dudedude Posts: 1,454 ✭✭
    I agree with Mikeschmidt's analysis. As a seller, I get offers periodically to end auctions early and I never do for the reasons MS mentioned. As a bidder, I find it very irritating.

    One situation comes to mind where a seller closed his auctions early on 5 low pop vintage cards (three were 1 of 1's and the others were 1 of 2). I later e-mailed the seller and asked him what happened. He wrote back and said that he decided not to sell them. A few weeks later I noticed that a Registry member just listed those same five on his set. I knew the member so I e-mailed him and asked how he pulled it off. He replied and basically bragged that he bamboozled the seller and got for them for about half of what the top collector of that set would have paid for them. I really didn't think much of the buyer or the seller after that since they were abusing eBay's rules.
  • WabittwaxWabittwax Posts: 1,984 ✭✭✭
    A lot of sellers make the mistake of not ending them early too. I am making a newer football set in which every card is serial numbered to 30 and I end up winning about half or more of them that hit Ebay. I've bought enough of the set to know what each card should sell for. Being such a tough set though, I am willing to pay more for one than what it will usually close for to ensure that I get the card and not risk a bidding war. I'll usually offer the seller an amount and 95% of the time, I win it cheaper when they refuse my offer. I don't mind making the high offer though because if I for some reason lose the card, I might not see another one for a couple years being that only 30 of each were produced. One example recently was I offered a guy $15 for a common (which lists in the beckett for $18), and I ended up winning it for $1.50 because nobody else bid on it. He probably wish he'd took my 83% of book offer instead of getting about 8% and having to pay Final Value Fees on top of it. I agree that you owe nobody nothing and if the offer is clearly higher than what it would sell for, take it and save the fees.
  • mikeschmidtmikeschmidt Posts: 5,756 ✭✭✭
    <<Being such a tough set though, I am willing to pay more for one than what it will usually close for to ensure that I get the card and not risk a bidding war. I'll usually offer the seller an amount and 95% of the time, I win it cheaper when they refuse my offer>>

    My response to the above would be: Isn't that what the Buy It Now option is for? I often BIN certain items for more than they're worth -- and I sometimes sell items through BIN for more than I think they're worth. In the end it evens out -- but if you manage your opening bid and BIN levels, you shouldn't have too many options where a $18 card sells for $1.50
    I am actively buying MIKE SCHMIDT gem mint baseball cards. Also looking for any 19th century cabinets of Philadephia Nationals. Please PM with additional details.
  • KING KELLOGGKING KELLOGG Posts: 1,158 ✭✭✭
    I agree with Marc on all the reasons he stated.

    He touched on the "no bids" aspect in the first part of his post, and I would have to say, "if" there aren't ANY bids, you aren't upseting anybody except the snipers...

    Most of the time, I see bids going higher than what the "early out" offer is.

    Something to ponder....



    Larry
    I LOVE FANCY CURRENCY, pretty girls, Disney Dollars, pretty girls, MPC's, ..did I mention pretty girls???

    email....emards4457@msn.com


    CHEERS!!
  • The only reason they are asking you to end the auction early is because they are afraid that they might lose the auction. The only reason people lose auctions is because they do not bid high enough to win the auction. Do you really want to end your auction early and sell to somebody who is afraid of losing because he doesn't think his bid will be high enough to win? Buyers tend to know the current market a little better than most sellers. Buyers also know what their chances are of winning in a competitive auction. They know when they need to try to eliminate their competition. You can assume that if he's interested in the item so much that there will be others interested in it too.
  • Thanks for all the opinions. I will let the auction run it's course. In case anyone was wondering, Here's the auction

    Thanks,
    Robert
    Looking for:
    Any high grade OPC Jim Palmer
    High grade Redskins (pre 1980)
  • A few times I have done consignment auctions, and have received offers to close auctions early. In these cases I felt duty bound to pass along the offer to my consigner, and in a couple of cases he's accepted.

    I've had people send me angry email over this.

    The last time I did consignments, I believe I stated up front that I wouldn't close auctions early. If I didn't, I should start doing this.

    I think sometimes people offer because they see an item sitting on a low opening bid after a few days, and think that the seller might panic. Most of the time, the auction ends at more than they offer. Those times when it doesn't, I consider it worth it because I have less aggravation to deal with.

    bruce
    Collecting '52 Bowman, '53 Bowman B&W, and '56 Topps, in PSA-7.
    Website: http://www.brucemo.com
    Email: brucemo@seanet.com
  • mikeschmidtmikeschmidt Posts: 5,756 ✭✭✭
    The only other time I've seen people try go end auctions early is when they have a no-compete agreement with other bidders, but they try and circumvent that process so they still get the card they want, without looking like a total cad to the other bidder in the supposed agreement.

    Of course, these are people you generally don't want to deal with!
    I am actively buying MIKE SCHMIDT gem mint baseball cards. Also looking for any 19th century cabinets of Philadephia Nationals. Please PM with additional details.
  • KING KELLOGGKING KELLOGG Posts: 1,158 ✭✭✭
    rbeaton...


    Hey Robert.

    Looked at your ad. I'm suprised that out of 50 hits, there isn't a bid yet. (Hope there is a ton of snipes waiting for you!!!...)




    Larry
    I LOVE FANCY CURRENCY, pretty girls, Disney Dollars, pretty girls, MPC's, ..did I mention pretty girls???

    email....emards4457@msn.com


    CHEERS!!


  • << <i>Looked at your ad. >>

    Then how come you didn't bid image


    << <i>Hope there is a ton of snipes waiting for you!!!... >>

    I think out of the 6 auctions I had last week, 5 were won with snipes.

    Robert
    Looking for:
    Any high grade OPC Jim Palmer
    High grade Redskins (pre 1980)
  • I've also had people asking me to call a halt to an auction but I've always seen them through. One time recently, I had two people (who couldn't control themselves) asking me to stop the same auction. Obviously, I knew I was in a good position as a seller and let them fight for it.
    And I didn't hear anyone mention the other side of the situation. About a year ago, I had a seller call me and ask if he could end an auction that he knew I was going to bid on. He wanted to go ahead and sell to me at the minimum bid (3k). He stopped it. I bought it.
    Strong buyer of 1970 Kelloggs Football & 1971 Kelloggs Baseball and Football. Please help me find cards!
    I have a few hundred extra PSA graded 1971 Kellogg's cards. E-mail for price list. Looking for 1970 Topps Supers in PSA 9 too.
  • I've been on both sides of this fence. Selling to a soliciting early end bidder and asking a seller to do the same for me. Generally I don't do either, but when the planets align properly .....
    I need that 69 Bench ASimage

    image
  • shockmanshockman Posts: 73 ✭✭
    I just sold a softball bat on eBay and for like 4 days it barely moved. A guy asked me to end it and he said he would pay the amount current in the auction as he was the current high bidder. I told him that since others had bid I would not do that as it would not be fair...plus I was hoping it would finish higher. Well he offered me $365 and it finished at $445 so I did well by not ending it. Plus he didn't win it.
    Looking for...
    T206 HOFers in PSA 4
    E93 Standard Caramel
    EMail Me

    My eBay auctions
  • AlanAllenAlanAllen Posts: 1,530 ✭✭✭
    $445 for a softball bat????
    No such details will spoil my plans...
  • herenull
  • AlanAllenAlanAllen Posts: 1,530 ✭✭✭
    Golly
    No such details will spoil my plans...
  • i think as long as there are no bids on the item, then it's ok to pull it. it does look somewhat bad on the seller's part though regardless
  • I've never understood that - I sometimes get requests "hey, if you sell it to me at the current price, I'll send a money order out tomorrow." What, I need the money that bad that I can't afford to wait until the auction ends in 3 days?
    Why do I get the feeling, that some cards are worth money, while others are not?
  • qualitycardsqualitycards Posts: 2,811 ✭✭✭
    ARO & WAITTILL - are right! I have been asked dozens of times to end an auction or auctions, I politely decline stating that he should bid his offer and perhaps he can win it even cheaper. About 2 months ago I had about a dozen 1976 Basketball commons in PSA-9. Five or six bidders contacted me about stopping the auctions and saving on fees and getting the payment faster. Each offered from full smr to 1 1/2 smr to double smr. Many/all still bid on the cards they wanted and all cards exceeded double smr and a few hit triple smr levels...jay
  • VirtualizardVirtualizard Posts: 1,936 ✭✭
    Jay,

    I'll offer you $1,000 to end this auction early. image

    A little extra free advertising for you. You can send my commission via paypal. image

    JEB.
  • WabittwaxWabittwax Posts: 1,984 ✭✭✭
    I agree with you guys that it is usually better to not end stuff early unless you really know what something will sell for, but here is another example of it being good to end an auction early. Recently there was a unopened vending case of Series 5 Garbage pail kids. I had never seen one before on EBay (although honestly I haven't been looking very long). None were in the last 30 days so I had absolutely no way of telling what it's worth. Based on 45 sets per case at an average of $15 per set selling on Ebay, I figured the case had a breakup value of $675 (high end) to $500 (low end). So I offered the seller $320 to end it early. He did and sold it to me. 1 week later another case came up on Ebay and I figured I didn't want a second one until I knew for sure how easy the first sets would be to sell so I didn't bid on the second case. It ended up closing for about $250. So the seller did well by ending it early and saved himself Ebay fees.
  • The only reason people are sniping is they think they are about to steal something dirt cheapimage If there are No bids and somebody gives you an offer which you believe is very fair, take it. If you don't look out for your self who will.
  • qualitycardsqualitycards Posts: 2,811 ✭✭✭
    JEB - A $1000??? For me to end that oc PSA-6 of the legendary Louie B. - I think not! When your ready to make a serious offer, perhaps double or triple that, contact me!image ...jay
  • My only experiences have been on the buying side. A number of times I have seen a card disappear that I was willing to pay an obscene amount for. I once contacted a seller to find out what he sold the card for and it was hundreds of dollars below what I was willing to pay. It is very frustrating being a sniper sometimes.

    Bill
    Bill Roberts
  • rustywillyrustywilly Posts: 130 ✭✭
    I will never again ask a seller to end an auction early because it makes a lot of people mad.
    I will never again ask a seller to end an auction early because it makes a lot of people mad.
    I will never again ask a seller to end an auction early because it makes a lot of people mad.
    I will never again ask a seller to end an auction early because it makes a lot of people mad.
    I will never again ask a seller to end an auction early because it makes a lot of people mad.
    I will never again ask a seller to end an auction early because it makes a lot of people mad.
    I will never again ask a seller to end an auction early because it makes a lot of people mad.
    I will never again ask a seller to end an auction early because it makes a lot of people mad.
    I will never again ask a seller to end an auction early because it makes a lot of people mad.
    I will never again ask a seller to end an auction early because it makes a lot of people mad.

    but, what if...

    they have zero to five feedbacks
    they have a '36 World Wide Gum DiMaggio ROOKIE - yep, that's how I got mine - they made me so HAPPY image
    mispelled the description
    willing to offer ??? over SMR

    then again,

    The "BUY IT NOW" option would have been selected if they are willing to sell the item outright!

  • I would only end the auction if the guy who wants you to end the auctions is making you an offer you can't refuse...
    to end an auction early for roughly what it would sell for anyway can get your other bidders annoyed...
    I have found this out the hard way...
    -G
  • Well, the auction ended last night. The offer made was to end the auction early for $40. The final bid was for $20.50 and the high bidder was the one who made the offer. So this person saved ~$20 by letting the auction run it's course.

    Robert
    Looking for:
    Any high grade OPC Jim Palmer
    High grade Redskins (pre 1980)
  • mikeschmidtmikeschmidt Posts: 5,756 ✭✭✭
    Well, sorry if the advice seemed bad! It definitely is a good policy in the long-run, as you do not want to alienate future bidders down the line. It looks like there were three players in on this card in the last hour and a half of the auction -- so the potential for last-minute sniping was there.

    Perhaps on some of the more thinly-traded issues it might make more sense if you know that there will not be too many bidders down the line. But I still think in the long-run, it is beneficial to you as a seller in keeping potential bidders lined up for future auctions.
    I am actively buying MIKE SCHMIDT gem mint baseball cards. Also looking for any 19th century cabinets of Philadephia Nationals. Please PM with additional details.
  • Even though I lost ~$20, I still think I did the right thing. Heck, I didn't even shill bid it up to the amount I knew someone was willing to pay image

    Robert
    Looking for:
    Any high grade OPC Jim Palmer
    High grade Redskins (pre 1980)
Sign In or Register to comment.