Was I Out of Line?

Vargha

An eBay bidder who beat me out on a PSA 9 card, e-mailed me that he had bid on it and discovered later that he already owned the card. He said that the seller was upset with him because he was trying to back out of the sale, and would I be interested in buying it from the seller for the winning price of $1 more than my underbid. I said that I would, but that he would need to pay me the $8.50 extra he cost me had he not bid on the card. He wrote back, "Never mind."

I figured that it was only fair, and that he would have likely lost more than that, including auction fees were he to turn around and try to sell it on eBay. Obviously, his reaction tells me that he thought I was out of line. What do you guys think?

thegemmintman

I think that you made a reasonable request to him. It's strange that he backed out unless the value of the card was very low.

Vargha

The winning bid was for around $46.

Tipem

Where was the line?I never even knew there was a line.What were they giving away?

Vargha,

You did okay.I would have done the same.Maybe he found out that he really needs two cards. I wouldn't sweat the small stuff!!


Vic

GoSoxBoSox

For an auction of only $46 a difference of $8.50 is somewhat substantial. I wouldn't sweat it. Next time he should check his inventory before he bids.

Vargha

I wasn't worried about it. I just wanted to see if my thinking was right. The eight bucks wasn't a big deal as it was actually only $1 over my maximum bid. It was the fact that his errant bidding drove up the price and now I was being asked to pay for his mistake. That's where I was coming from.

gemint

You were completely justified in making that counter offer. For all you know, he could be a shill bidder. Or, like you said, he was asking you to pay for his mistake.

Mantlefan

In this situation, I agree that he should have offered you the card for the 3rd bidder's bid plus $1. It was his error, why should you have to pay? That card will probably show up on EBAY soon. Don't bid on it!

KING KELLOGG

Ebay has a "second chance" system in place for all items. If the seller has trouble with the bid in first position, he can just touch a couple of keys on his computer and the deal can automatically be offered to the next highest bidder.

Vargha, you did the "fair" thing...


Larry

LuxuryWines

Vargha,

I f you explained your rationale to the bidder as you explained it here , you were not out of line ...Jeff

cardbroad

I agree with Mantlefan on basing your price on the 3rd bidder. The 3rd bidder bid may have had a bid in of only $35. Then at the end you snipe a $45 bid and the mad bidder snipes in a $46 plus bid. He is the winner at $46. Without his reckless bidding you would have won the card for $36. This is what you should pay. Remember that you are doing him the favor and are under no obligation to do anything. It also depends on how much you need the card.

Buckwheat

You weren't out of line at all. Then again, he wasn't either. He bought the card and didn't want it. He offered it to you at a price, and you declined. Should be the end of story.

The only reason I can see the other bidder being upset is probably because of the way you phrased your counteroffer. If you had said what price you were willing to pay, rather than basing the price on what you MAY have gotten the card for, it would have been more businesslike. You can't know if there were any bidders between the third bid and yours that didn't show up on the bidder list because their bids were below the card price. I often snipe cards, and my bids never go off, because the second bidd is higher than mine, though mine may be signofocantly more thant the 3rd bid.

Now if you actually wanted the card at your max bid price, then you haved "cut off your nose to spite your face" by rejecting his offer. You made your point with him, but still didn't get the card.

Scoop

I was going to chime in, but Buckwheat has nailed it.

Vargha

The downside risk was minimal to me. It's a 1975 Topps card, afterall. The current POP. is 6, but will no doubt climb and become easier to acquire. I think time is on my side and not his as the ability to realize a high price for it will likely drop over time. Now were this a card from the 1949 or 1951 Bowman sets that I once owned, my response would very likely have been to suck it up and pay the extra buck.

Buckwheat

Vargha--I understand completely why you didn't accept his offer. I wouldn't have either, in your circumstances.

Perhaps, a reply of something like" thanks for the offer, but I was hoping to actually get it for less than my max bid," would have prompted him to offer you a discount. The unspoken implication here is the same, that he probalby cost you some bucks. AT the least, he couldn't have been offended. When you replied the way that you did, he didn't have a face-saving way to complete the deal, thus the "never mind". The guy screwed up, and was hoping you would bail him out. You were under no obligation to. But knowing you had wanted the card, it was a reasonable idea to ask you, figuring that maybe you still wanted it, and it would help him also.

From his side, he probably should have anticipated your reaction, and offered you the card for a little less, mentioning that he realizes his bid likely drove up your price.

In summary, IMO you were not out of line, and shouldn't have accepted the offer, but your response closed any chance of an outcome where both of you would feel good about it.

brucemo

The winning bidder should have paid and taken delivery. If he bid on something, he is honor-bound (at least) to pay for it unless the seller makes a mistake.

Some people don't understand the "third place bidder" thing. I've been offered cards at my top when the high bidder backed out, and I've explained that the only reason my top was reached was because of the high bidder, noted that the third place bidder was a ways back, and gone from there.

This is a questionable argument though, because there may have been another bidder who would have been between me and the third place bidder, but he could bid, because he came along after the winning bidder jacked up the bid price.

So really this is just negotiation.

You weren't out of line, the winning bidder was. It sounds like you were a little abrasive, and that got to the winning bidder. You probably could have phrased your reply in such a way that the guy wasn't tweaked, and maybe gotten what you wanted out of the deal, but as long as you were civil there's nothing to criticize. The guy bid on the wrong card, and this cost you a card you needed, some aggravation, and/or some money. You have a right to be a little tweaked.

I would have tried not to show him that I was tweaked, but that's just me. "People are stupid" is my mantra. I can live with them being stupid. If I can get what I want, at the cost of having to placate an idiot a little bit, it's probably worth it.

The classic case of this was explained to me by my realtor. He'd just bought a house, and he'd dropped by to do some business, and met the owner. The owner was moving his stuff out, and he offered to sell my realtor the garage door opening system for $100. My realtor knew that the guy was obliged to leave the garage door opening system in place, since things like that are technically part of the house, but he paid, in order to keep the guy happy and reduce the odds of future trouble.

bruce

Buckwheat

Well said, as usual, Brucemo.

goodriddance189

i dont think you were out of line at all