Gotta love ebay sellers that end auctions early WITH bids!

Bochiman

I had a snipe set (even though I doubt I would have won the item).
got the notice that the snipe was cancelled as the auction was ended early (and, last I checked a few days before it should end, it had 8-12 bids).

ALL bids were cancelled and you can bet it was to close the auction to sell to a private offer that was made.

Sorry...but I find that poor form (maybe even from a forum member...or maybe just an ebay powerseller....shouldn't matter, right?)

If you put up an auction, it is your right to end it...but, if you have bids and still days to go, and you had NO text in your auction that it may be ended early due to another venue (I am 100% sure it wasn't another "venue"), then you should be man/woman enough to let it run through, right?

Oh well, another learning experience..........................

lonelyp

I thought putting an item up was like a contract, like winning is a contract.
You win, you agree to pay.
You put up you agree to sell.

They DO ask before you, list the item if you really want to.

Ending early MAY be leagle, but RIGHT, I don't think so.
pz

Myqqy

Sorry...but I find that poor form

I agree- once bids are put down, the coin should not be pulled from the auction unless there was an error in the listing that would affect the bidders' interest in the coin.....
Who was the ebay seller??

stman

<< <i>maybe even from a forum member...or maybe just an ebay powerseller....shouldn't matter, right?) >>



Ahh, but it DOES matter. Board members do it all the time. No flack on that usually. It's the non-board members you need to fry.

Monstavet

I don't know what happened in this case, but I have had to end an auction early that had bids, so there are legitimate reasons. In my case, I had put the wrong year for the coin...I was off by a year - simple type-o that I didn't catch until I looked at the auction several days into it. I cancelled the bids, cancelled the auction, and e-mailed the bidders with an explanation and apology. Nobody seemed too upset.

Bochiman

Monsta....you are right, there are legit reasons.....BUT,

I would be willing to bet a reasonable amount (seriously) that this particular item/auction/seller cancelled for no "legit" reason other than $$$.

Bochiman

<< <i>Sorry...but I find that poor form

I agree- once bids are put down, the coin should not be pulled from the auction unless there was an error in the listing that would affect the bidders' interest in the coin.....
Who was the ebay seller?? >>



You may not know the person Myqqy....but, then again, you might...and you might be surprised...or, you may not be surprised


(How's that for a long winded way of not giving an answer?)

lonelyp

<< <i>I don't know what happened in this case, but I have had to end an auction early that had bids, so there are legitimate reasons. In my case, I had put the wrong year for the coin...I was off by a year - simple type-o that I didn't catch until I looked at the auction several days into it. I cancelled the bids, cancelled the auction, and e-mailed the bidders with an explanation and apology. Nobody seemed too upset. >>




Yes I agree you had a good reason. You also explained and apologized

But to just say tough and end an auction is wrong.

jdimmick

After I list coins for sale on e-bay, I will occasionally get an offer to sell outright from a buyer or even locally. If an item has not recieved a bid, I will usually end the listing. However, if a bid has been placed, then IMO, its not a good business practice to cancel bids and end auctions.

pharmer

Yes, it is a shock when that happens and you are, and have been since the start, the high bidder with a bid intended to win. In my case, I knew the seller, he told me what he had been offered to end it, and I at least had the satisfaction of telling him how much he had left on the table.

flaminio

Who's the seller? I try to avoid sellers who do crap like this.

Cameonut

Bochiman
I feel your pain and agree with you. Once an auction has started and there are multiple bids, it ought to go to completion unless there is a major error. By the way, minor errors like incorrect dates can be edited during the auction - it doesn't have to end. I did this myself in an auction last week.

I had this happen to me this week on a coin I was going to bid strong money for. The auction was from a well known board member that I have (had) alot of respect for. Numberous bids - and then the auction is cancelled. No real reason given - that is left to our imagination.
Cameonut

MrHalfDime

Interesting discussion about sellers ending eBay auctions early, particularly with outstanding bids. I recently had a similar experience, but with an interesting twist. An eBay seller posted an 1832 Capped Bust half dime which he believed to be counterfeit, and described it as such. Over several days, there were two bids posted. I have always felt that my chances improve if I snipe an item, so at the last minute I posted a snipe with a relatively large proxy bid. Just before bidding, I noticed that the previous two bids had been retracted. This seemed strange, but it really didn't affect me, so I executed my snipe. eBay informed me that I was the high bidder, and then the winner. Later, the seller emailed me to say that he had cancelled the other two bids .... because he had determined tha the coin was, in fact, genuine! He claimed he could not cancel the auction, and could not retract my bid because I had sniped at the last minute. He actually refused to sell me the coin that I had won, either as a counterfeit or as genuine. This was not the hill I wanted to die on, so I let it go. It is my opinon that the coin was mine to purchase, and that I was the winner. Any thoughts?

K6AZ

This has happened to me over 20 times in the last five years. I have a simple solution. Each time a seller does this, I add their name to a list and never bid on their stuff again.

Bustman

You can thank eBays rediculously high reserve fees for the outbreak of auctions that end early. It has become prohibitively expensive to put a reserve on higher priced coins. And before you say " just make the opening bid your reserve price, you idiot"... I can tell you that doesn't work! High open bids generate very little interest.....even if they are very reasonable opening bids. I end auctions early quite frequently. But 90% of the time it's because I have sold the coin in a private deal.

jdimmick

Bustman is dead on with his statement. I cant list things with a really low starting bid for fear it will sell way to cheap. Remember, it actually takes two or more persons intrested at $X level, to get your item to sell at $X Level. Also, with so many more people now waiting till the last minute to bid and snipe, most people's bids hit right at the end at approx the same time and no longer create the run ups you used to see a few years ago. This hurts the final realized price for the seller, but has actually helped the buyer. The higher reserve fee's are too high for many sellers like myself, and if you put reserves on everything, your profit margin gets eaten away with countless re-listings. Also, I agree, starting bids at your minimum acceptable asking price tends to limit the active bidders. Many times they just dont get the action. I have seen many times where a coin is listed at a certain level only to end and not sell, then get re-listed with 1.00 start and end up selling for more than it was originally listed for.

jim

Bochiman

And, you work the private deal and end the auction after bids have been placed?
Too bad, so sad for anyone who has already bid????