Another (new) bid retraction question

gregmo32

I currently have some cards consigned with one of the big three eBay auctioneers, and for most of the last week one of those cards had a current bid of approximately $371. There were two bidders above $360 during that entire time. Today, when I went to check on the card (and others I had consigned),with one day remaining, the current bid was $16 or so.

The top bidder retracted, and then the second bidder did so too - for obvious reasons that have been detailed here ad nauseum.

My question is, what action is reasonable for me, as the consignor? Am I justified to consider having the auction ended, and re-started at a later date? I would think many bidders would be scared off and not bid, the facts being what they are. By the way, the first bidder has 20 bid retractions in six months, if that alters your opinion one way or the other.

Any thoughts?

HighGradeLegends

Its your card. If you auction has been sabotaged, then start over at a later day. No upside to let it ride

MrHockey

$.99 auctions have benefits and drawbacks. The whims of other bidders, as long as operating within eBay's rules, are one of the drawbacks. In my opinion, you consent to that when you choose to sell using that method, so I wouldn't pull the item. I wouldn't be especially happy about it, though.

grote15

Another example why many sellers simply listing items with BIN prices. I think you'd be justified in canceling the auction at this point but there's no guarantee such a scenario won't happen again when you relist the card.

slum22

It sounds like it is not technically his auction as he consigned the card for someone else to sell. I feel for you, I was in the same boat as you just a few weeks ago. I had one card consigned recently that was bid to $1800, retracted down to $1050, bid back to $1800 then retracted back to around $1450 all over a period of two days with three days left in the auction (and I believe by the same low feedback bidder). The card ended up selling for $1900 but I was not overly happy with the auction result. I thought that was lower than expected for that particular card especially with a high profile consignment seller. I do feel like the suspicious bidding activity could have cost me potential bids from bidders turned off by those auctions. I do feel you have the right to ask the seller you consigned with to end the auction if you feel the auction has been compromised and you have been harmed in the process. Of course there is no guarantee that the same situation won't occur again, but at least there is the possibility of a clean auction.

3 under par

Originally posted by: gregmo32

I currently have some cards consigned with one of the big three eBay auctioneers

Who is the 3rd big one, other than pwcc and probestein?

gregmo32

I would say "invest in baseball" has picked up enough business to be in the Big Three. He would certainly be the Robert Parish in the group, but The Chief is a HOFer, after all.

gregmo32

By the way, the card in question is the 1988 Fleer Stickers Dominique Wilkins PSA 9, which has sold for an average of $424 the last three sales. There is only one PSA 10 of this card and the set has become highly sought after as collectors finally began to realize how truly condition sensitive they are in high grade.

I am going to post the link in the BUY SELL TRADE section, if anyone is interested. After initially deciding I wouldn't do so, I decided to post it for several reasons.
#1. I felt it was easier and more expedient than trying to get the auction pulled.
#2. I knew it would get some more eyes to the auction that would not normally see it.
#3. If it is going to sell for a price way too low, I would rather someone here be the one who gets the bargain and not a random ebay bidder.
#4. People post links to their eBay auctions all the time anyway, so why not.