Do Ebay buyers ever contact you after an unsold auction, and then offer to buy the coin for a song?

Longacre · December 4, 2005 11:47PM

I only occasionally list items for auction on Ebay. When I do, I put a fairly reasonable reserve on it. I don't and start the auction at $1, because I am fearful that some sniper will buy something worth several hundred dollars, for $1.50. On the occasions that an item does not sell, I have received emails from potential buyers offering to purchase the coin (but at an extremely sharp discount). Does anyone know if this is "against the rules", or otherwise how common it is?

lathmach · December 5, 2005 12:02AM

I had a Civil War dog tag on Ebay, with a high reserve.
No one made the reserve, but a couple bidders emailed me after the auction and wanted to buy it.
I let it go for the $700 reserve to the person that was high bidder.
I paid $2 for it and some foreign junk coins, so it was a good deal for me.

Ray

mercurydimeguy · December 5, 2005 12:03AM

During and after the auction.

It's only against the rules if you're offended and report them

RBinTex · December 5, 2005 12:07AM

Making an offer is NEVER against the rules. ONLY the SELLER can break the rules if HE chooses to consumate the transaction OUTSIDE of eBay. If the seller gets an offer he feels is reasonable, he can always either modify the current listing or set up a very inexpensive new listing to keep things on the up & up re: eBay.

Russellhome · December 5, 2005 12:10AM

That has happened to me occationally, but a similar thing happens to me alot --- the highbidder on an auction that is not completed contacts me and asks if I will end the auction early for the current bid price. I do start a lot of my auctions at 99 cents -- it keeps the ebay fees down and I have yet to have a case where I regretted not setting a reserve. But some people think your starting bid is your asking price - so if a 99 cent auction for a coin valued at $100 gets bid up a little, the high bidder thinks you will be glad to sell it for $5. I try to be polite when I decline -- but it is hard. I do sometimes set reserves, but only on items that will sell well only to a limited number of collectors.

fullerfun4 · December 5, 2005 1:11AM

On occasion if a coin doesn't sell or meet the reserve (especially if I was the high bidder), I will contact the seller and express interest in the item and ask what he needed to sell it. If it is a fair price, I would buy it. Anything wrong with that?
Regards
Gary

poptopsRus · December 5, 2005 1:30AM

I get offers all the time. I usually start my auctions at my minimum but ocassionally start items at 99c like I did this week.

Rampage · December 5, 2005 10:24AM

I have done it many times. Buyers have also done it to me many times. Sometimes the deals work out-sometimes not.

I once listed a mated pair of 2000-P Lincoln Cents graded by NGC as MS66RED and MS65RED. It was a double strike mated pair and I started the auction at $300.00. Well, the first time around, it did not sell. Some eBayer emailed me asking if I would lower my price to $125.00 since that was FMV. I explained that the dramaticness (is that even a word?) of the mated pair were worth far more than $125.00. I relisted the pair and ended up selling it for 1.5 times my starting price.

Best part--->sold it to the person who asked me to take $125.00!

TorinoCobra71 · December 5, 2005 10:45AM

Yes......Nothing like a low ball offer to make you feel bad.....

TorinoCobra71

Do Ebay buyers ever contact you after an unsold auction, and then offer to buy the coin for a song?

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