Can you sell & directly invoice a buyer without listing an item you have only 1 of ?

[boxofficefilms]

Can you sell & directly invoice a buyer without listing an item you have only 1 of  ?

A buyer requested a dvd I have only 1 copy of so dont want to list for everybody as he may not get it.

To comply with ebay rules how can I do this ?

[amber-eyed-girl]

List it at the agreed price, then message the buyer the item number. List it at an agreed time too. That way they can be the first to see it, as new listings can take a little time to be found in searches. This method has worked for me as both a buyer, and as a seller 🙂

List it with a personal title to let others know it is reserved. Like "reserved for xxx" where the xxx is part of the buyer ID. That way you are fine, as it won't be an off-eBay sale.

[amber-eyed-girl]

The buyer can then find it by putting the item number in the search bar.

[ausbargainbasement]

Yep or just list it as something silly, tell the buyer to type the listing name in the search bar and purchase it and you will send them the DVD, that way no one else hpoefully will purchase it. Done it myself before.

[newnuseddvdbookscds]

when I get a special order like that I always list it as DVD for David or Book for Peter or this special order for Tammy works for me

[justajunk]

I would do as suggested above -- send the buyer a message with the item number right after you have listed it.

I would not, however, be concerned if someone else purchases it instead. What does it matter, as long as you sell it? Unless it's a widely sought after title, it is unlikely that someone else will snatch it up within hours of you listing it, and if they do, just apologise to the person you list it for, e.g. "I listed it, however, unfortunately someone else managed to purchase it before you".

Who knows? These weird request people don't always go through with the transactions. I've had a few over the years, and at least two or three changed their mind and decided not to purchase after I went through with the listing...

[chezzy]

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@amber-eyed-girl wrote:

List it with a personal title to let others know it is reserved. Like "reserved for xxx" where the xxx is part of the buyer ID. That way you are fine, as it won't be an off-eBay sale.

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This is my experience as both a seller and buyer, although instead of 'reserved for' it is normally 'private listing for' or 'custom listing for'. If I am the one listing/selling the item then I make sure the information is repeated at the top of the description. Have not had a problem yet with someone else swooping in and grabbing the item.

[go-tazz]

This is the way I did the last one,(they wanted specific titles):  331499628297

You can make the title anything you want that's agreeable to them.

This way there can be no excuse for anyone else buying it.

I notified them when I had listed it,(which was at a time convenient for them)

It  was also put as a 10 day listing,(so it would be rare for someone else to see it).

[cq_tech]

Tazz, did you make a typo above? I'm trying to get my head around why it would be rare for somebody else to see a 10-day listing compared with one of only 3 or 5 days instead, which would clearly have far less exposure.

[sparrow2207]

It would appear at the bottom of a long list (I personally get bored going though paged and pages of listings) as opposed to a 3/5 day listing which would be nearer the top.