Seller Stopped Auction

[enewbusiness]

7 days to go on an auction and the seller stopped it, is that fair?

The seller received a request for information and said they would like to buy straight away... I guess they contacted the potential buyer and made a deal... still unfair in my opinion

[onlinecoinslismore]

Yes, certainly should not apply to Aus as I think it would be reagrded as a restrictive trade practie under the Competition and Consumer Act in Australia.

Obviously this is not the case as per the items sold by most B&M sellers.

The link certainly says nothing about quantities available either.

I go back to what I said earlier in correcting information for the OP, in that the seller may have sold it off ebay.

WHICH IS PERFECTLY LEGAL SO LONG AS AN OFFER TO BUY OR SELL WAS NOT MADE ON EBAY OR THROUGH INFORMATION GAIINED FROM EBAY

Hence I believe sellers who use email addresses gained from previous ebay transactions to send out sale offers directly are contravening ebay policy.

[*crikey*mate*]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@onlinecoinslismore wrote:

"and I am still pretty sure that you cannot have an item listed for sale on eBay that is also for sale elsewhere"

But still not correct information. If that were the case then no B& M would be on ebay at all. And as I said, in my case ebay know I sell items through a number of channels, they just want the biggest share of that.

Perfect example

Item Number 221444560284

I think this prove that you can, expecially if one of the largest retailers in Aus can do it.

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You are mostly correct, but just to clarify the policy regarding items listed on eBay but also available elsewhere - what it basically boils down to is that if they are listed here, the available quantity is supposed to be exclusive to eBay. If you have one and list it here on eBay, it is against policy for it to be available elsewhere. If you have 50 and want 30 available in a B&M, technically you're only supposed to list a max. of 20 here. 

I can assure you this is the correct policy - I had my doubts for a very long time because so many board members would state this as policy, but no one could ever provide a link to it, and I couldn't find it in eBay's policies pages either... Until one day, anyway - I didn't bookmark it, but if I can find it again, I'll put up the link. 

BTW, eBay reps will tell people different things regarding what qualifies as against policy or not, there have been a few sellers that received a query through eBay asking if they had a particular item (items that were not listed on eBay in any way, shape or form, but related to the store which also had a B&M) - some reps say it's against policy to sell that item to the buyer without creating a listing, some reps say it's perfectly fine to do so because the item wasn't listed here, so reps don't know everything and there's always grey areas to every policy. 

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In the interests of getting the right information to eBay members, I have sent this entire thread up the line to eBay and asked for their clarification.

The rep has pretty much said what Digi says in this post (which is why I have quoted it) and that actions would include listings being ended etc if it came to their attention that this was not the case.

The rep has informed me that the listing policy team are working on a response for this thread right this second outlining their position on this listing situation and are obtaining permission for me to reproduce the contents here (as it is against board policy to reproduce private emails or chat transcripts)

I don't know why they don't write it themselves in the blue boxes as reps do, I didn't ask.

I just know that the above will be happening "as soon as possible"

[chuk_77]

BTW, eBay reps will tell people different things regarding what qualifies as against policy or not, there have been a few sellers that received a query through eBay asking if they had a particular item (items that were not listed on eBay in any way, shape or form, but related to the store which also had a B&M) - some reps say it's against policy to sell that item to the buyer without creating a listing, some reps say it's perfectly fine to do so because the item wasn't listed here, so reps don't know everything and there's always grey areas to every policy. 

Thought this bit was important seeing as other believe they are

[chezzy]

Curious. What happens in the case of an item once listed on ebay - say it was listed, perhaps even relisted 'some time ago'...had its time in the sun and no bites, no sale. And had disappeared into the background but someone searching google for an item somehow comes across an old link to the item? Does ebay still have a claim of "ownership" of that listing/item even though it is not currently listed and hasn't been for a while?

[*crikey*mate*]

I did ask that Chezzy (or similar) and they said no, they only have a claim to an item whilst it is listed and the occurance of a sale if reported is not too remote - ie it is unlikely the buyer bought as a result of the recent/current listing iykwim

so like if it was listed this week and then ended early or sold to someone pretty soon after, dependiong on the ciorcumstances, if they became aware they may conclude the sale occurred as a result of the live listing

they would check your communications to see if that sheds any light

BUT, the lady did say it was only current listings, so one that has been dead for a while? I think not - though - I guess if they contact you through the eBay PM system (is that possible with an expired listing?

So, if a listing was ended early and someone dobbed for it then being sold to someone else off eBay, they get a bit shirty

BUT, say I listed a car on eBay - the listing ran its course, well then The very next minute I am free to list it elsewhere iykwim

[chezzy]

I'm thinking along the same lines, Crikey. I do think it is a "grey" area though, clear as mud as the saying goes. Get different stories from different people. I think a lot of things go on on ebay that don't get properly policed - perhaps they act (or not) if something is reported. Another example is wanted listings. I thought they weren't allowed (and I believe they no longer have the wanted category) but if you search you will soon find a few wanted or wanted to buy listings....

[*crikey*mate*]

I can't believe you were able to decipher what I was trying to say!

i read it back and was a bity embarrassed LOL

really had trouble explaining myself

yes, the ebay gurus are tricky to fathom, eh?

i guess if ther4e are wanted adds, its cos no one has dobbed.

Or it might even be that no one found em, cos no one knows to look for thewm anymore, kniowing that they are not allowed...

*goes to do a search to see if anyone wants siomething I have LOL*

[*crikey*mate*]

OK, just had a quick look

found a Ford drum Brake -

Interesting picture

guess I know how they make easter eggs now, eh?

[digital*ghost]

The simple fact is, eBay can't oblige any seller to list an item here and sell it to someone who has contacted them via ebay, even though it looks murky and the reps give conflicting advice, an item has to be listed here in order to be able to breach the outside eBay sales policy - eBay policies can't apply to items that are not listed on ebay, but policies can still apply to members, so while you do not have to create a listing on eBay if someone enquires via eBay about an item not listed, you may be limited in how you reply and what information you can provide the other person.

The policies - 

Using member contact information obtained from eBay or using any eBay system to offer to sell any listed item outside of eBay (emphasis on the most important word there).

Canceling a listing to sell to a buyer who became aware of the item through eBay (can't cancel a listing that doesn't exist)

Ending a listing early to sell the item at a higher price to the winning bidder (as above)

Offering to sell an item to a bidder in a Reserve Not Met listing without going through Second Chance Offer

Offering to sell duplicate or additional merchandise to under-bidders without going through Second Chance Offer 

Sending unsolicited (without prior permission) commercial email offers to bidders for the same or similar products that they have bid on in the past

The rest of the above scenarios apply to a seller trying to use a listing to solicit sales outside of eBay, and the last one isn't even a no-no unless you haven't gained permission from the buyer to send them spam, basically. 

[*crikey*mate*]

UPDATE

I have received a response from eBay, but Lithium Moderators have denied permission to post the message on the boards as to do so is in breach of the Board Usage Policy.

So, for confirmation and clarification of the following, you will need to contact eBay yourself.

The gist of the message was what Digi expanded on back there in that if there are 20 items listed as available then all 20 of those items must be available for purchase through eBay whilst the listing is live.

So if you only have one of an item, it cannot be listed anywhere else whilst it is listed on eBay and to end an item early to sell to a contact made through ebay as evidenced in the messages, outside of eBay is also a breach of policy as is any sale that results from communication whilst the listing was live if the timeframe is "not too remote".