sellers who withdraw listings after bids are taken

[08.lukey60]

When is eBay going to stop sellers withdrawing listings after bids have been taken. Once a bid has been taken a legal contract has been formed and should be adheared to by both parties. It seems this happens when seller gets bids lower than what they think item is worth. Sellers,  please respect you buyers, there what you survive on.

[jbmbkb]

not defensive jut stating my point , end of conversation theres really no point to it as i chose not to sell here anymore anyway .

[davewil1964]

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@jbmbkb wrote:

not defensive jut stating my point , end of conversation theres really no point to it as i chose not to sell here anymore anyway .

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You've got that right as you are unwilling to take on board facts.

[007homevideo]

Although an old thread, it is still a relevant issue. As an occasional eBay Seller for many years, I have lately (this last 18 months or so) noticed a pattern of reluctance, on the part of the majority of prospective bidders, to lodge a bid any earlier than a few minutes prior to 'end time'. Sure, there may be the occasional 'early' bid but generally there isn't any real movement until very close to the end.

For the most part, Sellers generally have an idea of the minimum amount they are prepared to accept for a given item; they must also factor-in the eBay and Paypal fees when considering the minimum acceptable end price. As a Seller, it isn't much fun when they actually go into the red on an item.

While it's good seller practice to list the 'start bid' at an amount which accommodates the aforementioned considerations, the reality is that this can be counter-productive to selling because, in my experience at least, the starting bid can appear to prospective bidders as too high to 'get  a bargain' and so they don't bid at all.

What the prospective bidder doesn't see is the 'watchers' stats available to the seller. With an hour remaining on an auction and only 1 'watcher', it's a given that the item isn't going to perform as well as the seller feels it should (and still be a fair price). In such a circumstance, the choice for a seller is clear - end the auction.

My personal opinion is that eBay (Australia) should reinstate the 'reserve' option across the board. That way, sellers can list wth a starting price of $1 - which encourages bidding, especially early in the life of the auction - and then relax in the knowlege that if the reserve isn't reached, the item does not go at a loss. The only option which guarantees a return that the seller wants is the 'Fixed Price' auction which for low-priced items is fine but is problematic for higher - but still 'fairly' - priced listings. My usual 'selling' category is currently burgeoning with 'Buy It Now' listings which have been listed for weeks, months and, yes, even years.

Still, waddaya you do, eh?

[padi*0409]

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@aubeatlesvinyl wrote:

Although an old thread, it is still a relevant issue.

Still, waddaya you do, eh?

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Me IMHO? I'd start a new thread on the topic which will be more relevant timewise than posting on a 2 1/2 year old thread.

[*tippy*toes*]

If you keep ending items with bids because you didn't get what you want (which is in fact a violation of eBay policy), after the second go, you still get charged the FVF on that item, even though it didn't sell. If you keep doing it, you not only lose money, eBay will eventually suspend your selling account.

I always start my auctions at the lowest I am willing to accept and have never had any problems selling stuff. Sure, I have a handful of things that have been relisting for over 12 months, but someone will come along one day and want them. Most of my stuff sells within a month or 2. Some items always sell first go. Most of my items don't get any watchers and very few page views. The last thing I sold had 1 page view and no watchers. Watchers don't always buy. I find the items that do have a few watchers are the ones that relist.

[jbmbkb]

i know im reluctant to put in early bids because of dodgy sellers getting mates to shill bid.

[*tippy*toes*]

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@jbmbkb wrote:

i know im reluctant to put in early bids because of dodgy sellers getting mates to shill bid.

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I'm a last second bidder. I seem to win more that way. I found bidding too early someone would outbid you pretty early. leaving it to the last second doesn't give them that chance.

[jbmbkb]

that too last 5 seconds and hope my internet dosent cut out. 

[davewil1964]

Use a sniping service.

or BIN.

[gmer7844]

Either you have an auction where the reserve is the asking price and once the bidding is started the sale proceeds till the time expires. Or you have an auction where if there is a reserve it's known up front and if the reserve isn't met then the hightest bidder has the chance to make an offer to the seller. As it stands once the item is withdrawn it vanishes and the bidder doesn't get a second chance to make an offer and the seller never knows if buyer would have paid more if given the opportunity. 

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@cara_83 wrote:

I agree, I understand that it isnt a contract, but I bid on an item that wouldnt of been worth more then five Australian dollars, only to have the item I was winning on removed. Now for god sakes it was penny pinching at its finest and if they were looking for a better price they should have raised the opening bid! The thing that just annoys me the most is you get no contact from the seller, which would have been good customer service and would at least give me the option to talk it through and offer them what they were looking for. At the end of the day they were going to lose less then 2 bucks on the item (going off what their similar items sold for). And you naysayers can disagree all you like, but I believe it is bad service and unfair. 

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@cara_83 wrote:

I agree, I understand that it isnt a contract, but I bid on an item that wouldnt of been worth more then five Australian dollars, only to have the item I was winning on removed. Now for god sakes it was penny pinching at its finest and if they were looking for a better price they should have raised the opening bid! The thing that just annoys me the most is you get no contact from the seller, which would have been good customer service and would at least give me the option to talk it through and offer them what they were looking for. At the end of the day they were going to lose less then 2 bucks on the item (going off what their similar items sold for). And you naysayers can disagree all you like, but I believe it is bad service and unfair. 

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@cara_83 wrote:

I agree, I understand that it isnt a contract, but I bid on an item that wouldnt of been worth more then five Australian dollars, only to have the item I was winning on removed. Now for god sakes it was penny pinching at its finest and if they were looking for a better price they should have raised the opening bid! The thing that just annoys me the most is you get no contact from the seller, which would have been good customer service and would at least give me the option to talk it through and offer them what they were looking for. At the end of the day they were going to lose less then 2 bucks on the item (going off what their similar items sold for). And you naysayers can disagree all you like, but I believe it is bad service and unfair. 

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