Just a rant about a C/V bike sale on Ebay !
Recently I had a frame on the 'Bay and I'm kinda pissed at the actions of a "buyer"
I had the frame on a auction but did set a reserve. I also had it with a "Buy it Now" option.
Shortly after listing the frame this "buyer" made a bid large enough to exceed the reserve and of course because no other bids were made the "Buyer" had the winning bid.
Great!
23 minutes later I received a notice from Ebay that there was a bid retraction. The " Buyer" used the reason "accidentally entered the wrong bid amount due to a typographical error"
I'm sorry but I have bid on tons pf items and never have "accidentally entered the wrong bid amount due to a typographical error" . And if I did I would have known about it very quickly due to all the steps required to submit a bid. Not damn near a half hour later!!!
Thanks to this action the multiple possible watchers/buyers (and there were quite a few)now were privy to the reserve amount and all possible chances at a decent auction process was destroyed!!!!
Here is the text of a message to Ebay that I sent along with a request to investigate.
"Please investigate this item bid retraction. Item #XXXXXXXXXXXX This member (XXXXXXX) bid on this item and after over 22 minutes the member decided to retract the bid. I believe this was a blatant instance of a member trying to ascertain the amount of the minimum bid amount. If you investigate this member you will observe that the member deals in the same items I have been selling and knows full well what the value of this item would be. I believe that it is unfair that this member can use the Ebay rules in a end around to benefit himself. If you or any other member had incorrectly bid on a item we would have realized this very quickly. Ebay has multiple checks and stops so that a member knows EXACTLY what amount they are bidding. I have been a faithful and honest member of Ebay for many years and do not appreciate members who use Ebay's rules to gain a unfair advantage over fellow members."
Of course I'm sure Ebay will do nothing to this member and a large part of the reason is because there is no way to prove my accusations. I know this and my opinions are just that. But they are based on years of experience dealing on Ebay. I have a number of accounts for various markets and items and have sold thousand of items so I am not a newbie in this. that being said, people do make mistakes and I have made more than a few of my own. On the other hand If it walks like a duck and ........ well you know!
Sigh!
Thanks for letting me rant!