ebay, strangest thing I've ever heard!
 

I just got an email from the seller of an item I won and paid for on ebay recently, saying he was selling it for someone else, and apparently that someone is unhappy with the price it received as they think it must be worth much, much more!

I responded I was at a loss for what to say, but that ebay is a pretty accurate indicator of an item's worth, with lots of people all over the world looking and buying stuff. I noted this item got nearly 1,000 views, many more potential buyers than any other venue would bring, and if anyone thought it worth more than me, they certainly would have bid higher in order to win it.

I'm dumbfounded, this should be interesting!

Maybe I'm over reacting here, but if it ships I'd spring for real tracking number and insurance. I can see it now...."I shipped that last week, what do you mean it hasn't arrived"?

ya that's weird. Hope the transaction completes properly. It's like they were/are fishing for more money.

Hope they have good feedback...

that's ebay for you, if you don't know enough to set your minimum bid or reserve price to the minimum you're willing to take for it, that's your tough luck.

You bought, it, tough for them. They might be sincere and inexperienced ebay newbs, or they may be con artists hoping to milk the sale for more money, but it doesn't matter. Simply politely remind them you were the winning bidder and ask them to ship it as soon as possible.

I had a similar experience a few months back. An experienced ebayer selling something for a friend. When it sold for x dollars, the friend thought he could simply ask for more money. The experienced ebayer finally convinced him he had to sell it for the sale price, and I finally got my item. As a matter of fact, the seller was so embarrassed,he sent me two for the price of one and was very apologetic it had taken so long.

They consented to the terms of sale when they listed it. They COULD have set a reserve, but didn't. I have sold things for far less than I thought they were worth, but it goes with the territory.

Keep copies of all the correspondence. You may need them someday.

I just sent the seller an email saying he placed the item for sale, 13 people bid, I won and have paid, its my item; any problem he has is between him and the other person and doesn't involve me. I think its an honest misunderstanding, seller has over 500 feedbacks at 100% positive. Hopefully it will all work out without trauma and drama.

Tough turds on him! If he doesn't send the item, he should be kicked off eBay. I've sold plenty of items for other people, and I always make sure they understand that they might not get what they think the item is worth. If he screws you, make sure you post his eBay name, in fact do so now, because I'd like to have a little "conversation" with him.
I smell the distinct oder of fish here....

It seems to me that a 100%, 500+ feedback seller may be honestly telling you that the owner is refusing to turn over the goods, so he can't deliver. Maybe I'm too softhearted, but unless the product was something I absolutely had my heart set upon, I don't think I'd push someone through a sale they really didn't want to complete. Dealing with bikes and bike stuff on ebay has always been just fun for me, and I don't get much fun out of leaving someone feeling like he got the short end.

One thing likely to close a tough deal, though, is to let it be known that you're willing to walk away. I wouldn't ante up another dollar, but I'd probably ask if they wanted to give you a refund so they could re-list it or put it on CL if they thought they could get more. If all that gets you is a refund, that's not the end of the world.

I don't sell for other people any longer. I sold a Hot Wheels car for a buddy and the bubble pack took a dent in shipping (he packed it). The seller was angry, my friend didn't want to settle, I was in the middle and took a negative feedback. My Dad want's me to sell some bikes for him. I'll help him clean them up and pack and ship them, but they'll be sold on his eBay account (which I'll have to set up) as I'll not get in the middle of dealings even for family. If they don't have a computer, they can go to WeBay ...

If you don't get your item here, I'd leave a big, fat negative at the very least.

Heh.. i've had an even stranger experience.. i sold a camera on eBay a few years back, somebody bid and won, and then emailed me saying they were not interested in the item because the price was too high!!!!

Some correspondence with them trying to explain how eBay works (but where do i even start?), and it became clear that they were just very, very stupid. Like borderline ********. And HAD THEIR CAPS LOCK KEY STUCK ON, which was just icing on the cake.

Ended up just giving up and relisting the item, which sucked because by then it was after Christmas and i got quite a bit less money. Oh well.

strange ebay
 

Here is my strangest experience as a seller,nothing to do with bikes.
I bought a inboard boat brochure (I do not remember the brand) at a garage sale for 25 cents and listed it on ebay.I was most surprised when the auction ended at $108.00.
Shortly after the end of the auction I received an email from someone saying if the deal fell through he would give me $200.00 for the brochure.
Shortly after that the winning bidder emailed to say that no one would pay $108.00 for that brochure!He offered something around half of the winning bid.I was not sure where he was coming from as that is what he bid and won the auction.
At this point I began to wonder if there was some sort of scam at work but I could not see what it was.I thought perhaps once I let the winner off the hook the other person would no longer be interested.I did not see how I had much to lose as it looked like the winner would not pay for it anyway So
I told the winning bidder that if he did not want to pay the $108.00 I would let him off the hook and relist it.After 10 days when I had not heard from him ,nor received his payment I emailed the guy who offered $200.00 for it,told him the deal fell through and I would sell to him for $200.00.I was certain he would no longer be interested or would offer to pay the winning amount of $108.00 or even less.Not so he sent me a money order for $200.00 and I sent him the brochure.

Exactly! Next time they can put a reserve on it.

That is indeed strange.. it _almost_ sounds like two other type of scam situations, but not quite.. The first being where somebody sells a *photo* of an item rather than the item itself. Somewhere in the text of the auction they say that they are selling the picture, not the item, but most people don't see it or ignore it because it seems absurd. You send them the money, they send you the photo.

The other is the fake bank check scam, where they offer you more money than the item sold for, and want you to refund them the difference along with the item. A month later, your bank tells you the check was fake, and you're out all the money and the item.

Good luck getting someone to ship to you if they don't like the price. I had someone not ship to me, and when I asked about it, he refunded my money, even though I repeatedly said I wanted the item, and not a refund. It was apparent that he didn't like the price and was delaying shipping intentionally. If I had held back on payment, we all know what would have happened. When he held back on shipment, it still went his way...

make ebay aware now.

I've had a few auctions complete at very low prices and I've just sucked it up and shipped. I expect anyone I buy from to do the same.

I received an email today saying the item has been shipped, with a FedEx tracking number, so I quess they got it all worked out.