Yesterday I am bidding on a used Cannondale and the auction ends with me as the second high bidder without the reserve being met. I wake up today and have an e-mail with a second chance offer. I open the message and it also has a "buy it now" price which is the same as my bid price from the previous day. So I agree to buy it at that price and go through all the paypal and like that transaction done. Later I found out that there was a mistake and that my bid was roughly $200.00 less than what the seller was asking. I didn't want to stiff the seller so I agreed to cancel the deal. The way I see it I should get the bike at the price quoted by eBay and they can compensate the seller for the misprint.

No problem?

Huh? Are you sure the second change offer was legit? The seller is the one who issues the 2nd chance offer.

I don't think Ebay was the guilty party here......

I sure hope you didn't just get scammed.

I've had this happen twice now. Seller sends a second chance offer -- thinking in their head that they were asking for their reserve price instead of my bid price. I buy the item for my bid price and then they back out.

Recently had an auction end and a seller not want to sell as well because their reserve (which they never set) was twice the winning bid.


They can all either sell it for the contracted price or receive negative feedback. Being ignorant of the system you're using doesn't excuse it in my book. It's still a person you don't want others to have to deal with in the future. The screwy thing is that you have to pay for the item to be able to leave negative feedback.

The seller made the error...........
My view is that when he got the money from you he realized the error and contacted ebay or submitted the refund via paypal.
It wasnt ebay.

And....unless the dude has like 1 or 2 feedbacks as score...1 negative transaction out of hundreds/thousands isnt really going to turn someone away from a seller.

I've sold 2 bikes on Ebay...(as well as numerous other bike parts...clothes...electronics, etc).
I've set my reserves at a price I was "hoping for"... then around the 24 hour mark, if it is around were I am "comfortable" selling it... I'll lower the reserve to maybe $10 higher than what it is at....that way the next bid is set and it will sell. If I dont like where it is going...I'll cancel the auction or keep the reserve where it is at (you can cancel before the 24 hour mark)....that way if it ends lower, I am not obligated to sell..and the buyer isnt obligated to buy. Its like he is saying "I'll buy your bike for $500" and I am saying "I'll sell it for $600". You dont reach an agreement...and you both go opposite directions

Ugh, reserve auctions. I always steer clear from those. Usually means the seller is wishy-washy and not worth dealing with or they just don't know how ebay works. You will always get a higher price for your item with no reserve unless it's something very obscure in which case you're better off setting the minimum bid at the price you want or just use buy-it-now.

I really wish people would skip the damn reserve price crap, and start the bidding at the minimum price they are willing to accept. Bidders can either bid, or pass. Makes life easier for everyone. Where in hell is the advantage of having a "secret price" that only the seller knows? I never bid on auctions where I see "reserve not met", unless the seller has revealed the reserve in the description, or while answering a question.

I will not bid on any reserve auction. I don't consider them true auctions. How don't know how many people waste time placing a bid on an item with a reserve that doesn't meet the reserve price? Why bother?

When you come in "2nd place" on an auction and receive a "second chance offer," that means the seller's buddies got a little overzealous is bidding up the item. He declines to sell to his neighbor, offers it to you.

Yep, there's that, too. Difficult to spot sometimes, but it happens.

if i care enough, i'll ask what the reserve is while asking some other question. i've yet to be denied that info in 10 or so requests.

also, i usually don't bother to bid anything with more than a couple hours left.. that's just chumming the water for all the guys (like me ) who bid their max inside the last 30 seconds and hope they win.

That is why I don't do eBay....

That's pretty lame.

ok mate.

shill bidding. why you so concerned about the seller who plays dirty?

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...dder-convicted

Dickery is afoot.

Exactly. Why even bother using an auction system if you're just going to squirm your way out of it if it doesn't go your way? Stick to buy-it-now or craigslist with that foolishness.

It wasn't at all. The way Second Chance Offers work is that whoever receives one is given the chance to make a purchase at their highest bid. If the bidding on an item goes up to $200, then the highest possible Second Chance Offer will only be $200.... even if the reserve was set at $1,000,000.






And this sort of doosh-nozzle behavior is the exact reason that I avoid eBay now.

Great responses. Guess I'm a dying breed, when you work out a deal you follow through with it. Maybe reserve sellers should refund the amount bidders go over their reserve.

Bingo!

I bid on a new item that the dealer is constantly listing with a $20 difference between the Buy-it-Now price and the listing price. Since the same item is constantly being put up, I decide I can wait the bastids out to save $20. So I bid the minimum and figure that nobody will bid against me, since they can bid on their own auction for the same damn item. Somebody bids against me. Funny, but no big deal. I bid on the next auction closing a few days later. Whatdoyouknow, some sum***** bids against me again. I start to get suspicious. I notice that in the completed bids listing, there are auctions for this item that expired without any bids.

Pretty obvious what's going on here. I choose a third auction and wait until about 3 seconds before it closes and bid the minimum. Win the item.

About a week later, I get an email from Ebay. "We want to survey you on your experience with this seller and this transaction," they say. That's never happened to me before. Obviously they've figured it out as well. So I tell 'em what I think.

There is one way to find out the reserve price on any item you are interested in. I usually do this a few days before the auction ends.
Simply bid on the item, and continue to increase your bid until the reserve is met. Once you meet the reserve at the top of the auction it will say congratulations, you are the highest bidder and the reserve price has been met.
Then simply cancel the bids. Say you entered the wrong amount.
Then you can decide if the item still interest you.

That's just as bad as what Jasandalb does! If you're interested in an item then bid on it. If you don't meet the reserve price then bid until you get to a point where it's no longer worth it to you. then stop. Simple.