Hi all

I'm selling a rare vinyl record on ebay.

Ebayer #1 places a bid.
So far, nothing wrong.

Then, a couple of days later, with about three hours to go, Ebayer #2 outbids #1 - before retracting his/her bid a couple of minutes later, claiming he/she "couldn't contact seller".
That's BS. I've been online all day, ready to answer any questions buyers might have!

This got me thinking.
Can other ebayers see the reasons for the cancellation?
And if so, might it be a trick to keep other prospective buyers from bidding? The way it stands this item will sell for the minimum bid - IMHO it would be a bargain.

The joys of Ebay selling just make sure when you list something without reserve that you really are willing to sell it for whatever it brings. You can stop your auction and not sell it if you want, there is an end your auction early form. If you want to know what someones reserve is you can bid a large bid find out the reserve and cancel your bid if your name is "Richard" AKA Dick.. Ebay sucks in a lot of ways now like the seller can not leave negative feedback for a buyer period. The buyer can trash the seller all he wants with negative feedback. If you don't want to sell it stop your auction no penalty just your listing fees and current and potential bidders can't do "Richard" :eek:about it.

just make sure when you list something without reserve that you really are willing to sell it for whatever it brings. .

I am. But there's been so many ebayers watching this auction I was sure there were better bids to come. Until this guy "couldn't contact seller".

I am. But there's been so many ebayers watching this auction I was sure there were better bids to come. Until this guy "couldn't contact seller".

Edit the listing to state that you are available for questions, and don't understand why a buyer couldn't contact you, since you are aware of no attempts to do so.

I have a guitar on Ebay i'm trying to sell. At the end of a ten day auction it sold. I didn't hear immediately from the 'buyer'. After four, five days, I put in a complaint to Ebay. This takes another four, five days to clear with them. After all that, still nothing from the 'buyer', Ebay closed the case. Nothing happened to the buyer. No negative feedback from Ebay against the buyer, nothing. Ebays rules state that sellers can no longer leave negative feedback. All I got was my coupla bucks worth of listing fees cleared and I have to start the whole auction over again.
Waste of nearly three weeks now ;)

[QUOTE=MTurner;373039]Edit the listing to state that you are available for questions, and don't understand why a buyer couldn't contact you, since you are aware of no attempts to do so.[/QUOTE

Good advice but too late.

I can't help thinking somebody did this to scare bidders away and that it worked. The record, a real collectors' item in great condition, sold for $10 more than the minimum bid which was a disappointment. Another lesson learned!
The plan still is to sell a bunch of rare records and save the funds in my Paypal account for the next time I get GAS.

I have a guitar on Ebay i'm trying to sell. At the end of a ten day auction it sold. I didn't hear immediately from the 'buyer'. After four, five days, I put in a complaint to Ebay. This takes another four, five days to clear with them. After all that, still nothing from the 'buyer', Ebay closed the case. Nothing happened to the buyer. No negative feedback from Ebay against the buyer, nothing. Ebays rules state that sellers can no longer leave negative feedback. All I got was my coupla bucks worth of listing fees cleared and I have to start the whole auction over again.
Waste of nearly three weeks now ;)

They are making it progressively less attractive to sellers, unless your a real high volume seller. It's very short-sighted strategy imho. Without sellers, you have no site.

But, they do have the "Seller's Reporting Hub" HERE (http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/report_problem.html).
But, for the Seller of something once in awhile, it can be painfull. But, there are some things that can be done for malicious bidding.

My BIGGEST suggestion is to set up your seller profile's Buyer Requirements to minimize bad buyers from even bidding.

Hi all

I'm selling a rare vinyl record on ebay.

Ebayer #1 places a bid.
So far, nothing wrong.

Then, a couple of days later, with about three hours to go, Ebayer #2 outbids #1 - before retracting his/her bid a couple of minutes later, claiming he/she "couldn't contact seller".
That's BS. I've been online all day, ready to answer any questions buyers might have!

This got me thinking.
Can other ebayers see the reasons for the cancellation?
And if so, might it be a trick to keep other prospective buyers from bidding? The way it stands this item will sell for the minimum bid - IMHO it would be a bargain.

The Buyer may not have been able to contact you. If he/she was a blocked buyer, as per your buyer requirements and/or selling areas AND your seller preferences are set to the default of "Blocked buyers can not contact me", they may not have been able to.

Sounds like one of those "compulsive, chicken out after they pull the trigger too many times before checking the bank account" bidders. Oh, they peav me badly. They are aggressive bidders, but dead beat payers. Ebay keeps an actual record of the communication and you can report them. If they are BS, it will show on the record. I had one of those that went on for ten days.