Contacting bidders

bylromarha

Am fairly new to selling on ebay, having feedback of 11 in total (only 2 for selling). There are about 5 identical items to that which I am currently selling on ebay. However, I have only had 1 bid on my item, the other items have had at least 3.

Do ebay get grumpy if I email the bidders from the other items that have already been outbid, just to give them a gentle nudge in my items direction? Would the bidders get grumpy (I know I would!)? How do others feel about this?

Cheers

bramval

I am sure that EBay would be very grumpy if they found out and would claim that you were breaking their rules.

However... they only have these rules to maximise their income and profits and don't seem to do anything about enforcement.

robnye

bylromarha wrote:

Am fairly new to selling on ebay, having feedback of 11 in total (only 2 for selling). There are about 5 identical items to that which I am currently selling on ebay. However, I have only had 1 bid on my item, the other items have had at least 3.

Do ebay get grumpy if I email the bidders from the other items that have already been outbid, just to give them a gentle nudge in my items direction? Would the bidders get grumpy (I know I would!)? How do others feel about this?

Cheers

when does your auction end compared to the others?

what is different in your add compared to the others?

most auctions, get more viewings/bids in the latter part, due to them showing up in the 'going, going, gone' section (from main ebay page)

ebay do frown upon email bidders about other auctions, but i am not aware of them restricting it .... as long as you are pointing them at your item via url.

bylromarha

"when does your auction end compared to the others?

what is different in your add compared to the others?"

(haven't yet figured out how to quote using this snazzy software!)

My auction ends between 2 days after AND before the other sellers.

I've also revised the item listing to make it comparable to the other sellers, so I really don't know why it isn't attracting the bidders like the other items are. One of the other sellers even has less feedback than me!

JPS

Hmmm I never knew this was breaking any rules at all? I do it all the time. I contact bidders bidding on my auctions and let them know I am selling more of the same product on eBay with a direct URL to the item. Most eBayers don't mind at all and some thank me for letting them know.

A "gentle nudge" in the right direction does no harm at all. It is when you start asking to sell items to buyers outside of eBay that buyers and eBay become wary and you can get in real trouble for that.

quoia

JPS wrote:

Hmmm I never knew this was breaking any rules at all? I do it all the time. I contact bidders bidding on my auctions and let them know I am selling more of the same product on eBay with a direct URL to the item. Most eBayers don't mind at all and some thank me for letting them know.

A "gentle nudge" in the right direction does no harm at all. It is when you start asking to sell items to buyers outside of eBay that buyers and eBay become wary and you can get in real trouble for that.

JPS?, I think you've missed the point, unless I have misinterpreted the original question.

I think bylromarha is asking about contacting bidders (that have been outbid) on OTHER SELLERS auctions, and steering them away from rebidding at a higher level on those auctions, and securing their bids on his/her own auction for an identical (or very similar) item.

Not sure that "stealing" bidders on an active auction is approved of or sanctioned by eBay.

Contacting losing bidders on auctions that have ended is OK.
I asked eBay a while ago about this and they gave me their approval.

In fact eBay operate this same policy themselves. If you've ever bid on an item but lost out to a higher bidder, eBay usually send out an email to you a day or two later titled "Item Not Won - Similar Items Found".
It attempts to show you the same product for sale in other active listings, possibly be the same seller but usually by someone else.

culpepper

no sounds like she has several of the same thing,3 have bid on one item and none on the others although they are the same thing.She wants to say,look you can still have another go,Ive got more.
I dont see ebay would mind as they get more fees if more people are buyers.

angelcake

I didn't think this was against the rules! I have done it before! On the threads on this board they even suggest it! People don't get annoyed with me they either say thanks and bid or just don't reply! I haven't done this for ages and have only done it a couple of times so have been quite lucky with response!

Altarf

Ebay frown on sellers contacting bidders on either completed auctions or live auctions. They classify such emails as Unsolicited Commercial Email (Spam).

Quoting from their site:
"At eBay we understand that you are concerned for your personal privacy. For this reason, eBay policy prohibits members from sending spam. Spam is defined as email that is both unsolicited and is commercial in nature."

If you send a message to a bidder advertising your auction and they report you to ebay, you are likely to be banned.

quoia

Sorry ALTARF but unless this is a very recent change of policy then you are wrong.

I contacted eBay a while ago with the following email:

"Hi,
I wonder if you could clarify if the following is OK or against Ebay rules?

After a successful auction where there have been bids by 4 different Ebay users, if I relist the same item again can I contact the 3 unsuccessful users (via Ebay) to inform them that the item has been relisted, thus letting them know that all is not lost and they could bid again if they wish.

I suppose the same might apply if an item failed to make it's reserve price and I wished to let the bidders know that the item had been relisted with a lower reserve.

Looking for guidance."


THEY RESPONDED WITH : >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Hello quoia,

Thank you for taking the time to write to eBay UK.

Not only is this allowed, it sounds like a wonderful idea! This will
allow to members who lost out on the first auction to have a chance at
the second one. We appreciate efforts from members such as yourself who
make eBay a safe and fun community to trade, quoia.

Best wishes,

Nigel J.
eBay UK Customer Support

.................................................................................................

Having said that I'm still unsure that this is exactly what the original poster was actually equiring about.

As I said before:

"I think bylromarha is asking about contacting bidders (that have been outbid) on OTHER SELLERS auctions, and steering them away from rebidding at a higher level on those auctions, and securing their bids on his/her own auction for an identical (or very similar) item."

Perhaps bylromarha could clarify this?

soolin

I agree with altarf on this one, you are not allowed to contact members who have bid on yours or other peoples auctions as it is considered spam.

The policy as posted by altarf is directly from the ebay site.

I have on occasions been approached by sellers where I have been a succesful bidder asking me if I want to go on their mailing list, that is allowed. Second chance offers through the ebay system are also allowed, but all other contact is spam.

I was recently bidding on tickets and was approached by sellers giving me links to their own auctions, all these emails actually carry a direct link to report them if the receiver considers them spam. I also got emails from sellers where I had bid on their auctions saying that items had been relisted (or in one case a second pair had been listed). Out of interest I just went to check some of their user ids and at least 2 of the users are now NARU.

It might be that the NARU is nothing to do with the spam policy, I am aware that selling tickets is a risky business, but it would make me think twice about it.

Soo