Bidding on eBay: is this true?

Noble_Scarlet

Picture this scenario:

There's an item I want on eBay being offered by 2 sellers and ending within hours of each other. I bid for seller A's item but the auction price is going beyond the maximum I'm willing to pay for. I switch to seller B's auction instead and end up winning that. I'm happy with my win, pay up, receive item etc.

Then I get notification from seller A that the bidder of their item is no longer purchasing for whatever reason and as I was the next highest bidder, the item is mine and I'm obliged according to eBay rules to pay for it.

My question is: can this actually happen and is it within eBay rules? I remember a discussion about this a while ago on the eBay forum as there was a real case like this going on and the bidder in question wasn't happy that he could be deemed a NPB if he didn't honour his bid.

I've done both buying & selling on eBay but wouldn't consider myself as very experienced yet. If it's true, then I'm going to have to adjust my bidding techniques from now on!

benjimoron_2

I've always understood it to be a "second chance offer", not something that they can force you to take advantage of. But I may be wrong!

Moglex

Apparantly it can happen, when a bidder retracts (I'm not sure what would happen if the seller removed the bid) and is the case according to fleabay rules.

Of course it's absolutely absurd and makes fleabay seem rather amateurish, but it's something to bear in mind if you desperately want to avoid an NPB strike.

Nadia

Noble_Scarlet wrote:

Then I get notification from seller A that the bidder of their item is no longer purchasing for whatever reason and as I was the next highest bidder, the item is mine and I'm obliged according to eBay rules to pay for it.

Did the winning bidder of item A actually retract his bid so that you are now the highest bidder or did the other buyer win the item then refused to purchase it?

If it was the first option then I'm afraid that the seller can open a NPB dispute against you. I know this isn't fair but that's the way it is.

If on the other hand the buyer actually won the item and refused to purchase it, the seller is probably just trying to bully you into buying it rather than relisting it and having to pay more fees. He has probably even opened a dispute against the original buyer and got his fees back. If that's the case I wouldn't even waste my time responding to him as he has no leg to stand on. Good luck.

victory

benjimoron wrote:

I've always understood it to be a "second chance offer", not something that they can force you to take advantage of. But I may be wrong!

It's true, happens all the time, it is up to you to take it or not though. xx

Moglex

victory wrote:

It's true, happens all the time, it is up to you to take it or not though. xx

Second chance offers happen all the time but being caught by a buyer retracting or seller cancelling a bid making you the auction winner is, thankfully, much rarer.

Noble_Scarlet

Nadia wrote:

Did the winning bidder of item A actually retract his bid so that you are now the highest bidder or did the other buyer win the item then refused to purchase it?

If it was the first option then I'm afraid that the seller can open a NPB dispute against you. I know this isn't fair but that's the way it is.

If on the other hand the buyer actually won the item and refused to purchase it, the seller is probably just trying to bully you into buying it rather than relisting it and having to pay more fees. He has probably even opened a dispute against the original buyer and got his fees back. If that's the case I wouldn't even waste my time responding to him as he has no leg to stand on. Good luck.

Hi Nadia
Not happened to me as I was just making the scenario up, but when I read about something similar happening to someone else for real, it did ring alarm bells in my head as I switch between sellers during a bidding war all the time! I did wonder about 'second-chance offers' also as I know those don't have to be accepted by bidders.

soolin

Moglex wrote:

Second chance offers happen all the time but being caught by a buyer retracting or seller cancelling a bid making you the auction winner is, thankfully, much rarer.

Quite so Moglex.

As bids can not be withdrawn in the last 12 hours unless it is also placed in the last 12 hours it is very uncommon to come across the scenario where you win something by default.

Soo

syanide

they cannot do this. its upto you.. be aware though that some sellers use this scam to get your highest bid.. they will shill bid the item then offer it to the 2nd highest bidder.. did the seller come back very quickly after the auction ended by chance?

chirpy007

Tell them to poke it, lm getting really fed up with Ebayers using threating emails to try and make people buy their stuff, who do they think they are, the Mafia.:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: Dont be hoodwinked by these con men.

littlesaint

I'm a seller, I offered someone a second chance offer last month and they did not get back to me in the required period. No Sweat - I just relisted it. If it's a second chance offer you are under no obligation in my experience. Ignore them, they will soon go away.