Seller 'pulls' item before end of auction.

Norma_Desmond

Twice in the last couple of months I've been watching Ebay items with a view to bid........and the seller suddenly ends the auction with a couple of days to go. :mad:

Both items were pick up only, and the last one even had a bid on it.

It's pretty obvious that the sellers must have had offers they couldn't refuse and sold the items 'off' Ebay.

Just a rant really, but I only hope (not) that they got more than I was willing to pay.

ballisticbrian

Try putting a bid on so the seller can see there's more interest than say, a 99p bid.

Norma_Desmond

ballisticbrian wrote: »

Try putting a bid on so the seller can see there's more interest than say, a 99p bid.

I was going to, but as there was a bid on it anway I didn't bother - and it still had days to go.

Just makes me angry - an auction should always run its course.

suburbanwifey

I think the problem with most bidders now is that they all want to wait until the last minute to bid. I often list items for 7 days and nothing happens then it all happens in the last 10 minutes! But I don't like that at all, everyone wants to get as cheap as possible so if a seller lists at 99p assuming interest will gather and the price will rise gradulally over the days, it often doesn't happen any more due to the way bidders bid now. Very frustrating. I listed an item last week at 99p, 33 watchers and not one bid! I was quite sure I wasn't going to give it away for 99p so I cancelled my listing 24 hours prior to end of auction. Tired of bidders who will watch but not bid.

suburbanwifey

Out of curiosity, why didn't you bid if you wanted the item?

alykatz

suburbanwifey wrote: »

I think the problem with most bidders now is that they all want to wait until the last minute to bid. I often list items for 7 days and nothing happens then it all happens in the last 10 minutes! But I don't like that at all, everyone wants to get as cheap as possible so if a seller lists at 99p assuming interest will gather and the price will rise gradulally over the days, it often doesn't happen any more due to the way bidders bid now. Very frustrating. I listed an item last week at 99p, 33 watchers and not one bid! I was quite sure I wasn't going to give it away for 99p so I cancelled my listing 24 hours prior to end of auction. Tired of bidders who will watch but not bid.

Just a thought but maybe try starting the auction at a price you would be happy to sell at in the first place.
Its also very frustrating for buyers when sellers do this just in case they dont get the price they want.
Im also tired of sellers who dont sell.

suburbanwifey

alykatz wrote: »

Just a thought but maybe try starting the auction at a price you would be happy to sell at in the first place.
Its also very frustrating for buyers when sellers do this just in case they dont get the price they want.
Im also tired of sellers who dont sell.

The problem with that is that you have to pay a fee to list at a higher price! 99p listings are free, which reduces somewhat the exorbitant fees eBay charge + PayPal fees.

marleyboy

Its pretty common, many times have I sold items due to an offer of a BIN and removed the bid from Ebay, likewise I myself have made an offer on items as a BIN whereas the seller has removed the bid and accepted my offer to buy.

If you want the item bad enough, its worth making an offer to the seller that you are happy with, they either let the bid run its course or accept your offer.

Norma_Desmond

suburbanwifey wrote: »

Out of curiosity, why didn't you bid if you wanted the item?

Because as you rightly said, most bidders do wait until the bitter end before bidding.

If I'm hoping to buy something, I don't wan't to give other bidders the heads up on the item days in advance.

Norma_Desmond

marleyboy wrote: »

Its pretty common, many times have I sold items due to an offer of a BIN and removed the bid from Ebay, likewise I myself have made an offer on items as a BIN whereas the seller has removed the bid and accepted my offer to buy.

If you want the item bad enough, its worth making an offer to the seller that you are happy with, they either let the bid run its course or accept your offer.

But then what's the point of Ebay being an actual auction site?

Everyone may as well go back to buying/selling with Exchange and Mart.

alykatz

suburbanwifey wrote: »

The problem with that is that you have to pay a fee to list at a higher price! 99p listings are free, which reduces somewhat the exorbitant fees eBay charge + PayPal fees.

You may think they are exorbitant, but where else could you list at that price and get the potential buyer pool it provides.

Plus you could always take advantage of the free listing weekends they are pretty frequent [roughly every 2 weeks] at the moment,so you could list at the minimum price you want to start with.

Norma_Desmond wrote: »

But then what's the point of Ebay being an actual auction site?

Everyone may as well go back to buying/selling with Exchange and Mart.

Again they didnt/dont have the potential buyer pool ebay provides.