is this against EBay rules?

Legacy_user

There is an item up for sale on auction and I contacted the seller to see if she was interested in a buy-it-now price.

She replied to ask what I'd be prepared to offer and I told her. She then got back to me saying:
"if you can make it £20 direct to my paypal account I will take it down and send it to you. If you text or call me on <mobile number> I will give you my details and take your address for posting, is that ok."


It seems a bit unusual, because normally when a seller changes an item from auction to buy-it-now they just change the option on the listing and I click on BuyItNow in order to make the purchase. I don't like the sound of this and am inclined to not respond, but I thought I'd ask on here to see what others think?

porto_bello

The seller's idea here is to avoid selling it to you on eBay and therefore avoid paying eBay the selling fees.

Given that eBay would lose money, if you reported the seller, eBay would no doubt take it seriously as a case of eBay 'fee avoidance'...

The same thing happened to me recently: Personally I wouldn't entertain a seller that is seeking to get around paying their fees, even though, if it's a Paypal payment, you still are protected, so long as you ensure the transaction is for 'goods' and NOT a 'gift'.

SlowCooker

There is absolutely nothing to worry about as long as you don't send the money as a gift. When you pay with paypal, you will be protected.

The seller here is simply offering you a lower price by avoiding eBay fees.

Strapped

Well, which would YOU rather pay - £20 with a PayPal invoice (that gives you exactly the same protection as an ebay purchase via PayPal) or £22, to cover the additional 10% eBay fees by buying it through eBay? (Note that ebay own PayPal so they get some fees either way).

System

Each to their own, but I think I am with porto bello here, - I don't feel comfortable paying to the seller's account and texting my address to them. (As an aside, I can actually get the same item, brand new, for not very much more money than they are asking which for me rings another warning bell.) I presume dealing with the seller privately would also mean they avoid giving or receiving feedback.

I was expecting the seller to just change the option on the listing to Buy-it-Now in order for me to make the purchase.

aeb_2

I never change listings to Buy-It-Now. I did it a few times and thus paid the BIN fee only for the 'buyer' to end up not bidding so I lost out.

If I get a request now I send a PayPal invoice so it's all above board - PayPal fees are paid and address confirmed.

porto_bello

Strapped wrote: »

Well, which would YOU rather pay - £20 with a PayPal invoice (that gives you exactly the same protection as an ebay purchase via PayPal) or £22, to cover the additional 10% eBay fees by buying it through eBay? (Note that ebay own PayPal so they get some fees either way).

There is no indication that the seller was offering a 10% discount for buying outside of eBay. My interpretation is that the seller was content with £20, but thought selling it outside of eBay would be a clever way of covertly avoiding paying £2 in fees and keeping it for themselves (and keeping the buyer and eBay in the dark).

On this occasion, the cunning plan backfired!

SlowCooker

porto_bello wrote: »

There is no indication that the seller was offering a 10% discount for buying outside of eBay. My interpretation is that the seller was content with £20, but thought selling it outside of eBay would be a clever way of covertly avoiding paying £2 in fees and keeping it for themselves (and keeping the buyer and eBay in the dark).

On this occasion, the cunning plan backfired!

Lord have mercy!

cattie

You have to decide for yourself what to do. I've often bought from sellers after asking them for a BIN price & they have given me a price for selling 'off' ebay. I've been aware that if I'm not happy with this price & want to buy via ebay, then the seller is likely to want a higher price.

As a seller I've had a couple of offers to stop auctions & sell to person making the offer & providing price is right, as these have been larger items with people wanting to come & collect asap, I've been happy to agree. I don't see the point in paying ebay fees & contributing to their huge profits when it's not really necessary.

anotheruser

SlowCooker wrote: »

There is absolutely nothing to worry about as long as you don't send the money as a gift. When you pay with paypal, you will be protected.

The seller here is simply offering you a lower price by avoiding eBay fees.

This.

OP: Do you want the item or not?

Pay through PayPal (NOT ask a gift), link to the sale page (which PP gives you the option to do so) and the seller can send to your PayPal address to protect them. There is no risk to anyone. I have seen this happen from both seller and buyer loads of times. But then I have also been party to sales where the seller has changed it to BIN, but then this forces them to pay extra fees. However if they are happy to pay the fees, good for them.

Ebay is used as an advertisers board more and more these days.

Brooker_Dave

avogadro wrote: »

She replied to ask what I'd be prepared to offer and I told her. She then got back to me saying:
"if you can make it £20 direct to my paypal account I will take it down and send it to you. If you text or call me on <mobile number> I will give you my details and take your address for posting, is that ok."

So despite the seller doing *exactly* what you wanted, you're still bemused?