Suspicious bidding

shmuli9

So, i'm selling a brand new laptop on ebay. I was hoping to get in the region of £700+postage for it. And maybe as high as 800 depending on the mood.
Ye i find my self 24 hours before bidding ends at £860. This is unreasonably high i think. 

Looking at sold items for this model laptop, the highest i can see is £850 (and that's def not the norm), yet my current high bidder is above that and still time to run!
My fear is that the buyer wins, and then tells eBay that is doesn't work or is not as described, and then he returns the item damaged or not at all, with me suffering the loss. Even in the best case i receive the item back working, but now its opened and not brand new anymore.

Should i cancel the bids? Am i overreacting?

K9

Have you checked out the bidder and his ebay profile? And are they the only bidder?
From memory, you can block some people from bidding on items being sold ....

soolin

shmuli9 said:

So, i'm selling a brand new laptop on ebay. I was hoping to get in the region of £700+postage for it. And maybe as high as 800 depending on the mood.
Ye i find my self 24 hours before bidding ends at £860. This is unreasonably high i think. 

Looking at sold items for this model laptop, the highest i can see is £850 (and that's def not the norm), yet my current high bidder is above that and still time to run!
My fear is that the buyer wins, and then tells eBay that is doesn't work or is not as described, and then he returns the item damaged or not at all, with me suffering the loss. Even in the best case i receive the item back working, but now its opened and not brand new anymore.

Should i cancel the bids? Am i overreacting?

If you are a new or inexperienced seller then there will always be the chance that someone has targetted you, however the time to worry about it is before you list, not afterwards. Hopefully you have good strong buyer requirements set, ie no serial non payers and for something of this value only people with a card or paypal registered with ebay.

If you are within time then it is your choice as to whether you cancel bids or not, however remember a buyer can only receive positive feedback so it might not be of much help- although sometimes the feedback left for seller page (assuming they leave feedback) is often of more use.

If you decide to cancel all bids though and end auction early unsold then remember you will have incurred FVFs already of £86.

One thing just to check is that your listing is accurate, if you are new to ebay and have used a sell similar from another listing or used a catalogue entry then just check you haven't left in anything like guaranteed warranties , extras or a better item condition than yours.

The one thing you can protect against is an INR or damage en route by using double boxes , good packaging and a fully insured postal method that actually insures laptops (many don't) 

soolin

K9 said:

Have you checked out the bidder and his ebay profile? And are they the only bidder?
From memory, you can block some people from bidding on items being sold ....

Buyers can be blocked either in bulk using buyer requirements (and they are always worth reviewing and re setting as times change) and also individually by using 'block bidder'. However there must be more than one bidder in as otherwise the item would still be at opening bid.

Silvertabby

I think some people see something they want and get carried away.  They may even see other bidders as competitors, to be beaten at all costs.

I've bid on stuff in the past, but know my limit and stick to it.  Yet, time and time again I see things selling for more than their new price because two or more bidders appear to have got into a 'fight'. 

bris

Selling high value items on Ebay is always a risk. Bidders over paying would ring alarm bells, scammers are rife on Ebay and they find a way to scam the unsuspecting seller.

For high value items a face to face sale through the likes of Gumtree or cash on collection from Ebay is the best way.

Bottom line is no one here can tell you it's safe or not, just the chance you take.

knightstyle

Is it too late to withdraw the listing?  Then you could re-list with pickup only.  If someone really wants it they either come and pay cash or pay for a courier at their own expense and risk.

Spoonie_Turtle

knightstyle said:

Is it too late to withdraw the listing?  Then you could re-list with pickup only.  If someone really wants it they either come and pay cash or pay for a courier at their own expense and risk.

Definitely don't ever let someone arrange their own courier because it invalidates seller protection - the item has to be posted to the buyer's address that's on their PayPal account.

soolin

knightstyle said:

Is it too late to withdraw the listing?  Then you could re-list with pickup only.  If someone really wants it they either come and pay cash or pay for a courier at their own expense and risk.

That could be even worse as OP will pay FVfs on the cancelled sale and when relisted can’t insist on cash on collection anyway . There’s a sticky thread about the issues of cash on collection and with PayPal now retaining all fees on returned monies it is an even worse option. 

Also as above a courier is never a good idea either. 

knightstyle

Sorry but I have allowed buyers to arrange collection by a third party several times. What is the difference?  I get them to pay by bank transfer or paypal gift when the courier rings them to describe the item.
So no risk to the seller and the buyer has third party proof of item.
Never sold a phone though, usually larger items of furniture that are too big for Hermes.

soolin

knightstyle said:

Sorry but I have allowed buyers to arrange collection by a third party several times. What is the difference?  I get them to pay by bank transfer or paypal gift when the courier rings them to describe the item.
So no risk to the seller and the buyer has third party proof of item.
Never sold a phone though, usually larger items of furniture that are too big for Hermes.

The sticky thread explains it all- the buyer will be shown an invoice that says paypal preferred - which you cannot refuse nor turn off, as a seller you have an obligation to accept paypal and cannot insist on payment any other way.

So buyer pays by paypal which you refuse to accept , you refund and lose your paypal fees, your ebay fees and potentially get negative feedback and a non performing seller complaint (those complaints admittedly are no longer a real worry for sellers). So you still have your item, you are out of pocket for all your fees - which hardly seems ideal.