Would you end an ebay auction early if a buyer asked?

[dryheatbob]

Just curious what y'all would do in this scenerio:

I've got a bass for sale on Ebay(please note this isn't spam- no links or anything to direct traffic to the auction. I'm trying to be good!) with no reserve.

This morning I get an email from a potential buyer, asking if I'd end the auction early for the opening bid. He's a long time ebay'r with a good history and he's local.

Ethically, I'm torn. Selling the thing at the opening price is fine, there isn't a reserve. However...

what I'm weighing against is leaving the auction up and possibly increasing my profit vs potentially losing a certain sale if it doesn't sell.

The other consideration is pulling the auction for a sale that was created because of the auction. That at the moment doesn't sit well with me- just doesn't seem like the right thing to do. I haven't checked, but I'll guess Ebay frowns on that kind of thing.

The buyer did say the call mine and he'd just watch and see how things go if I didn't want to end it early.

Frankly I'm leaning toward letting the auction run and risking getting bit in the arse on a no sale(my tendency is to take it in the shorts and follow the ethical highroad most of the time).

What do you guys think?

Bob

[jawzzz]

I ended an auction early once, but it was on a relisting. I needed the cash, and had already waited the prior week just to relist.

I would say to leave it on and wait to see what happens if you don't need the money right away.

[Benjamin Strange]

If they are offering to buy it early, they must want it pretty bad. Just ask him to place a bid and cross his fingers; I bet you'll get more than what he offered.

[Nino Valenti]

Originally Posted by SMASH

Let it run and tell the guy that if there aren't bidders you will give it to him for the op0ening bid price he's already offered to pay. If it sells for more you win. If it doesn't, you still win.

What's the downside?

Unless he finds the same peice with a lower BiN.

I tell people to PayPal me the funds & when I receive the $$$ I'll end the auction early. I've ended a couple of auctions & the seller backed out.

[B'Aces High]

I bought my Harris sig this way.

I didnt have an Ebay account so i got a friend of mine to email him my email address. I told him i would pay the price he had at 'buy it now'
He agreed...i sent the money to him and now i am the proud owner of a Harris sig.
So i dont see anything wrong with it. Just have to be cautious.

[LoJoe]

I say have him bid the opening bid amount on Ebay. If no one bids higher, it's his and he's obligated to buy it. If someone bids higher, he has to decide how much he wants it and outbid them if he wants. Either way you are guaranteed the minimum bid or more unless he wants to ruin his rating.

[Mike N]

Originally Posted by SMASH

Let it run and tell the guy that if there aren't bidders you will give it to him for the op0ening bid price he's already offered to pay. If it sells for more you win. If it doesn't, you still win.

+1

[dryheatbob]

Looks like most of you are basically thinking the same way I am. I figure I'll tell him I'm going to let it run, encourage him to bid but that Ill let it go to him for the opening price if it doesn't sell.

All in all that sounds reasonable. Besides, the bass isn't a high end instrument that's likely to start a bidding frenzy. As far as finding the same bass for a lower price, I don't know what to think about that. There aren't any identical models at all on Ebay at the moment, but there are plenty of basses in the same price range. Guess I'm gambling that he's not after the usual precision or jazz copy. Hope not, anyway.

As an aside, my wife thinks I'd be nuts to end early and lose the chance to sell it for more $. She also has called me nuts(and worse) in the past for selling my Harleys and sports/classic cars for less than top dollar. What can I say? sometimes you can just feel when something is the right thing to do.

Just curious though- does anybody see stopping the auction as the wrong thing to do, ethically? I imagine I'd be po'd to find out something I was watching was sold out from under me for the same price(or less) I was willing to pay.

would this be a bad spot to place a link to the auction? (ok, mods juuust jokin' there!)

[jawzzz]

There is nothing wrong with it as long as you follow E-bays rules. From what I understand, he would have to bid on it, then you can end the auction early and sell to the highest bidder, which would be him. Other than that, there is no harm in it. E-bay is a gamble for everybody involved.

[lbanks]

Probably not......

[TxBass]

Originally Posted by jawzzz

There is nothing wrong with it as long as you follow E-bays rules. From what I understand, he would have to bid on it, then you can end the auction early and sell to the highest bidder, which would be him. Other than that, there is no harm in it. E-bay is a gamble for everybody involved.

agree. my only fear of having somebody PayPal me then ending it after you receive the funds is that in the short time between this transaction a third party could possibly bid and then what do you do? I like BIN auctions...with the required immediate payment.

[Aaron Saunders]

He pays, you end auction. No one's terribly hurt. What is it and how much is it going for? If you don't wanna e-bay spam, just pm it to me.

Note: I'm not looking to buy, just really curious. I'm sixteen, and I haven't had a job since October, so the little money I do have is saved for university.

[Hambone]

Originally Posted by TxBass

agree. my only fear of having somebody PayPal me then ending it after you receive the funds is that in the short time between this transaction a third party could possibly bid and then what do you do? I like BIN auctions...with the required immediate payment.

You can cancel ANY bid made after the payment is in your Paypal if you do it with an explanation. I've ended stuff early. I once had 8 bidders all asking me to end the auction early so I sent each a simultaneous email stating that the first to email with confirmation of intent to pay my specific (higher) price would get the item. Someone did and I ended the auction early. This was before the days of BIN.

[godoze]

I have done it and have asked to do it. I figure the market will only bear a certain price; if i am getting or paying that price why not do it ?

[canopener]

Well, if it has no reserve, then wouldn't the highest bidder win anyway? I wouldn't see how you wouldn't make out on letting it run the term of the auction, unless the winning bidder cops out.

[TxBass]

Originally Posted by Hambone

You can cancel ANY bid made after the payment is in your Paypal if you do it with an explanation.

i stand corrected...and since you do have the right as a seller to cancel any bid you are most certainly in the clear either way.
just don't end it early for those strange emails from Indonesia willing to pay 3x your asking price...that end up being scams.

[dryheatbob]

Originally Posted by TxBass

just don't end it early for those strange emails from Indonesia willing to pay 3x your asking price...that end up being scams.

Lol. Nope, not one of those. Just a local guy willing to buy at the opening bid. Course, if he has a thick sing-song accent, I may try to triple the price...

AAAAARRRGH!!! Why do these damned "That's wrong, do the right thing" morality plays keep popping into my head?

I'll bet this kind of thing NEVER happens to Donald Trump...


Bob

[TxBass]

Originally Posted by dryheatbob

I'll bet this kind of thing NEVER happens to Donald Trump...

Bob

I wouldn't bet against you on that one...

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by dryheatbob

I'll bet this kind of thing NEVER happens to Donald Trump...
Bob

Oh, it happens to him. He just doesn't notice.