Ebay Etiquette..What to do?

Hi,

I am new to Ebay. I had an auction that ended in not meeting my reserve. One person emailed me and said that they would pay my reserve price for the fabric but this person was not the highest bidder at the end of the auction.

There aren't any written rules denoting who a seller should sell to if the auction ends and the reserve isn't met as far as I know. But this person became angry at me for not offering her the fabric first at the end of the auction and she said its typical that the highest bidder is offered the item first at the end of the auction even if the auctions reserve isn't met. I guess she expected me to contact her first offering the item to her. She didn't email me saying she wanted to pay my reserve for the item until a day or so after the auction had ended in which time I had corresponded with the other person who said they would pay my reserve twice.

My question is:

What do most sellers do on Ebay in this situation?

Is it first come first serve when an auction ends not meeting the reserve or is it proper Ebay ettiquette to offer the item to the highest bidder first? Or is it the highest bidders responsability to contact you in this case saying they will pay the reserve?

I think that I will follow whatever the normal Ebay ettiquette is in the future.

Thank you for any advice,

Kathleen

Wow, I don't get this reasoning. But then I don't run any reserve auctions. I'm interested in turning inventory quickly, not gazing at it lovingly day after day.

Sure, it costs time and money to list the item. It's called advertising. If someone contacts you post-sale wanting to buy the item at a price that suits you, you're going to call them a 'vulture' and slam the door in their face? If they were out of town during the term of the auction, do they still get the vulture treatment? Given that you don't have to pay Final Value Fees on post-auction transactions, you still think these are carrion-eaters?

Like I said, I just don't get it. You can always say no. One would hope you would say it politely but it's not required.

Never could figure out people who are in the business of selling stuff but don't want to sell.

HoHoHo ... I'm alright Jack. ;>

Hi Kat,

First, what I don't understand is that those people didn't just bid outright at the auction. One willing to pay your reserve once, one willing to pay your reserve twice... My idea is that the goal of an auction is having two or more people bidding for something. Good for (seller's) business. Waiting until the auction ends hoping for a better deal is taking a risk, for which bidders are responsible themselves. The way I see it: Not bidding enough = not wanting it enough, and reserve not met = no sale = no transaction = no rights for high bidder.

Regards,

excuse-my-English Patricia

If a reserve has not been met, you are not under any obligation to sell to anyone at your reserve price. If you wish to do so, it is entirely up to you, and the high bidder has no right to demand that you should have asked her first. One note, if you are getting more than one contact on the item after it closes, it us unlikely that the item wouldn't sell the second time around, so unless you've already agreed to sell to one of them, I would tell them both that you are going to repost, and then send each of them a copy of the URL of the item when you have done so. This way they can fight it out among themselves, and you will likely come out ahead. Of course they could both get mad and refuse to bid the second time around. Just a risk you take.

Richard Ward

Thank you everyone so much for your advice! I really do appreciate it. I wasn't sure if I was doing it the wrong or right way on Ebay.

Anyway, miraculously I made them both happy. I am selling 3 meters of the fabric to one woman (the first woman who emailed me) and to the second I am giving her the same fabric that I happen to have left over which equals 2 meters.

Out of the sales I'll make about 50 dollars after postage which I am pretty satisfied with.

Next time I think I will either repost the item or put it up for sale on my business website.

Thank you, Remember When, Charleen, Ronnie, Patricia and Richard for your help.

Regards,

Kathleen

I agree...when the transaction is over..it's the end. It's now a private sale with no third party involved. I have sellers contact me all the time to make an after auction deal and I have done the same to sellers.

Shucks! When I don't sell an item I listed on e-bay... I figure I PAID E-BAY....DIDN'T SELL....Now, it is STILL my property and I can sell it to WHOEVER I wish for HOWEVER much they want to pay! If they wanted it at e-bay... they should have bought it!

I did this just today... one of the bidders e-mailed me and asked... What was your reserve... I told him and he e-mailed back that he would like to buy the item at the reserve... SOLD! BANG! DONE! PROFIT!

The name of the game is SELL! No one will take care of You if You don't! Bye!

Add my agreement to all the others. In the beginning it bothered me. A friend of mine calls the people who wait until the auction is over 'Bottom Feeders'. However, he and I both agree that the money of Bottom Feeders is just as green as anyone else's and if they want to pay me reserve, I'm happy to sell to them. However, I do generally contact the high bidder first and offer to them. I always tell them I'm writing them out of courtesy because I've been contacted by someone else regarding the item they bid on and ask them to respond within 24 hours.

Ashley, The buying market has a slang word for Ebay sellers also...... jc

Thank you!

doitnow, JC, Ashley, and Tsu for your advice about Ebay. I feel much more confident now and in the future on how to handle the situation. I think in the future I will do either what Ashley suggested or I will just put it up for sale on my website.

Best Regards,

Kathleen