Confused By Ebay Live.
Summary: theelench shared their experience about missing out on an eBay Live auction for a specific coin, expressing confusion over the auction timeline and process. jonatjonatjonat and technthread explained that eBay Live auctions occur during live events and recommended using the 'Remind me' feature to participate on time. theelench acknowledged the oversight and inquired if auction commitments are binding for sellers, to which responses indicated that while sales are generally binding, cancellations could still occur under certain conditions. The discussion highlighted potential programming issues with eBay's interface and the importance of understanding live auction procedures.
I've been buying a few coins recently searching for specific coins to complete my collection. Searching for an 1844 Crown I found a nice example from a BNTA member, registered as a business on ebay with 100% FB over several years and many sales. They are an Ebay Live seller, the first time I've come across one. Looking at their ad. it looked like there were 5 days to run on the auction, so I added it to my Watch List ignoring the prompt from ebay to "Remind me on 14/8".
I checked my Watch List on 14/8 and decided to make an early bid. Clicked the "Bid" button, read the T&Cs, agreed to pay immediately if I won and confirmed my payment method (paypal) and delivery address but couldn't find anywhere to enter a bid.
I gave up thinking I still had several days to figure it out. Today (16/8) I checked the Watch List again and found that it sold yesterday 15/8. Very disappointed as it sold for a price that I would have bid more than.
When looking at the ad. I don't recall any clock ticking down or anything else to indicate that the auction was to end on 15/8.
Where did I go wrong ?
How do I avoid doing so again in the future.
theelench
OP2 weeks agoThanks for your replies. Next time I'll open the Live Event and proceed from there, not from my Watch List.
sml192
·2 weeks agoAlthough the sale is meant to be binding buyers can still request a cancellation, the same as for any other type of listing, and I would, therefore, assume that sellers get the normal cancellation options aswell.
It is now possible to pre bid on eBay Live items if the seller has pre loaded the listing and set it as 'Active':
'Here’s what each status means:
Reserved for live: Buyers cannot view or purchase this item before the event begins
Reserved for live with preview: Buyers can view this item before the event, but it cannot be purchased until the event begins
Active: Buyers can purchase or bid on this item before the event begins'
@technthread @jonatjonatjonat
theelench
OP2 weeks agoI can see that now, with only a couple of items on my List, I thought I didn't need to. I'd hardly forget, But I thought I had 5 days to work out how it worked and would be able to bid from my list. :(
theelench
OP2 weeks agoThanks for the quick replies. I can see my first mistake, going to the listing from the search results. I did see something about days 2 and 3 of events. I clicked on one and saw a video of the seller turning over a different coin. As I was happy with the photos on the listing, I didn't watch any further.
And second was ignoring the "Remind me..." prompt once I'd added the item to my Watch List.
I wish ebay would explain these things better, I missed one nice coin and perhaps will again by missing something else !
Another question. Ebay explain that a winning bid is binding and I've confirmed that I'm happy to pay instantly if I win. Does that work both ways ? Auctions starting at .99p (which is where most of the sellers Live items start) can be risky. If the highest bid is not as high as the seller expected does ebay prevent the seller from cancelling the sale ?
boundarycoins
·2 weeks ago · EditedWe really need someone who actively sells or bids on these lives to be sure but I’d imagine the live ends and then the sale functions exactly like a normal eBay sale from the seller‘s side in that they still need to dispatch and have the ability to cancel orders.
I would have thought that seller initiated cancellations are pretty rare though as anyone doing these knows the pros and cons going in. The eBay fee incentives also give the seller more leeway to take a few hits and I’m sure they will factor that possibility in.
Having not watched eBay lives properly I don’t know how prevalent this is but I expect sellers get requests to cancel from buyers who ‘swiped by mistake’. That’s probably a lot more common on eBay live than the seller reneging on sales.
boundarycoins
·2 weeks agoI’ve just realised you don’t swipe to bid. I’m more of a Whatnot person that’s where I’m getting that term from.
boundarycoins
·2 weeks agoI have no experience with eBay live but you must have had to watch the live and bid on it in real time.
jonatjonatjonat
·2 weeks agoExactly this - assume my last post is still awaiting putting live as I included an image.
The date that is presented - in this case Remind me on 14/8 refers on Lives to when the live event starts - it is not an auction in the the traditional ebay sense in that it runs for a number of days.
The event starts and within the live the seller will be selling any number of items, either by BIN or auction. In the case of auctions, these all take place within the live event and run for a short period of time, not days. In that respect it is akin to a standard bricks and mortar auction house.
I believe the option to Bid Now when you added the item to your watch list is likely to be bad ebay programming - worth reporting if you thing they'll do anything.
boundarycoins
·2 weeks agoDo you know if someone can join a live once it has started and pre-bid on the things they want (assuming they are fully listed and not just generic coin in hand placeholders) and then just leave rather than watch a whole show?
I think I found the coin mentioned and it is a nice one. I’m surprised they limited it to a live event.. great for the people ‘in the room’ though.
jonatjonatjonat
·2 weeks agoFrom what I can tell - no, you have to be in the room as it were.
jonatjonatjonat
·2 weeks agothe dates on ebay live refer to the time the actual live event starts.
So the auctions, as I understand would all take place within the live event themselves. here's a screenshot of one currently running - the auctions all last for a very short period.
I can't for the life of me work out why you'd have a bid button by adding an item to your watchlist that is due to appear in the live - no doubt poor programming on ebays part.
But in future - you'd be better pressed clicking the remind me button that will notify you of the live event starting - you can then join the live event and participate in the bidding.