When is an auction not actually an auction
Summary: peppertack expressed frustration over an eBay item repeatedly relisted despite having a winning bidder. Multiple participants responded, explaining possibilities such as bid sniping and sellers having multiple items. jonatjonatjonat noted eBay's limitations in enforcement, while cheekychippy210 suggested issues with sellers using low starting bids and potentially canceling sales if unhappy with final prices. The discussion touched on eBay's commission system and buyer/seller cancellation rights.
eBay item number:168503652732
This has been listed many times after the auction ends and there is a winning bidder.
I have asked ebay as I was pipped at the last min before it then came up again many times . They have said nothing to see here and don't seem to have a problem with that.
How does that work? I did think if you won they are obliged to sell it to you.
Am I missing something?
cheekychippy210
·3 weeks agothe advert mentions a price of $599.
time wasters, my opinion, all who start at 99p.
many a time won item on auction only to have it cancelled, i guess the seller was not happy at sold price.
walk away from it, it will be on his shelf for years to come.
peppertack
OP3 weeks agoThank you for that.
But if it sells (even to themselves to stop it going for less than they want) don't they need to pay the commission to ebay. This book has been sold quite a few times. Perhaps paying those commissions isn't a problem for them.
cheekychippy210
·3 weeks agoas seller can cancel so too can a buyer! one can only hope someones inputs that $599 price and then asks to cancel.
jonatjonatjonat
·3 weeks agoYou can ask to cancel as a buyer, but the seller doesn’t have to agree!
cheekychippy210
·3 weeks agoas I said, "one can only hope"
jonatjonatjonat
·3 weeks agoYou also said a seller can cancel. I was just correcting that falsehood.
cheekychippy210
·3 weeks agowhere is the falsehood?
jonatjonatjonat
·3 weeks agoWhile sellers should sell to winning bidders. EBay can’t enforce it.
peppertack
OP3 weeks agoThank you for this, Jon.
tressygirl
·3 weeks agoPeople do snipe bids at auction, you can also be outbid in a last second.
If the seller has multiples of these items to avoid duplication rules, once one item is won / sold, they can relist another.
@peppertack
peppertack
OP3 weeks agoThank you for the reply, T.