Seller cancelling a sale

[d-o-y]

The main reason for cancelling a sale is that the item auctioned did not achieve the minimum price wanted by the seller and to save the 4% reserve price that ebay charge they just cancel the order.

[tressygirl]

Nope,  if they used a reserve and that is 4% of the set reserve,  this is an optional listing upgrade,  and payable sale or no sale.

If the seller thought they'd save this  by cancelling the sale,  they thought wrong !

@d-o-y 

[*vyolla*]

They'll still be charged for using the Reserve, listing fees are non-refundable. 

[d-o-y]

Fair enough. The rules have changed over the years. There is the other alternative which is shill bidding and unfortunately it is commonplace now that sales can be cancelled so easily.

[d-o-y]

As I replied to your colleague, shill bidding is easier now as cancellations no longer have to be agreed by both parties so you can get a friend or relative to make a bid.

[*vyolla*]

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@d-o-y wrote:

Fair enough. The rules have changed over the years. There is the other alternative which is shill bidding and unfortunately it is commonplace now that sales can be cancelled so easily.

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Shill bidding is actually classified as an illegal activity in the UK, so it would be a daft route to go down. It's not difficult for any system to spot any shenanigans in this day and age. 

[d-o-y]

It is easier to do when eBay allows private listings so you cannot even see the feedback number let alone the bidder. Why eBay allows private listings is strange as open ones are secretive enough as all you see is two letters with three asterisks in the middle. In the early days you saw the whole user name.

[*vyolla*]

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@d-o-y wrote:

It is easier to do when eBay allows private listings so you cannot even see the feedback number let alone the bidder. Why eBay allows private listings is strange as open ones are secretive enough as all you see is two letters with three asterisks in the middle. In the early days you saw the whole user name.

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eBay's software to detect shill bidding is not affected by this.

[d-o-y]

I know of several people who have "sold" the same items repeatedly until they received an offer that was acceptable. The usual give away is when it is an auction item and they receive several high bids in the first day or so. As anyone with experience with open auctions will tell you, most of the serious high bids come in the last few seconds and not the first day.

I have been buying and selling on ebay for 23 years so I know there is always a way especially if you have different user names or are part of a syndicate as several are.

[*vyolla*]

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@d-o-y wrote:

I know of several people who have "sold" the same items repeatedly until they received an offer that was acceptable. The usual give away is when it is an auction item and they receive several high bids in the first day or so. As anyone with experience with open auctions will tell you, most of the serious high bids come in the last few seconds and not the first day.

I have been buying and selling on ebay for 23 years so I know there is always a way especially if you have different user names or are part of a syndicate as several are.

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I've also been with eBay from the beginning and am fully aware of how shill bidding works. If you suspect a seller of shill bidding, then simply report them and eBay will do the rest. 

[d-o-y]

It is very difficult to prove especially when several people are in on it. I buy and sell records and I know at fairs there are a lot of dealers who bid on each other's items. The one thing I would always recommend is NOT to bid on private listings as they are the most likely ones to have rogue bids. After all, why have private listings for records or anything for that matter. Also,on a different note, why do eBay allow people to keep their feedback private?

[red_magpie]

why do eBay allow people to keep their feedback private?

Probably because by doing so eBay can protect itself against legal action for publishing a libel. Members can't allege that eBay is publishing libelous comments if they have the right to keep their feedback private to themselves. Most things that eBay does are mainly for eBay's benefit.

eBay does not allow members to sell with private feedback. (Ths is not the same as private auctions.)

[john1297576]

Cancelling a sale without the agreement of buyer, while easy, does not mean it is good for the seller as he gets a defect.

You'll find instructions below on other ways to cancel an order.

How to cancel an order in Seller Hub or in My eBay:

Tip
You can cancel an order up to 30 days after a sale, even if your buyer has already paid. Keep in mind that if you cancel an order, you may receive a transaction defect and this could affect your seller performance level.

Ebay expects sellers to have no more than 2 defects per 100 sales, so getting over 2% and seller can go below standard, and have restriction imposed. Therefore a low volume seller with less than  50 sales one defect would be serious.

[d-o-y]

Completely wrong.  Any libellous feedback is removed by ebay as soon as its reported by the receiver. I know this from experience as I received one from Italy years ago when he wrongly accused me of sending a record that had been opened even though I stated in the listing that it had been. Probably lost in translation in the description but even so got it removed by ebay immediately. Also, if you are a straight and honest buyer/seller why would you be worried about receiving libellous feedback?

There is no justification at all in making feedback private unless you are doing something wrong.