ebay ethics question

[donberry]

let's say you are selling something on ebay plus you have it listed on craigs list.
On craigs list, lets say the item was listed for $200.00
On ebay it had a buy it now price of $100.00 with a starting bid of say 49.99

person bids 49.99 so the buy it now price goes away.
Then, the person who bid emails you and asks if they can just purchase it for the buy it now price.
Being thru ebay, i tell her no as that is against ebay policy. I did point out tho that they were listed on CL.

so she bid 49.99, but then offered 100.00

with about 6 hours to go in the auction, someone emails from craigslist and offers to buy them for $200.00.
Ebay policy says i would have to cancel the one persons bid with less then 12 hours in auction

I know I would be mad as the bidder.
But I did mention they were for sale thru craigslist....

price is alot more then I mentioned...
what is ethical thing to do here....
my heart says it has to auction out now, my brain says take the CL cash as it is a lot of money

 

[Ausjoe]

You already answered your question. What is your handshake worth? You put it on ebay so you agreed to play by their rules. I feel your pain but it's a slippery slope you're on. Will the next circumvention of the rules be a little easier. Or a bit more extreme. You may get an email from the potential buyer asking why you pulled the auction. Gonna tell the truth. You'll feel the urge to make something up like I found damage. A lot people may disagree with me and I would expect a seller would pull the ad. Some would say ethics is a matter of degree. I don't. Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

 

[Fast996]

I think if you read the ebay fine print.....you have the right to end the auction at anytime....bids or no bids.

I would sell on CL......and sleep great with 200 bucks the better.

 

[Debassige]

so what's the difference between ending the auction early and selling it for 100.00 to the first bidder and ending it early if someones buys it off craigslist? My 2 cents, I hate it when things are listed on ebay and elsewhere at the same time, an easy way for a seller to back out if things don't go the way they planned. As a bidder, I'd be pissed. As bad a name as ebay has been given, I think certain sellers have more to do with this than ebay. Please don't get me wrong this is no way attacking you

 

[donberry]

ausjoe - your first sentence answered my question.
I would not have lied about why I pulled the ad, as i told them I could only sell it on cl now that they bid on it. What confused me was I put in the listing I could end the auction early if they sold on ebay. I just did not know about the time frame as there are now only about 5 1/2 hours left in the auction.

 

[Ausjoe]

I think if you read the ebay fine print.....you have the right to end the auction at anytime....bids or no bids.

I would sell on CL......and sleep great with 200 bucks the better.

If that's true then you have no dilemma; sell it on CL!

 

[donberry]

Debassige - no, you are 100% correct and at times I do need attacked. I was just trying to sell a bunch of stuff quick to buy some spec gear and did not think it thru.
I will let auction run out and if other person wants it, he can bid on it.
I am guessing he will get it cheaper then he offered.
thanks for keeping me straight - I really do appreciate it

 

[cubby01]

First off the CL buyer hasn't bought it until he pays for it.

How far along in to the auction is it? Is it only 12 hours into a 5 day auction kinda thing?

If the CL buyer is actually ready to pay and you indicated via the auction description that they were also listed for sale locally (ie they could disappear at any time from the auction) then I think the CL guy gets them. Maybe you should have put in an auction reserve of the CL listing amount.

 

[Fast996]

I read the fine print.....you are obligated to sell....once a bid has been placed if there is no reserve price....by selling to the high bidder....you did the right thing.

But I just saw this.....

" I did point out tho that they were listed on CL"

Bottom line it's your call.....

My experience also is if there is a buy it now....The buyer if they do not use that option they knowingly give up the right for a certain sale......under the circumstances......I would not feel obligated to the 49.99 buyer.

 

[Debassige]

Debassige - no, you are 100% correct and at times I do need attacked. I was just trying to sell a bunch of stuff quick to buy some spec gear and did not think it thru.
I will let auction run out and if other person wants it, he can bid on it.
I am guessing he will get it cheaper then he offered.
thanks for keeping me straight - I really do appreciate it

Maybe it was an attack, wasn't suppose to be. Funny thing is I'm doing a similar thing right now. I'm selling locally (to try and save the hassle and aggravation of shipping and packing), but if after a couple of weeks if things don' sell I will remove them from the local classifieds and try ebay. i hadn't planned on selling to buy something else but i sold a few pieces and picked up my first McIntosh piece, MA5100. Good luck with the Spec gear.

 

[donberry]

picking it up tomorrow - I feel like a little kid at christmas....

 

[terra1]

Bottomline is whether you are committed to following eBay policies.

I can understand legitimate loopholes.

However, you already know it is against eBay policy to accept email buys outside the eBay bidding process.

You can end the listing early and screw the bidders. Sellers do that all the time. Keep in mind there may be some snipers lurking.

You didn't think it through by starting a higher bid. Who's fault is that? Trying to recover from that is trying to redo the rules to screw the current bidders. Not that you shouldn't be looking out for yourself.

If you noted on the listing you may end it early because of a craigslist buyer I can accept that, then all bidders will be so informed including the later bidders.

There's nothing to stop you from lying and say it was broken or no longer available.

The ethical question obviously doesn't matter if you want to end the listing early to make more money. So the ethics question is really moot.

It's up to you how you get out of this.

 

[harleyfatboy]

Personally I'd take the $200 from CL...If you feel bad, send the ebay bidder $50 for her troubles for you ending the auction early and you'll still be ahead $50...

 

[RWFE]

"But I did mention they were for sale thru craigslist...."

If you said that in your auction ad then it seems to me that you informed the auction bidders that the item was subject to prior sale. As such I feel you have every right to sell it from Craiglist and stop the auction on the basis that the item was no longer available, a proper reason for stopping an auction. By putting in the ad that it was subject to prior sale you are fully within your rights, both moral and otherwise.

 

[illinoisteve]

Even if you sort out how you want to think about this instance, I bet it is going to feel like a BIG hassle every time something like this happens.

You know how each operation works. Why not decide to list some items first on one of them and only list them on the other one after the first attempt didn't work. I think I might want to try my local area craigslist first, posting what I wanted to get as price, and knowing that someone local could pick up the item and I wouldn't have to fool with shipping. If I got no response, then I'd put it on ebay.

The risk is that somebody is going to get burned if you keep listing lots of things on both places. And it might be you. And even if nothing serious happens very soon, you're likely to keep worrying about it.

Why put yourself through that? Well, that's what I would ask myself if I were you.

 

[d-ray657]

I've written to ebay before about their double-standard, and never got a direct explanation of why they maintain it. A buyer's bid is a binding contract, but a listing just solicits offers to buy. Ebay permits sellers to cancel bids without consequence. So if you cancel the bid and sell to the craigslist buyer, you are playing by ebay's rules.

The question of ethics is another thing. To me the ethical question is one of notice. If you offered BIN, and also provided notice that their was a potential of a local sale, and the bidder failed to take the security of BIN (in hopes of getting a lower price), you are on ethical solid ground IMHO. However, it the bidder had no notice of the potential local sell, the bidder will justifiably feel screwed, and you will partake in what I consider ebay's unethical double standard.

By the way, this opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it.

Regards,

D-Ray

 

[cubby01]

You know it could be that the whole reason the $49 bidder came back trying to do the BIN for $100 is because they looked up the CL and saw you were trying to get $200 locally. (I know your numbers are just examples). There's no way of knowing all the facts. As the seller you have the right kill the auction for any reason. You don't have to sell to the CL offer just because they meet your asking price either.

 

[highfigh]

let's say you are selling something on ebay plus you have it listed on craigs list.
On craigs list, lets say the item was listed for $200.00
On ebay it had a buy it now price of $100.00 with a starting bid of say 49.99

person bids 49.99 so the buy it now price goes away.
Then, the person who bid emails you and asks if they can just purchase it for the buy it now price.
Being thru ebay, i tell her no as that is against ebay policy. I did point out tho that they were listed on CL.

so she bid 49.99, but then offered 100.00

with about 6 hours to go in the auction, someone emails from craigslist and offers to buy them for $200.00.
Ebay policy says i would have to cancel the one persons bid with less then 12 hours in auction

I know I would be mad as the bidder.
But I did mention they were for sale thru craigslist....

price is alot more then I mentioned...
what is ethical thing to do here....
my heart says it has to auction out now, my brain says take the CL cash as it is a lot of money

Have the person who offered $200 bid that much on ebay. They can still pick it up, you get a lot more than you were expecting and even if ebay charges you, you still come out way ahead.

 

[www.records]

Have the person who offered $200 bid that much on ebay. They can still pick it up, you get a lot more than you were expecting and even if ebay charges you, you still come out way ahead.

It wouldn't automatically go to $200. It would only go the next increment higher than the other bidders max bid.

 

[goinslow]

Let the auction run its course but...

let's say you are selling something on ebay plus you have it listed on craigs list.
On craigs list, lets say the item was listed for $200.00
On ebay it had a buy it now price of $100.00 with a starting bid of say 49.99

person bids 49.99 so the buy it now price goes away.
Then, the person who bid emails you and asks if they can just purchase it for the buy it now price.
Being thru ebay, i tell her no as that is against ebay policy. I did point out tho that they were listed on CL.

so she bid 49.99, but then offered 100.00

with about 6 hours to go in the auction, someone emails from craigslist and offers to buy them for $200.00.
Ebay policy says i would have to cancel the one persons bid with less then 12 hours in auction

I know I would be mad as the bidder.
But I did mention they were for sale thru craigslist....

price is alot more then I mentioned...
what is ethical thing to do here....
my heart says it has to auction out now, my brain says take the CL cash as it is a lot of money

If you are struggling with this internally, then tell the CL buyer that you have them on Ebay with a bid. Let them know that they are more than welcome to bid on the item up to what they are willing to pay right now, which is 200.00. The winning bid may be less then what they have offered you now, or the winning bid may end up selling for more then the 200.00. To me it is a win win to both of you. The local buyer may get them for less, or you might end up getting more for the item, and 3, you wont struggle with the "did I do the right thing issue" just my 02..