http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170436998984&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%3A80%2F%3F_from%3DR4 0%26_trksid%3Dm38%26_nkw%3D170436998984%26_sacat%3 DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

Last week, this porthole was listed on ebay. The set was located 90 miles from me, and I figured it looked too nice to pass up... plus a couple of photos showed it with light on the screen. I placed the first bid, however it was small, and planned to bid again towards the end.

Some others had placed bids. The second bidder retracted his bid, and then seemed he decided to get back into the race. After a few days, the bidding got up to 130 bucks or so. Then, towards the end, the seller cancelled all bids claiming there was a problem with the auction, some people were not able to bid, and he would relist after the clock ran out.

Naturally, this all sounded kinda weird to me. Seems like if people were sending him messages saying they were unable to bid, those comments would have ended up in the Q&A section below.

I've gone back to see every morning, but never find a relisting for it. On top of that, his feedback rating has dropped two points in the past couple of days. That certainly isn't very promising.

This set is just like the one I have already. I was just kinda excited because there was actually something nice located very near me.

It's really disappointing when someone goes and does something screwy like that at the last minute!

Somethin's "Rotten In Denmark" on this 'un, methinks...

Read his feedback. He blames eBay but there seems to be a problem, according to the winning bidders, with his acceptance of payment. eBay requires (unless you pick up the item and insist of paying at pickup) and one of the bidders said that he returned the PayPal and insisted on a check or money. I agree with Sandy G. I suspect the seller got "Seller's Remorse" since the bidding was lower than expected.

That's too bad. It's sort of a "time capsule" TV little used, according to the listing.

I wasn't interested nor did I follow the bidding, but some folks here in the Mid-Atlantic states were unable to see eBay for a while - one of the DNS servers somehow was down. No V-K or YT either for several hours. 10" of snow and ice in an area that sees on average 1-2" a year does affect things!

Don't know if that is the sellers problem though.

Cheers,

With 33% feedback rating, he'll probably be blocked from selling for a while...

I did follow that one since it could have been a local pickup for me. I thought it was screwy that it ended early, now I know why.

eBay rules are simple. A buyer proves they paid. The seller proves delivery. That's basically it. Everything else about eBay is designed to promote seller interests, not buyer. It's Business 101 folks. eBay makes their commissions from the seller, not the buyer. So, that means, like it or lump it, eBay rules are biased to keep the seller happy, naturally for a stiff fee, even if it means screw the buyer. Sellers have supreme control over (A) Bid rejection, (B) Auction cancellation, and (C) Refund of payment to Buyer. What's creepy about the last action is when a seller returns a payment it doesn't cancel an auction like you might think due to the Seller refusing to accept payment; instead, eBay makes the Buyer automatically responsible to pay again. The process can only be stopped until the post auction period expires, typically 90 days, OR Buyer and Seller agree to end the agreement, which can only be initiated by the Seller. That's why it's always best for a Buyer to pay using a Credit Card so that the sale falls under consumer protection law. Never pay with money orders, bank checks or Western Union, cash - unless, of course, you trust the seller.

So there you have it. As a general rule, if the buyer behaves strangely, they probably are and be thankful if you didn't waste your money. Move on and let it go. :D

Hi Tom!

Actually, to most sellers, ebay has given the buyer everything!

We sellers can no longer leave neutral or neg feedback for bad bidders--and if you mark it positive, but say something fresh, they just remove it from the buyers feedback page. A buyer can leave bad feedback for no good reason--the last time ebay's associated company charged me $24.95 to 'research' the incorrect Negative feedback, then rescind it! Actually it's still on my feedback page, but it wasn't counted toward my percentage.

As for other charges, we sellers can not--we'll get suspended---ask for PayPal or ebay listing fees! We can add something to the Handling part of shipping charges, but if we ask too much (usually a few dollars over actual cost), they will end the auction, and threaten the seller.

As for protection--if a buyer says an item never arrived, PayPal charges the seller's account, and sometimes they put a hold on the Whole account! I've read were a $20 chargeback claim will freeze a $1,000 PayPal balance until it can be sorted out.

If the buyer doesn't pay for an item they 'won', I can put a claim in for my listing charges back (it takes about 2 weeks), but my item doesn't sell. Often some bored kid will run up dozens of items, then never pay for any of them. Even if kicked off, and the buyer is blocked, there's not much to stop the bidder from just re-registering with a new accont and bidder ID, and then starting all over again.

If I, as the seller, don't offer FREE insurance (no, the seller can't charge the buyer for that, either--charging the buyer for insurance will get you kicked off ebay), then you have no real proof of actual delivery....and if the item goes for $1,000, the ebay charges plus the PayPal charges (another ebay company) plus the insurance, can add up to nearly a hundred dollars--not reimburse-able--so the seller has to eat those charges!

If you sell and ship a lightweight $40 item overseas, you must tell the buyer shipping is around $40--so it can go via insurable Priority International, which doesn't fly with overseas bidders. So everytime I, like most sellers, ship out of the USA, we just ship via $10 uninsured First Class, and hope the item doesn't get lost, or the buyer doesn't lie about getting it! That's why so many sellers say, No overseas sales.

There are tricks a few sellers pull, such as listing $150 cell phones at 99 cents, and cancelling the auction in the last hour if it doesn't bring enough, but mostly, ebay is now slanted toward the buyer. And, the sellers are getting fed up with it! This is why ebay is going to offer free listing soon to sellers, for all items listed, and jack up the fees we pay as final value costs! This sounds good upfront, but they get extra in the long run.

Already, the first 5 items listed each month, have no listing fees--but then ebay doubles the sellers final value fees..automatically. So if you accidentally list items that go for $150, as your first 5 items, you're out nearly 20% in fees, for those items, and that can be appreciable.

It goes on, as does most of the seller's frustrations.

Harry Poster

I've been selling a lot lately, but I'm still an amateur at it. Harry's post actually taught me some things-for instance, I didn't understand the free listing policy they have in place right as described in the last paragraph.

It can be a frustrating system-but it sure does bring buyer/seller together.

Wow... it's been a few years since I sold on ebay... sounds like it's somewhat intense nowadays! Back then, it was pretty easy and I had really good luck with all the people I sold to.

In any case, it's a shame this auction turned out this way. That set looked like a real sweet piece!

Have to agree with Harry on this.

I haven't sold much on eBay in years, mostly because of the stupid mandatory pay-pal garbage. I'm not interested in more spam, (what they refer to as "communication") or connecting anything else to my checking/credit card accounts. All these companies are like pathetic friends who think you have nothing better to do than read their pages of self-promoting email garbage. Have also heard the horror stories from honest sellers I know who get burned by lousy buyers.

The few auctions I have run all had huge disclaimers about not accepting pay-pal. Somehow they escaped eBay's watchful eye.

But now my old credit card that ebay had, has expired, and I'm not all that interested in renewing. I took many buyers personal checks, just didn't ship until it cleared. Money orders shipped immediately, and plenty of people picked up in person and payed cash.

Screw them. Enough people are searching craigslist nationally that I can buy/sell that way, although I know ebay owns a piece of craigslist now and I'm sure that as soon as they get a majority, craigslist will be history. :thumbsdn:

I too will agree with Harry. It is totally a buyers market, not a sellers market. All you have to do is sell items and it will become painfully clear. We just have to take a chance. Unfortunately, it is eBay's game and if we wish to play, we have to abide by their rules or they will take their chips and go home. Actually, they will take OUR chips and keep them!

Seriously...

I have been a buyer on Ebay, not a seller and I too, hate the way Ebay has tried to force buyers to use their company, Paypal. In fact, I have refused to bid on items unless the seller will notify me that they will take money orders. Ebay needs competition!

All great comments! I think a glitzy eBay website does help to encourage buying, even if it's impulsive buying. I also think this is a clever trick of eBay marketing. The real objective of eBay is to suck money out of sellers, it is after all, a business; hence, eBay is oriented to "Seller Interests". - this does not mean "Sellers Market". Remember, you have to look at this from eBay's point of view. Interest here means "money". So, for all the reasons so eloquently cited by Harry ...you proved my point ...eBay really does have a "Sellers Interest" at heart. eBay's heart!

While I will admit that I buy and sell on eBay, that "Bay" company is interested in just one thing... to fatten their corporate pockets and don't give a hoot about anyone, buyer and/or seller. So, we have to make the decision: go by their rules, or not buy/sell. Unfortunate but true...

Well said and accurately portrayed Harry! I've sold on eBay since 1998 and have never seen buyers this pushy. I've got one very lengthy Blocked Buyers List - and many have made it there to prevent them from purchasing an item after a stupid or off-the-wall question.

Example: Is this manual for the 330E Mercedes Coupe or anything close to it? This question was asked about a binder of Panasonic manuals for RS-series tape decks!! Buyer blocked....

eBay's slant toward the buyer is continuing. Monthly fees for an eBay store went up - either fork over 300% more for a store fee or pay 800% higher listing fees starting in April. Cheapest method still results in an almost 300% increase in fees for an eBay store. Many sellers use the store to save on listing fees - over 500 items, and it pays to use the store format. Since early 2009, store listings haven't been in the regular search results. Seems eBay wants to go back to auction-only listings.

Want to really know the "mood" among eBay sellers? Poke around on the Answer Center boards. Lots of great info (watch out for the ill-informed) and lessons learned.

Somebody here said it in an earlier post - Caveat Emptor, and doubly so on the 'bay.

Cheers,