| Space Monkey | 14 Jun 2011 2:47 p.m. PST |
So, I bid on a bunch of minis, all from the same seller. I was disciplined and bid the most I was willing to pay, then walked away.
I lost all the auctions… not a surprise.
Then, I immediately began receiving second chance offers for nearly all of them… at my top bid price of course. Now… I still want the stuff… but I feel like the bidder used a shill to size up my max bid and is now hoping I'll still buy for that price.
Am I wrong to think that? Despite wanting them I'm inclined to ignore the offers. |
aecurtis  | 14 Jun 2011 2:52 p.m. PST |
It could be that, or it could be that another bidder wanted the same items you did (not unusual if they're related), outbid you, and then defaulted. Were the original winning bids from a bidder that you had outbid in the sequence, and who then outbid you? (Or just post an auction number, so we can have a look.) Allen |
| Neotacha | 14 Jun 2011 2:52 p.m. PST |
If it had been one or two auctions out of several, no problem. But all of them? No. I'd be suspicious too. |
| Space Monkey | 14 Jun 2011 3:06 p.m. PST |
I was the original bidder on all of them.
I could see someone defaulting… but I got these offers right after the auctions closed… within minutes. I would expect defaults to come in a bit slower. |
| adub74 | 14 Jun 2011 3:16 p.m. PST |
Interesting point… On one hand, you want the minis for a price you feel is reasonable but not optimal. On the other hand, you have a seller that may have cheated to turn your optimal price into your reasonable price. How about turning it around on the seller? Counter offer with what you would have had to pay before the sniper. Say your max offer was $10. USD An hour before the auction closed, you were the leader with $5. USD Then you were sniped but the sniper defaults. Seller wants you to pay $10. USD Offer the $5 USD you were winning with before the sniper/default. If he counters back then return him ALL of the second chance offers. Let him infer the meaning. |
| combatpainter | 14 Jun 2011 4:28 p.m. PST |
Sneaky trick that is for sure. They tried to drive up the price and over bid it and then dropped. |
| Streitax | 14 Jun 2011 7:40 p.m. PST |
i agree with adub74. Whether or not he is cheating, you should only have to pay the last bid you made before the sniper/shill got involved. |
| nvdoyle | 14 Jun 2011 8:34 p.m. PST |
Yes, you should be suspicious. You should also report it to eBay, immediately. |
| Mapleleaf | 14 Jun 2011 11:33 p.m. PST |
for all auctions caveat emptor but if you don't pay more than you originally wanted and you still get the figures you are still up |
| Andrew May1 | 14 Jun 2011 11:45 p.m. PST |
I agree with adub74 too. Also, report it, it sounds like dodgy selling. |
 20thmaine  | 15 Jun 2011 3:06 a.m. PST |
I think you got the second chance offers too soon for the winning bidder to have defaulted. Sounds iffy. make the guy an offer – if he doesn't take try again when he relists. |
| pphalen | 15 Jun 2011 6:19 a.m. PST |
I'd wait until they are relisted.
Also, is the items somethign that he may have had duplicates (or recasts?) of and he is trying to get past the fees of selling a second set? |
| Neotacha | 15 Jun 2011 8:12 a.m. PST |
And if I waited until they relisted, my max bid would also be a lot lower. |
| Parmenion | 16 Jun 2011 3:55 a.m. PST |
It may be legitimate. In the past I've done something similar as a seller. I've had a lot of the same miniatures to sell (as a collector of OOP minis, I end up with a lot of duplicates) and rather than either a) flood the market or b) take months to sell them all separately over time, I've instead sent second chance offers to the second (and sometimes also third) highest bidder, with a note to the effect that the offer is for another example of that mini in the same condition. This may be a similar situation – the seller may have a large stock of the minis in question, but doesn't want to reduce the value by listing them all at once. Also, it's been a while since I've sent a second chance offer, but doesn't it automatically go to the next bidder's highest bid? If that's right, I don't think much can be read into the fact that the offer is at your top price. Especially if the situation is as described above, and the winning bidder didn't default – in that case, there's no foul, and no reason for the seller to ignore other bids and drop the price. Of course, if you feel uneasy about it then don't take the offers. I'm just trying to offer the alternative perspective. I've seen a lot of talk about shill bidding on ebay over the years, and almost no evidence. I've even been indirectly accused of it myself, for the simple fact that I start all my auctions at 99p but they usually end up at around typical market prices. That's what happens when you let the market set the price! |
