Ending Auctions Early

bpd111 · #1 01-24-2004, 02:17 AM

I know many of you are big fans of that big auction site that I dare not speak its name, heh heh. Anyway, I'm selling my first piece of gear and I've been asked if I'd end the auction early for a price higher than I expected to get. Is this kosher to do? Should I be suspicious? As always, I appreciate your input.

Jem7RB MK · #2 01-24-2004, 05:22 AM

It's up to you dude,There are no laws about closing an auction early because it's sold elsewhere,so if it's more than you expected,and not in Indonesia then i say grab the cash and end the auction

Althou i have done it a few times (about 3 in 250 auctions) i'd be prepared to do it every time

Rob

**jemsite** · #3 01-24-2004, 10:44 AM

if it sounds too good to be true....

sounds like a very obvious and classic scam tactic. that is not to say an honest bidder would not do this (i've done it once) but verify their identity 100%... glen

LLL777 · #4 01-26-2004, 09:02 PM

Besides the hope of a quicker sale, what's really in it for you?

If you end the auction before you get paid there's a good chance the guy won't come through. I'm sure a lot of people like to bid at the last minute so you might lose out on bagging a over zealous bidder.

If he's serious why doesn't he bid? At least there's some threat of negative feedback to keep him honest. Probbaly doesn't do any good but it's there.

bpd111 · #5 01-27-2004, 03:42 AM

I don't really see the need to end auctions early. It looks like I have a buyer and it's for more than I wanted, and he wanted to end the auction early to reach an agreement. Fine. He can't really scam me because I end the auction early. I'm not going to ship the unit until I have money in hand. So I don't really see the threat. He can bail on me, right? So then I'd have to go to second chance. And I get stuck with the fees if I have to relist. Is there something I'm missing?

kent k · #6 01-27-2004, 09:02 AM

If he's serious and in the US, have him go to the post office and overnight you a postal money order for the full amount. It will cost him an extra $10 - 15 tops and you're guaranteed to have the cash before noon the next day. (You'll have to be where they deliver it so you can sign for it.) Once you have the money order, take it to the post office. There is no waiting, they'll give you cash on the spot. Once you have the cash in hand, then you know it's safe to end the auction and you can ship the guitar. This lets you know he's serious, and prevents things from getting drawn out two weeks while you wait for him to get paid from work or a guitar he's selling to cover yours, or the transmission goes out on his car, blah blah blah. No cash, no deal.

bpd111 · #7 01-27-2004, 11:44 AM

Good idea, Kent, but too late. I ended the auction a day or so early. He placed the high bid, so there is a contractual obligation, but it's not the amount we agreed. If the arrangement falls through at this point, we still have that to go back to. I've e-mailed him and am waiting to hear how he's going to forward payment. Next time, I don't think I'll end the auction. I've gotten enough e-mails from disappointed potential bidders that I think I should have let go til the end. I was happy with the amount we agreed upon, so assuming it goes through all's cool.

Vaibanez · #8 01-27-2004, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bpd111

I ended the auction a day or so early. He placed the high bid, so there is a contractual obligation

WRONG!!!
If the auction did not end normaly, you don't have any contractual agreement. He was not the High bidder at the natural end of the auction but the high bidder when YOU cancelled the auction.

Best bet is to wait until you receive payment before shipping the guitar.

Rich · #9 01-27-2004, 08:00 PM

Sorry, but you can end an aution to"sell to high bidder at current bid price" and it is a binding sale. And of course he's going to wait for payment before he ships!!!

bpd111 · #10 01-27-2004, 11:48 PM

Paypal, baby, Paypal! Payment received and the item is sent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vaibanez

Best bet is to wait until you receive payment before shipping the guitar.

Absolutely. I'm gullible but not stupid. Well, not *very* stupid.

I just wanted to hear from you guys if it was unethical or not. I don't think I'll do it again. I'll wait until the end of the auction. That seems to be when the prices run up, and most likely what my buyer wanted to avoid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich

Sorry, but you can end an aution to"sell to high bidder at current bid price" and it is a binding sale. And of course he's going to wait for payment before he ships!!!

Thanks, Rich. I thought so. We actually agreed to a higher price than he bid. If he had backed off, we still would've had the final bid he put in. And it was still over what I was looking to get, so I think I did well. I'm certainly not out to rip anybody off.