Important question regarding an Ebay auction.

[Crpdeth]

Okay, we are a little confused by this one, my wife (Darlaj2h) was bidding on a set of electronic drums on Ebay. Her highest bid was 1250.00. The bid ended (today) and she was outbid, by a large margin....for the highest bidder bid $1775 or so. Anyway, later today she received an e-mail (through Ebay) giving her a 2nd chance at the drums--and the seller offered her the set at her high bid (1250.00). Our question here is 2 fold: #1) There were a total of 18 bids and around 5 of those were higher than hers. Why would a seller choose to give her a 2nd chance so quickly instead of the 4-5 higher than her and lose close to $500? #2) The higher bidders were people with 0 bids, so is it possible that these were fake accounts and the seller was just trying to drive up the price and hope she bit--but she didn't? Anyone have any experience with anything like this? If this was just a hundred bucks we would not be worried, but this is $1250 and she doesn't want to get ripped off, but she really likes the drums.

Check it out here, please.


Thanks Folks

Crpdeth

[mameral]

I've done quite a bit of business on eBay, and that just sounds hinky.

Good luck, but if it were me I would find a different item.

[Winchester73]

I have also conducted a number of auctions both as a seller and as a buyer...this don't sound right, stay away!

[Crpdeth]

Dang I was afraid of this, also the seller has a very low profile, and only four of which are items that he has sold, with one being a "rocky start but ending well".

This is a georgous set of drums too, we've yet to find an equal on the auctions.

Crpdeth

[rosierita]

before you give an answer, what do those drums normally sell for??

my initial instinct is to tell you ~ RUN!! but ~ check out ebay's policy. does this person accept paypal?? if so, what is paypal's policy if you dont receive these drums?? i have bought & sold on ebay, i havent done alot of business w/ them & right now ~ i'm not a happy camper when it comes to them. partially bc of what you said about bidders w/ 0 buys or sells. i was being harrassed by people like that. anyhoo ~ weigh the pros & cons. good luck.

[HerbyJr]

If you can pay them with a credit card, you can always dispute it later if you need to. But something I thought was strange was this from the top of the listing, "The seller ended this listing early to sell to the high bidder(s) at current bid price." I've seen auctions pulled early when sold locally, but not when sold to the high bidders at current price.


H.

[drygulchdan]

Caveat emptor (buyer beware)--sound shady to me

[pickenup]

Originally Posted by Crpdeth

so is it possible that these were fake accounts and the seller was just trying to drive up the price and hope she bit

Sorry, but I think you nailed it.
How would the seller even KNOW that the FIVE higher bidders were not going to pay, since the auction closed TODAY. I would REALLY doubt that all five people answered emails THAT quick.

Did this offer come through the ebay “second chance” system, or was it sent direct from the seller? If it was sent direct from the seller, and since you did not WIN the auction, I don't think you would have any recourse (except for the regular legal system) if they did not send the drums. Just a person to person private sale now.

Run, don't walk away from this one. One of the things about ebay is, if you don't win a particular auction, another one (for the same item) is right around the corner. Well, most of the time anyway.

BTW, how much do you think shipping would be for this?

[wizard78]

Sounds like he has another set to sell and is trying to bypass ebay. He ended the auction early (The seller ended this listing early to sell to the high bidder(s) at current bid price.) to sell and even left feedback for buyer. That IS a lot of money though and if it was me, I'd pass on to a legit auction win. Unless you are close enough (like the winner ) to pick them up and pay COD.

[Hallchinalady]

Pay thru paypal and get insurance...always get insurance.....you don't have to buy these since you weren't the high bidder but if your willing to take the chance...sometimes things do go right...not always but sometimes I've been pleasently suprised.
Good Luck.....bought and sold on ebay.

[1952Sniper]

Yep, I think the seller was trying to drive up his own price. And when that failed, he is now trying to bypass eBay and sell it to you on the side. If it's a good drum set and the price is good, I'd go ahead with the sale but take a lot of precautions to make sure you're not going to get screwed. As others mentioned, since it's not an eBay sale, you have no protection.

[Crpdeth]

Guys/Gals

In answer to a few questions, he sent the e-mail through ebay's second chance deal, that part was legit.

These drums would cost us 3000.00 minimum as he is including upgrades that we would have to have later.

My gut tells me that he does not have two sets of drums for sell, because at the going rate of these things if I were inclined to buy another set (which is exactally what I would be doing) I would buy a different style, ect. I wouldn't have a twin set of 3000.00 dollar drums on hand unless I was in the business which this fella is not with 23 activities on his account.

Herby: Exactally! Why would I end an auction early and turn right around and offer it to the fith person down the list of bidders...As Pickenup said, there is no way the top bidder and the others had time to back out of this deal, nor would they.

Now, just because he may have chose to be dishonest run the auction up dosen't neccesarily mean he'll put the screws to us, but why end it early too? It's just not adding up.

Shipping is 90.00 Dollars.

We are still awaiting an E-mail from this guy, we basicly just told him hey, we are interested in your item, very interested, but we have a few questions for ya and we basicly just asked the dude the same things I have asked you folks, straight up...If he dosen't e-mail back soon we may drop it, or even report it to E-bay as I am quite sure he was tring to run the bid up and as an amature he probabally created the dupe accounts on his own computer using the same IP.

How do the Escro services work? Are they expensive? IF this guy sways darlas heart (I'm an opportunist as well ) and convinces her that he will do right by her and she becomes bent on making the deal, I will at a minimum hire one of these services...If he dosen't agree to such a service or if it just "wont work" around E-bays guidelines, we'll definately just blow it off.

It's funny how the mind works, but I'm really tetering between giving this guy a chance or just reporting his butt.

Thanks for all the advise/responses, I am constantly re-reading everything and your opinions really help.

Crpdeth

[offeror]

I don't like the sound of this either. I'd offer him an escrow deal only in this case, even though I've never needed escrow before. That is, unless you are certain PayPal or eBay will insure your entire payment. (It still takes a few months to qualify for your refund.) Your money is at risk and reporting him after he rips you off will only mean his account gets closed. I have in the past caught people using zero bidders (who subsequently never seem to build up any positive feedback for paying off any wins) and when the questions begin, invariably they put up a smoke screen and then bolt without taking care of their last round of auctions. My nephew lost $500 on a too-good-to-be-true deal on a $2000 camera, for example.

The more I hear about what a great deal this drum set is with all the trimmings, the more it sounds like bait to me.... but of course nobody can be certain until it's too late. So I would, as I said, insist on guaranteeing your money and if he won't do it you'll have your answer without losing a dime. And if he does go for it you'll have a nice set of drums... win-win...

[pickenup]

Escrow service......WOW.....I completely forgot about that. Never used it. He does not get the money until you inspect the merchandise. Don’t know the cost, but if you do end up going through with the deal, it does sound like a good way to go. Good luck. Keep us posted.

[Craig]

How far away from you are the drums? For 1800 difference I would go for a drive.

[Boomatic]

Donnie,
I have been selling/buying on ebay since 1998 when it came online.

I buy and sell vintage guitars, which can be pretty risky because of the delicate nature of the instrument. I have had mostly good luck.

But I also learned that on ebay, more of what I am looking for WILL come along.

The answer is: the decision is yours. If you don't feel comfortable with it, don't do it. It sounds as if it is a newbie shilling his own auctions.

That is bad juju to me.

[dheffley]

It stinks bad enough for me to know I don't want to take a bite! If I can't trust what I see from the seller, I don't think I want to trust sending the $1,250.

[HappyNanoq]

You should take a look at the Bid-history and offer to buy the set of drums at the highest prize she bid - before those "dummy"-accounts set in and raised the prize.

They might take the offer - if not.. RUN.!
Something sounds fishy.

[Crpdeth]

Okay I was wrong, the second chance thing wasn't legit he just sent the letter through E-bay and labeled it "second chance" and such that it looked legit.

---UPDATE---

Originally Posted by Crpdeth

We are still awaiting an E-mail from this guy, we basicly just told him hey, we are interested in your item, very interested, but we have a few questions for ya and we basicly just asked the dude the same things I have asked you folks, straight up...
Crpdeth

Heres where the truth came out, he responded to our E-mail saying the high bidder backed out (never mentioning the other bidders of course) and just went on to blabber about payment methods ect...Well on a whim I decided to go look at the high bidders feedback, would you believe the drum seller has already left feedback for the bidder who had supposedly backed out? Same item number and everything! Whats even more weird is that he left good feedback so soon, who leaves feedback 5 1/2 hours after the end of an auction? A day before telling us, said high bidder has backed out!?!? Needless to say he hasn't responded to the E-mail we fired off after making the discovery.

The ignorance of petty criminals

Crpdeth

[BlueTic]

I would not walk away - I WOULD RUN. Anybody who run up the price on an auction is not honest and does not deserve my hard earned money

[pickenup]

I would report him to ebay.
The reputation of online auctions are suffering because of people like this.

[Crpdeth]

Originally Posted by pickenup

I would report him to ebay.
The reputation of online auctions are suffering because of people like this.

Consider it done.