I've been watching many Fatboys on the bay and never find anything that is even remotely fair priced. Then the other day I found a German straight razor a Reisenger I believe if I spelled that correctly. I know little about straights but the pics were flawless. I had the high bid going at $20 which I was shocked at until with one day remaining it totally disappeared. I had no idea what happened until I checked and found it said auction has ended and it is relisted. What BS , I contacted the seller who said oh I'm sorry it was supposed to be a buy now for $150 and I reposted and it sold immediately. What a crock of Crap. Am I the only one this has happened to? I can't believe that people could get away with that. Hey if I'm wrong just tell me. One thing I know for sure is that I'll buy from my respected colleagues at B&B not the bay any longer. Thanks for listening(reading) my rambling.
Beware of the Bay
- Thread starter tlentz
- Start date
I use to live in Medina Ohio. Hope yesterday's snow storm missed you. As for Ebay, bought once got burned have never gone back. Some people love it and then people like me. I will tell you a quick story that you will understand, I knew this guy who would go to Marc's in Fairlawn and buy his merchandise for Ebay. That is how he made a living, so imagine the mark up. Anyway nice talking to you.
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- #3
We got some snow but it was 22 degrees out. I'm sure it's cold like that in CA. I agree hate the Bay now! Have a great day!
Make sure you leave the seller bad feedback so others don't get scammed.
Ebay was a nicer place to shop a few years ago.
It's lost a lot of it's lustre over the years.
It's lost a lot of it's lustre over the years.
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- #6
Will do
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- #7
Tried to but can't since his ending of auction killed my ability to add feedback. If you look on there now he has a Thiers Issard for a buy it now for $150, a fat boy that I believe says its minty as well.
This kind of thing happens all the time on the Bay. Bid at your own risk.
I've found quite a bit on ebay for great prices...most of which has been cold weather surplus GI gear...but LOTS of other stuff, too.
I've also got quite a few knives at a good price. Not too long ago, I scored 2 Boker Arbolito stag handled hunting knives, both with nice leather sheaths and in great condition, for $70 shipped. Now that's a good deal. recently got a 64 slim adjustable for $30 to my door. Saved so much on that one I'm having Krono Kruiser re-plate it, and after shipping will have total $70 invested.
So...with ebay, as with most things, YMMV.
I've also got quite a few knives at a good price. Not too long ago, I scored 2 Boker Arbolito stag handled hunting knives, both with nice leather sheaths and in great condition, for $70 shipped. Now that's a good deal. recently got a 64 slim adjustable for $30 to my door. Saved so much on that one I'm having Krono Kruiser re-plate it, and after shipping will have total $70 invested.
So...with ebay, as with most things, YMMV.
I only bid with like 5 seconds left on any auction...put what my wallet can stand in there and cross my fingers.
man that sucks. I'd report the seller.
FleaBay used to be pretty cool when it was just ordinary people selling old stuff - kind of like one big internet garage sale. The prices were fair and the people generally treated you with courtesy and respect, buying or selling.
Nowadays, it's just turds. For buyers and sellers alike. If you're an ordinary person buying, you have a ton of churn-and-burn "power sellers" selling garbage products at inflated prices, and if you're an ordinary person selling you're operating in a system designed to fleece you at every step.
In college I used to buy vinyl records from estate sales and sell them on there for side money, but their so-called "Buyer Protection" kept getting thinner and thinner, I got stiffed by buyers more and more frequently, and their fees kept going higher and higher, so I finally threw in the towel. I used to get their standard "We miss you! Come back to eBay!" e-mails every week or so, but the spam filter has been learning.
Nowadays, it's just turds. For buyers and sellers alike. If you're an ordinary person buying, you have a ton of churn-and-burn "power sellers" selling garbage products at inflated prices, and if you're an ordinary person selling you're operating in a system designed to fleece you at every step.
In college I used to buy vinyl records from estate sales and sell them on there for side money, but their so-called "Buyer Protection" kept getting thinner and thinner, I got stiffed by buyers more and more frequently, and their fees kept going higher and higher, so I finally threw in the towel. I used to get their standard "We miss you! Come back to eBay!" e-mails every week or so, but the spam filter has been learning.
I've had almost exclusively good experiences. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience.
I don't think I understand the details - there was a nice straight razor on auction, you had the high bid at $20, and the seller cancelled the auction before the end? I didn't think that was within the terms of EBay's auctions - I thought once you had an auction and the minimum is met, the person with the highest amount at the end of the auction wins it and the seller can't renege if they don't like the end price.
If you had the high bid right up to the end but right before the auction ended someone else bid more and won it, my understanding is that is "sniping" - within EBay's terms, if frustrating.
I think to buy things off of an auction on Ebay, the idea is to not bid at all (so as to keep the price as low as possible) and then right before the auction ends (minutes, or even seconds) put in your bid with the maximum you are willing to pay. This can be done by yourself or with sniping "software" which does just that for you in terms of timing. You won't win if someone else put in a higher bid (you wouldn't have won anyway if they have a higher maximum than you), but it does prevent someone at the last minute winning something you thought was pretty much yours (and they paid less than what you would have paid).
I don't think I understand the details - there was a nice straight razor on auction, you had the high bid at $20, and the seller cancelled the auction before the end? I didn't think that was within the terms of EBay's auctions - I thought once you had an auction and the minimum is met, the person with the highest amount at the end of the auction wins it and the seller can't renege if they don't like the end price.
If you had the high bid right up to the end but right before the auction ended someone else bid more and won it, my understanding is that is "sniping" - within EBay's terms, if frustrating.
I think to buy things off of an auction on Ebay, the idea is to not bid at all (so as to keep the price as low as possible) and then right before the auction ends (minutes, or even seconds) put in your bid with the maximum you are willing to pay. This can be done by yourself or with sniping "software" which does just that for you in terms of timing. You won't win if someone else put in a higher bid (you wouldn't have won anyway if they have a higher maximum than you), but it does prevent someone at the last minute winning something you thought was pretty much yours (and they paid less than what you would have paid).
Dont let a bad experience deter you for life. Believe me, its not my favorite place to shop(for anything), but there are a couple good sellers out there and it can be worth it sometimes. I have found a couple of good sellers and I 'follow' them for new items posted. I dont like bidding on things though, I usually just buy it now. Somebody always sharks me at the very last minute and I find the whole thing a waste of time.
- Thread starter
- #15
No you understood correctly, the auction was active with no minimum, I had the high bid going at $20.00. the auction was supposed to end today(Sunday). All of a sudden last night the item disappeared from my list. when I checked it said ended and view re-listed item. When I contacted the seller he said "Oh I never meant that to be an auction so I ended it and re-listed it for a buy it now at $150. So the auction never ran to completion and I talked by phone with ebay and they said Oh we are sorry we understand your frustration". In all honesty if I had lost the auction that would have been fine but instead the seller was deceitful and apparently listed it incorrectly. Instead of eating his mistake he stuck it to me, along with the guy who paid $150 and could have beaten me out for way less than he paid.
Huh - I'm surprised that the seller would cancel an auction, and that Ebay wouldn't take some action against that. If you post an auction and immediately realize that you screwed up, that's one thing. But to let an auction run and then to change your mind most of the way through with people bidding on it strikes me as ethically wrong.
Probably didn't know what he had till later so cancelled the auction and ate the fees and relisted. Unethical? Of course is ebay won't do anything all you can do is slam them with feedback. When I've bought there if the person doesn't have 100% positive feedback I just move on, about the only options these days. BTW I don't do much business there anymore, I tend to deal with the good folks here on B&B.
So an item that only got to $20 at auction later sold immediately for $150? That sounds weird as well.
You should contact customer service at Ebay and tell them about this.
It is possible that the seller had a threshold or minimum price to start the bidding. I have seen that quite a bit. If so, and you did not meet this minimum bid, the seller can probably end the auction and resell. However, I believe that the auction should have stayed open until its officially listed closing date. Just a thought.
It is possible that the seller had a threshold or minimum price to start the bidding. I have seen that quite a bit. If so, and you did not meet this minimum bid, the seller can probably end the auction and resell. However, I believe that the auction should have stayed open until its officially listed closing date. Just a thought.
I am not sure what the issue is here? Under Ebay rules, an auction can be cancelled up to 12 hours before its ending time although if there are bids, the seller pays the listing fees relative to the highest bid as though the sale completed. What is that these days, 7% of $20 bid? Is it Illegal? no, Unethical? no, annoying to bidders, sure!
I feel your pain but the truth is there are lots of traps to be wary of when buying on Ebay like shill bidding that is actually a fraud offense in many western countries but good luck trying to get any police department to even spare a piece of paper to file a report. Caveat Emptor applies anytime one reaches for their wallet.
I purchase regularly on Ebay but only pay BIN or snip bid on open auctions. Any bidding more than 3 seconds before an auction ends just drives up the price and encourages illegal but rampant shill bidding.
I feel your pain but the truth is there are lots of traps to be wary of when buying on Ebay like shill bidding that is actually a fraud offense in many western countries but good luck trying to get any police department to even spare a piece of paper to file a report. Caveat Emptor applies anytime one reaches for their wallet.
I purchase regularly on Ebay but only pay BIN or snip bid on open auctions. Any bidding more than 3 seconds before an auction ends just drives up the price and encourages illegal but rampant shill bidding.
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