ebay issue regarding Yardley soap

[raffijian]

I really hate to go to ebay for shaving items because it does turn into a nightmare, which is why I don't use it too often. However, if I am unable to get something from the shaving forum then ebay is my only other source.

I've been enamored lately with vintage soaps as I've been trying to find some on the forum, but not had much luck. Tonight I went to ebay and saw a listing for an unused Yardley soap in the bowl but the soap had a crack. I contacted the seller to see if he would consider a buy it now option since it was listed as in auction format. After negotiating on price, he agreed and placed that option on the soap.

I went in immediately, hit buy it now, went to paypal and hit pay. All of a sudden I get an error message. Paypal said I paid but ebay gave me an error message. Come to find out someone else bid on it at the exact same.

The seller got back to me and said that he received both payments at the exact same time but ebay is showing the other person won.

He is checking into this with ebay but what irks me is that I negotiated on a price with him to put a buy it now option and pay immediately, which I did. If I had waited hours to pay and this happened, then that is one thing, but this other person who won is pretty much snatching an item due to my negotiations with the seller. The payments were literally fractions apart for this to happen.

I am not blaming the seller as he did what we negotiated on. I can guarantee that if it were still in auction format the item would still be out there. That was why I had to pay right away because the negotiated price seemed reasonable.

I might be venting but if the other person who bought this happens to be a member here, this is just an fyi. Wait to see what response I get from the seller in the morning.

Hoping I've got some luck on my side.

 

[richmondesi]

That sucks. I've been on the short end of some similar happenings, and it is frustrating. Keep your chin up, there is Yardley popping up pretty regularly.

If I were in your shoes, I'd refuse any attempts to let me buy the soap instead of the other guy who paid first. It's not his fault that he was at the right place at the right time.

 

[Barbarian]

I don't like the idea of negotiating a buy it now with a seller. I think this is most often used to get a seller who doesn't realize what they might have to sell at a reduced price.

I think if you are going to go to the effort to try to outmaneuver other bidders by negotiating a buy it now, and the another person beats you to it...

YOU HAVE BEEN BEATEN AT YOUR OWN GAME!

 

[SliceOfLife]

I don't like the idea of negotiating a buy it now with a seller. I think this is most often used to get a seller who doesn't realize what they might have to sell at a reduced price.

I think if you are going to go to the effort to try to outmaneuver other bidders by negotiating a buy it now, and the another person beats you to it...

YOU HAVE BEEN BEATEN AT YOUR OWN GAME!

Pretty much my stance too. I suspect if it sold as soon as it was listed that it was a pretty significantly lowball price. Hoisted on your own petard, so to speak.

 

[raffijian]

I don't like the idea of negotiating a buy it now with a seller. I think this is most often used to get a seller who doesn't realize what they might have to sell at a reduced price.

I think if you are going to go to the effort to try to outmaneuver other bidders by negotiating a buy it now, and the another person beats you to it...

YOU HAVE BEEN BEATEN AT YOUR OWN GAME!

Not sure what you're implying at when you say being beaten at my own game?

The seller was well aware of the item and he even quoted me as to what they have been selling at recently. He knew the prices they were going for so to think I would manipulate a seller with a lowball offer is completely off base.

The only reason for wanting to see if the selller would offer a buy it now was to not get into a bidding war and not have to wait days for the item to end. As I had indicated in my original post, I do not like using ebay and try to avoid it whenever possible.

 

[SliceOfLife]

In that case never mind my last post. Bad timing, but I think you're out of luck. I've come across some AMAZING deals people had negotiated (on Thuringians and Yardley mostly) as BIN's that had been listed for only a couple minutes before (I browse BIN's sorted by Newly Listed a lot), but the sellers tend to Post in title "For (User name)" and mention in post that the listing is intended for that user only. If that was done, then the seller might be able to cancel that sale and try again, but since it sounds like he didn't I'm afraid you're out of luck.

Keep your hopes up though. A partial (~1/3 - 1/2) bowl of Yardley ended last night for ~$18 shipped starting price without even getting a single bid. The prices are down a good bit.

 

[KaiserKrebs]

Sorry to hear about your luck, but I am in the camp that believes that contacting Ebay sellers for B.I.N.s is in poor taste, especially if the item was posted as an auction in the first place.

I like many here, have been watching Vintage Yardley, hoping for an opportunity to bid and possibly win some of that soap.... Recently, I saw two Yardley auctions end early, with no bids. I emailed the sellers to find out what had happened, and I guess I'm naieve, because what happened was that the seller was contacted and asked to offer a Buy it Now solely to that individual. I had thought that was a violation of Ebay policy, I guess I am mistaken.

The only analogy I can think of, is that it's like being a candidate for a great job, getting your hopes up, going through an interview process, only to find that the job was already given to someone by a pre-arranged agreement. Maybe that's an off base comparison, but so be it. Maybe someday lady luck will smile on my noble Yardley quest. And no offense, to anyone who may have done this, as either a buyer or seller..It's just MHO. It sort of goes against my idealistic view of fair play, but whatever. I was in the boy scouts as a kid.

 

[bythbook]

ah, Yardley - it inflames the passions....

recently there was a very nice gift set for auction on dbay - Yardley English Lavender aftershave and unopened soap. I entered a bid... mine was high, but I was one of three bidders; it was early in the auction, so who knows what would have happened?

I received this notice from dbay:

Dear eBay Community Member,
The bid that you entered for the item (260620738150) has been cancelled. You can view the reason provided for the cancellation by selecting the (bid history) link from the individual item page.​

The reason given was 'no bids were entered' - however, there is a bidding history of three bids, three bidders. What seems to have happened is, somebody contacted the seller and made an offer - and the offer was accepted.

So - however you feel about making a BIN offer on an auction item, in my opinion, it is just wrong to make that offer if there are already bids made. It is doubly wrong for a seller to accept an offer made if there are bids registered for the item.

...so I decree.

 

[Barbarian]

In the E-bay rules:

Not Allowed:

-Ending a listing early to sell the item to the winning bidder at a price higher than the current bid.

Allowed:

-Sellers can end a listing early in order to sell an item at the current bid price to the high bidder.

I have a feeling that most instances of contacting a seller to end early are the former rather than the latter.

 

[raffijian]

Following what KaiserKrebs and bythbook have indicated, I too remember seeing two separate listings recently for Yardley soaps and both within the same week ended before the time had elapsed. I had both in my watch list and next thing I knew they were no longer available. Never got a chance to bid and no idea what happened.

I think it is wrong when there are already bids, ande watchers, and the seller ends the listing. For one thing, if a seller is accepting higher bids on a currently running and already bid on item, then I'd rather not purchase from that seller anyway.

The item I had was just listed and no one had even looked at the listing yet since the page view on the bottom of the page was showing zero.

Ebay is what it is so that is why I'd rather use that as a last resort and instead deal with members here on the forum since I know what to expect.

 

[Go West Young Man]

If I was a seller, having someone offer me a BIN would get the $$$ going in my eyes.
I can't imagine a circumstance under which I'd accept that kind of deal.

 

[coyotewhisper]

As both a seller and buyer on Ebay, i have had nothing positive experience. As I seller I do not offer the buy now option. If I am auctioning an item, I do not negotiate any other options. EBay is very protective of buyers, sellers are monitored for improper transactions. If a seller is dishonest in his actions his items can be removed and he will be barred from selling. My experience with Ebay has been positive as both a buyer and seller.
I would say less then 5% are not operating totally above board.

 

[Goodknightbri]

Not sure what you're implying at when you say being beaten at my own game?

The seller was well aware of the item and he even quoted me as to what they have been selling at recently. He knew the prices they were going for so to think I would manipulate a seller with a lowball offer is completely off base.

The only reason for wanting to see if the selller would offer a buy it now was to not get into a bidding war and not have to wait days for the item to end. As I had indicated in my original post, I do not like using ebay and try to avoid it whenever possible.

Out of curiosity, what was the negotiated price?