Ending ebay auctions early. Agree or disagree.

[jb217676]

I was bidding on the Rube Marquard PSA 4 with a Piedmont 350 back from forum member lharri3600. It was originally for sale here in the B/S/T but then moved to ebay. I was the high bidder on the card and then the auction was ended early! It just vanished. Personally, as someone who also sells on ebay, I would NEVER end an auction early, because it would say to my valued buyers (who are mainly REPEAT buyers) that I don't respect the choice they made to bid on my cards with there hard earned cash. I think it sucks when people do this. Ending ebay auctions early... agree or disagree? Has it happened to you on a card you really wanted?

[cbcbcb]

I never have ended an auction early when there are bidders and I have never asked someone to end an auction early when there are bidders. I have ended auctions early when there weren't any bidders because I was happy with the offer.

[jb217676]

It sucks because I was going to pay good money for that card. I would have made an offer for it here, but when I saw it on ebay I figured it would be there for the duration of the auction. If I ended auctions early, I would be made to answer crappy emails from disgruntled bidders all day, probably losing customers along the way.

[Abravefan11]

Just my 2 cents....

If it were a tough card I could understand being upset, but this is a frequently sold card in a common grade.

I personally would let it go and move on. It's definitely not worth trashing another board member IMO.

[Scott L.]

IMO it's Larry's card. He can do what he wants with it. With ebay fees at where they are it's hard to blame people. I think most people on the board will agree with that. Some will agree with you because there are folks who don't like auctions ended early when there is initial bid but I think those that feel that way will be in the minority.

I know that you wanted it but it's an easily attainable card, there will be dozens more on ebay or here on the BST in the near future, you'll get one sooner rather than later.

[chaddurbin]

is this the same seller that put t206 cards into topps 'buyback' cases and sell them as such? the board has gotten so big, just because they're a member don't mean they're good people.

[jb217676]

In response to Scott L., Larry's card stopped being Larry's card the minute it got it's first bid on ebay.

[Mikehealer]

I would think it stops being his card the minute he gets paid for it.

[jb217676]

I disagree. When a bid is placed on a card, the seller has lost all rights to that card unless there is a reserve price on it, that's how I see it.

Update: Just talked to Larry and he said he has more available. I consider him a stand-up guy for letting me know.

[bcbgcbrcb]

As a buyer on e-bay, I have asked numerous times to end an auction early for a scarce item and have been turned down every time. Now I really don't bother asking any more.

[Leon]

First of all if you are playing by the rules of ebay then it is OK to stop an auction and do a BIN for someone, regardless of if it's got bids or not, I believe. As long as it's through the system I am not sure there is a "rule" against it. That being said, just like most others, I have been tracking cards and they got ended and I was planning on bidding. We have had no less than 20 discussions concerning this, on the board. Everyone has their own philosophy. Personally, if I was selling something I wouldn't stop an auction if there was a bid. If there were no bids, I would if I got the right offer. To that end I have emailed plenty of sellers asking them to give me a shot if they are going to end it early. Lately, most people are aware they are losing money, so they say they will let it run. That is great because if I really need something I have a shot at it....

Also, unfortunately, what Quan said above is true. And this is a GENERAL statement not intended for anyone in this thread. Our forum has gotten so big that not everyone is always going to be good to deal with. WE police it pretty darned well but I can't vouch for almost all of the folks like I used to be able too. It's always good to get a reference if the person you are dealing with is someone you don't know, or know of. It's normal growing pains and I still think over 99% of our members are good....which is a bit better than most places. regards

[iggyman]

I don't have an issue with it even for a rare card. From a practical standpoint, I consider a card "mine" only when it arrives in my mailbox. Therefore, if it gets lost, stolen, or eaten by a dog it is the sellers problem not mine.

Lovely Day...

[barrysloate]

Ending an auction early on ebay is within the rules, but it is bad public relations because it almost always makes people angry. If you are a regular ebay seller trying to build a customer base, it's bad business.

[T206Collector]

...to the seller that says the following:

Please don't end your auction early. If you decide to end your auction early, please give me a chance to make you a better offer than the one you are considering. Thanks.

[tiger8mush]

Update: Just talked to Larry and he said he has more available. I consider him a stand-up guy for letting me know.

So it IS ok to end an auction early?

[jb217676]

No, it is still not OK to end an auction early. It is something I wouldn't do, ever. I was just mentioning that the seller noticed I was upset about it and made the situation right.

[jbbama]

I have been on both sides of the fence, yes, it sucks when you are hi bid and the auction vanishes. However, the card is the sellers to sale by any means HE chooses. The seller is looking to move the card in the most profitable or easy way for him/her. The bottom line is the seller has the right to decide by which means they sell their item. IMO

[steve B]

NO. Ending early is against the rules except in a few circumstances, and ending to sell to someone that hasn't bid isn't one of them.
Item no longer available is the loophole used, it's intended for stuff like accidental damage/destruction of the item while the auction is ongoing, but
it's used to get around the system
Ending to sell to the current high bidder is allowed, as is ending if you find out the item isn't as described.
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/end_early.html

You can't add a buy it now through the system if the item has been bid on.
So once bids have been placed a "buy it now" is outside the system.

[lharri3600]

well here we go,
i can understand if the auction was pulled with 12 hours and the bids were low. that is suspect. i have had sellers pull auctions on me too, but i believe that the item is theirs UNTIL it is paid for. was i wrong? no. did i talk to jeff because he was mad? no. i contacted him beacuse he wanted the card. in fact we are going to meet and go to a leafs sabre hockey game, right jeff? and the the sabers are going to destroy them!!:D

[Fred]

Larry, are you saying that you're going to lose a bet on the hockey game and the card is payment for that bet? :p

I've followed auctions only to see them end early. I've also tried to get sellers to end auctions early in an attempt to buy a card because that very same tactic was used by someone else to get a card that I wanted. It's gotten to the point where you do what you can to get what you want (within reason - I wouldn't kill somebody over a card, well in most cases I wouldn't :D )


I have to figure that the card belongs to the seller and that they can do whatever they want with it. If they chose to put it in the BST and on ebay and they sell it on the BST then they can cancel the ebay auction. If that makes a potential buyer/bidder unhappy then they can chose to not bid on that sellers auctions in the future.

The person that said that the card isn't mine until it's in my possession is correct. You can pay for a card but it isn't really yours until you have your hands on it.

I've heard people complain that if there's a bid on the card then the seller should run the course of the auction - that's the sellers choice. I remember negotiating a price for a card on ebay (that had no bids) and by the time we settled on a price there was a bid on the card. The card was pulled and the person that placed a bid on it (a board member, way back when) was ticked off about it. Sorry about that, sometimes the timing just sucks.

[sox1903wschamp]

in fact we are going to meet and go to a leafs sabre hockey game, right jeff? and the the sabers are going to destroy them!!:D

Hockey talk. I love it. And I am rooting for the Leafs to lose so the Bruins get a higher draft pick :)

But seriously, I agree that the seller can do what they want until the buyer takes possession. But to Barry's point, consistency of this behavior will likely not make the sellers clients real happy. This is a case in point and I am sure not every buyer and seller debate can finish with a Hockey game although very cool!

[Rob D.]

In response to Scott L., Larry's card stopped being Larry's card the minute it got it's first bid on ebay.

I'm hoping that you made this post when you were in an emotional state over not getting a card you wanted, because it might be the most ridiculous thing I've read in quite some time.

[ullmandds]

Personally...I HATE it when people end auctions early...but even worse...is when someone writes the seller asking if there is a BIN price...well...if there were a BIN price...wouldn't you see it? Auction, by definition, implies an item being sold to the highest bidder...right?

[Anthony S.]

I'm hoping that you made this post when you were in an emotional state over not getting a card you wanted, because it might be the most ridiculous thing I've read in quite some time.

To be fair, Rob, it's not like you can find a T206 Marquard on Ebay every da....um....never mind.

[Rob D.]

To be fair, Rob, it's not like you can find a T206 Marquard on Ebay every da....um....never mind.

I gave up trying to find one and instead own a Hologram of one created by the ... never mind.

[barrysloate]

What percentage of the time do you think a seller is offered fair value to close an auction? I periodically get offers on things and I politely decline them. When the auction concludes the final price is typically 2-3x the offer. So how often do sellers actually do the right thing by closing early?

[lharri3600]

no fred i didn't lose a bet. but jeff and i are going to a sabre leaf game here in buffalo if he wants to.

[jb217676]

I don't take offense to being called "ridiculous". I've been called much worse.

[Fred]

Ah, the high road :)

[Rob D.]

I don't take offense to being called "ridiculous". I've been called much worse.

For the sake of accuracy, you were not called ridiculous. A post saying that the owner of a card loses all rights to it once it receive a bid on eBay was called ridiculous. Which, I'm guessing now that you've recovered from the trauma of not being able to buy a card you wanted, you'll agree.

[Matt]

What percentage of the time do you think a seller is offered fair value to close an auction? I periodically get offers on things and I politely decline them. When the auction concludes the final price is typically 2-3x the offer. So how often do sellers actually do the right thing by closing early?

I don't know how often, but I've had 3 experiences where the seller declined my offer and I've won it when the auction ended for less.

[jb217676]

Just got out of Emergency today, IV still in my arm.

[Ladder7]

FWIW, There is a '33 Goudey Ruth auction in the BST that won't be closing early!

Love the Rube like my granpa, but a Ruth instead? hmmm

[Jacklitsch]

Ok, so a seller ends an auction early on me. It's a card I really wanted. I email him and tell him I'm unhappy (OK, so maybe I wasn't quite that delicate) and six months later I bid on one of his cards and find myself a blocked bidder. WTH

[Potomac Yank]

Seller ends auction early .....

I never entertain, or take any of his future offering's seriously.