Posted By:
Jeff O...another thread that I didn't want to post on, but feel compelled to as a "regular".
First let me say I have had a number of dealings with TBob and I have always found him to be a stand up guy, both as a buyer and a seller. What I am writing is in no way a slam on him or the seller.
eBay lists a number of reasons for which it is acceptable to end an auction early. I can't be sure if this matches any of those reasons. However, what bothers me is when a seller cancels his auction to sell an item "offline" without being honest enough to pay eBay it's fair share. Usually what happens is that the seller cancels all of the bids and closes the auction. eBay gets zilch - maybe a listing fee of a quarter, and the seller gets to keep 100% of the sale price. How is that fair to eBay? Cancelling an auction to circumvent eBay's fees is just selfish.
That being said, that is an ethical issue for the seller to deal with, not the buyer. The buyer has simply made an offer... nothing more.
Have I emailed sellers and bought stuff offline? Yup. Have I ended auctions early? Only once... a Mickey Mantle signed ball. The buyer actually called me about it he wanted it so bad. There were no bids at the time. I told him I felt his offer was fair, and that I would put up a BIN for that amount immediately... he just needed to be the one to pull the trigger on the item. Why did I do it this way? So that eBay could get the commission which I felt they were rightfully entitled to.
Again, I'm not attacking anyone's ethics here... just stating an opinion. I feel when it comes to ending an auction early the seller needs to consider what is fair, primarily to eBay, but also to the other bidders if any.
As for the emails that the seller allegedly received... I don't know enough about what was or was not said to form a clear opinion. They are certainly within their rights to report him if they feel they were wronged, but I can't condone any threats which may or may not have been made... especially threats of retribution from eBay which may not be accurate.
Just my 2 cents...
Jeff O