eBay messaging question--best way to word this? update 4/25

[njdunkin1]

Hey everyone,

Need your help, please. A card sold about 10 days ago that I really would have liked to have, but I was out of town and didn't even notice it was listed. I would like to contact the seller and politely request the buyer's info, but I couldn't find a way to do it without sounding like a snob :P. Any suggestions? I am happy to offer this seller a 10% finder's fee, so it would be awesome to throw that in the message, too.

Regards,
NJ

**update**
I found the card!
To give some context on where I was able to snag this, this particular Quad was snatched up on eBay early this month--I was bummed! It is only the third card ever made with both Maravich and Chamberlain in jersey format by Upper Deck, and this specific variation is the only one with patches in comparison to the two other cards. With only four copies of this card known, I thought it was gone for good.
I casted some nets and posted some ridiculous WTB threads in hopes of finding the owner. A guy from BCF came forth, and we cracked a deal! Good call, Bnorth!

Without further ado, here it is! Wilt Chamberlain/Pete Maravich/Jo Jo White/Robert Parish quad patch /10 from the 2008 Ultimate Foursomes subset!




















It looks great with the group! :flex::flex::flex:


Thank you to all the collectors who have contributed and come out of the woodwork to help me out with this subset!

I have only four more on the bucket list that would look awesome with this grouping:

Upgrading the /35 in the group photo to the /10 patch variation
76ers legends /10 (Wilt + Dr J, to name 2)
Lakers legends /10 (Wilt and Rodman, to name 2)
The other Celts/Bucks card /10 (Robertson and KAJ, to name 2).


Thanks for looking!

~NJ

[EYECOLLECTVINTAGE]

I have been through this before with a ticket. Just kindly ask if he will pass a message on to the buyer that you will pay him 10% more that what he paid.

Be transparent.

[tiger8mush]

Dear Mr. Seller,
Much to my dismay, I missed the auction on your beautiful card. If its not too much trouble, can you please have the buyer contact me? Email = x or Phone = y. Thanks for your time and I'll be sure to keep a closer eye on your future auctions!
Yours Truly, Kind Regards, Thanks for your time,
njdunkin1

[savedfrommyspokes]

As a seller, no matter how much someone offered me, I would never provide a buyer's information to them. As others have mentioned, I would consider sending the buyer a message myself to see if they would entertain a better offer from another ebay user who missed out on bidding in the auction they won. From there, it would be up to the buyer as to if he wants to hear a better offer from someone who missed bidding in the auction they won.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by njdunkin1

Hey everyone,

Need your help, please. A card sold about 10 days ago that I really would have liked to have, but I was out of town and didn't even notice it was listed. I would like to contact the seller and politely request the buyer's info, but I couldn't find a way to do it without sounding like a snob :P. Any suggestions? I am happy to offer this seller a 10% finder's fee, so it would be awesome to throw that in the message, too.

Regards,
NJ

Dear Seller,

I noticed you recently sold a card that I unfortunately missed out on. It is a card I have been looking for, for quite some time. If it is possible, could you contact the buyer and ask if it would be ok to pass along his information on to me, or to pass my information on to him? I am prepared to make him a generous offer, and would also be willing to kick in a 10% finders fee to yourself as a thank you, if a deal is made.

I understand if you are not comfortable doing this but thought it might be worth a shot, as this card is important to me.

Thank you for your time. - You



Not sure if that will get by Ebay's filters for Off-site deals, but it's the best I could do.

The seller should definitely get permission from the original buyer, before passing on his information to you....or visa versa.

It does make me think of the earlier days of Ebay, before ID's were hidden, and underbidders would regularly contact winning bidders openly, to make them offers because they forgot to bid, or couldn't get in a last second snipe (before sniping software became so popular).

[bn2cardz]

As a seller in a similar situation (though I think it was on the BST on this site) I did exactly what has been suggested. I passed on the information of the person reaching out to the original buyer, but wouldn't do it the opposite way.

[njdunkin1]

Thank you for the input, everyone. Here is the message I decided to send off:

"Good afternoon, XYZ. I hope this message finds you well . I had a thought this afternoon that I wanted to convey to you:
If it is possible, would you be interested in contacting the buyer of the XYZ and forwarding my information to him? I am prepared to make him a generous offer on the card so that both parties could leave happy. I am also willing to send you 15% as a thank-you for putting me in touch with him (I can send you the 15% of your sale of the card right away, or 15% of the possible deal if it goes through).

I understand if you are not comfortable doing this, but thought it may be worth a try as this card is important to me.

Thank you for your time
-NJ"

I upped the percent in hopes of sweetening the deal for all parties involved. Fingers crossed!

[tiger8mush]

looks good.

This happened to me once (missed out on a card I REALLY wanted) so I posted on the net54 B/S/T and it just happened that the buyer of the card was a member here and we worked out a deal for the card. So you could also try posting on the forum, couldn't hurt. Good luck!

[orly57]

I was just going to suggest that. Whenever I see a card I like on eBay, I email the seller and ask if they are on n54. 80% of the time they are. The other 20% go "what the hell is n54?"

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by tiger8mush

looks good.

This happened to me once (missed out on a card I REALLY wanted) so I posted on the net54 B/S/T and it just happened that the buyer of the card was a member here and we worked out a deal for the card. So you could also try posting on the forum, couldn't hurt. Good luck!

+1 I have done the same successfully.

[njdunkin1]

Definitely a strong idea. It is a modern basketball card of semi-moderate value, but retains a very low print number (/10). I already posted a WTB at Blowout, so my hopes are higher now than before .
Here is the card in question if anyone knows the whereabouts!

~NJ

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by njdunkin1

Definitely a strong idea. It is a modern basketball card of semi-moderate value, but retains a very low print number (/10). I already posted a WTB at Blowout, so my hopes are higher now than before .
Here is the card in question if anyone knows the whereabouts!

~NJ

Post it over on BO is my only help. Way better chance over there with that card.

[njdunkin1]

update to original post!