Bidder wants to withdraw an hour before the auction ends!

[Theoldprofessor]

It's Wednesday night, Jan 23, and I'm now a half hour from selling a 1955 Topps Clemente, PSA 6. A half hour ago I received an "urgent" message from the high bidder, asking that his bid be withdrawn because, suddenly, he knows he won't be able to pay.

I did as he asked, thiinking that I'd never see his money anyway, but what else, if anything, should I do?

[EvilKing00]

were there any other bidders?

[Theoldprofessor]

Yes, and the auction ended with a bid higher than the one I cancelled. I just need to get some advice as to what to do, if anything, so this guy doesn't play the same game again. His feedback, by the way, was 100%!

[TNP777]

Add him to your blocked bidder list and move on. His story might be legit, but why take chances?

[EvilKing00]

yep you can deff block him if u want - and since you sold your listing, all should be good

[kmac32]

Originally Posted by TNP777

Add him to your blocked bidder list and move on. His story might be legit, but why take chances?

Block him, he is frustration waiting to happen.

[kmac32]

Originally Posted by TNP777

Add him to your blocked bidder list and move on. His story might be legit, but why take chances?

Block him, he is frustration waiting to happen.

At least he backed out before the auction ended.

[Brendan]

Personally, I wouldn't do anything about it. Most of the time guys don't even message the seller on stuff like that.

The guy knew he wasn't able to pay. Maybe he had a fender-bender and now has to use his money for repairs. Maybe a buyer didn't complete a transaction and now he needs that money to pay the bills. There are so many scenarios and none of them provide me with any motivation to ban the buyer from bidding.

Heck, I think this whole situation shines positively on the buyer. Instead of taking the chance of winning it and wasting your time and money as a non-paying buyer, he protected you from that inconvenience by alerting you before the auction ended. Banning him would just limit your exposure to legitimate bidders.

[pclpads]

Drop the hammer on him. Out him here and on other boards. Bidders who run this gambit should be banned from the privilege of bidding.

[freakhappy]

Originally Posted by Brendan

Personally, I wouldn't do anything about it. Most of the time guys don't even message the seller on stuff like that.

The guy knew he wasn't able to pay. Maybe he had a fender-bender and now has to use his money for repairs. Maybe a buyer didn't complete a transaction and now he needs that money to pay the bills. There are so many scenarios and none of them provide me with any motivation to ban the buyer from bidding.

Heck, I think this whole situation shines positively on the buyer. Instead of taking the chance of winning it and wasting your time and money as a non-paying buyer, he protected you from that inconvenience by alerting you before the auction ended. Banning him would just limit your exposure to legitimate bidders.

Good points, Brendan. Although some people will disagree, I think these points were spot on and I would not block him.

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by pclpads

Drop the hammer on him. Out him here and on other boards. Bidders who run this gambit should be banned from the privilege of bidding.

Let me get this straight....

You think he should attempt to ruin the bidder's reputation because he was kind enough to message him before the auction ended to let him know he wouldn't be able to pay if he won? Never in my life have I had a bidder considerate enough to do that. Meanwhile, I've probably had 20+ non-paying buyers.

[sdkammeyer]

What would happen if I placed a $20,000 bid at Heritage or Grey Flannel or Mears (you get the idea) and then called them to cancel in the last hour?

Is this different because it's not $20,000?

eBay is an auction house .... and your bid is a bond. Just because it is "ebay" dosen't make it any less serious to retract your bids. Especially from a seller's point of view..... when it is the sellers that are paying the ebay/paypal fees and not the buyer.

As most of you know it costs money to sell on ebay. Serious money if you sell a lot every month. Ebay isnt a joke (well it is) but it should not be treated as such.

At very least I would thank the bidder for giving you the heads up, thank your lucky stars that the item sold anyways, and block the bidder.

If in the future you happen to be selling something that this particular bidder is interested in, he can contact you within an hour of the auctions end and assure you that this time he really does have the money.

If you put your hand on the hot stove and it burns you .... do you put your hand on it again a week later?

[Theoldprofessor]

Gents:

I appreciate the help, and agree with those who suggested that I block him from bidding in my auctions. I also agree that there may have been legitimate reasons why he had to withdraw. Those of you who think I may owe him a vote of thanks are probably right too. He could have waited and stiffed me after the auction ended.

Again, thanks for the help.

[Exhibitman]

What would happen at most auction houses is that you'd get hold of the auctioneer, explain the issue, and probably have your bid canceled if there was a legitimate reason.

I don't think we can conclude from the facts as presented that the bidder is necessarily a bad guy. People cancel bids for a lot of reasons and we don't know his [or hers]. Getting all pissy and vindictive about someone doing the honorable thing [for once] is not the right attitude.

[Jewish-collector]

So what ? It's not a problem. Don't block him from bidding on your auctions again. Maybe he's a member of this message board and he can come on here and give you an explanation to make you happy.

[Leon]

I agree with Adam. We don't know the whole circumstances. At least the guy did say something before he won the auction. I would ask him not to bid if he can't pay and be more careful in the future, and not do anything else to him. If someone did that in our small auction we would address it as such.....however, if it happened again we might be less lenient. Anyone can make a mistake or have an issue come up.

[lharri3600]

Originally Posted by TNP777

Add him to your blocked bidder list and move on. His story might be legit, but why take chances?

You nailed it!!

[lharri3600]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

So what ? It's not a problem. Don't block him from bidding on your auctions again. Maybe he's a member of this message board and he can come on here and give you an explanation to make you happy.

I agree Alan,
But Bob should block him from the current auction.

[Clutch-Hitter]

Originally Posted by freakhappy

Good points, Brendan. Although some people will disagree, I think these points were spot on and I would not block him.

+2