opion on asking to end auctions early

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Posted By: tom mcconnell

# 1 is it proper and 2nd if so hows best the way to approach a seller whithout the fear of him feeling offended and making me feel like im doing something wrong . i have never crossed this path before

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Posted By: boxingcardman

Just ask politely.

Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc

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Posted By: Russ Bright

some sellers are going to be offended either way, they're just like that. I always try to write a polite e-mail asking about their policy and if possible would they consider ending the auction early - sometimes they will because it will save them the final value fees - the BIGGEST thing is DON'T LOWBALL THEM - everyone wants a deal, i know, but nothing pisses me off more than someone asking to end my auction early and them offering me 10% of fair market value - if you don't know what it's worth, ask them what THEY think a fair value is on it - some people (also) are WAY off - like the folks that think their Beatles albums are worth 100 dollars each...

Take the time to write something articulate, and try "dipping your toe in first" will probably save you from some unwanted ripples in the long run

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Posted By: Bill Stone

I am not exactly sure how it is done but in the past on eBay auctions I have sent the Seller a message that says--" if you will put a Buy it Now price of $1,000.00 I will take it "--all I ask is that you coordinate the time so I get in first --it has always worked in the past and since the price was fair I think it made both the Seller and me happy.

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Posted By: Mark

It all depends upon the seller...

Some are very rigid, and are easily offended at any outright offer.

Some will appreciate your offer and many will gladly accept it if they feel the price is right.

If I make an outright offer, I usually state something like "I know this to be a generous offer, based on "blank" years of experience in this specific niche". I will usually ask the seller to review my feedback, and I always thank them for their consideration.

That said, I find that about half of my offers are rejected and half are accepted. One constant is to try to catch them early in the game, ideally before any bidding has taken place. I have a much higher success rate in these instances, as many buyers are hesitant to terminate an auction in which there are existing bids.

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Posted By: cmoking

just make sure you ok it with every member of this board.

(just kidding)

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

I have asked probably about 5-10 times now to have someone put a BIN on an auction and it has never happened. Every time except once I have gotten the card for less than I would have offered to end the auction. The last guy I think was pissed that I asked if he would consider a BIN and he put my question up for all to see along with his resounding NO!!!. I still won it for less than I would have offered.

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Posted By: Eric Brehm

I hate it when sellers end auctions early. I'm tracking an item, trying to decide if I want to bid on it, and then poof, it's gone. It would be even more annoying if an item ended early that I had actually placed a bid on, but so far that hasn't happened yet.

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Posted By: Ricky Y

I ask politely and make a reasonable offer. Most sellers would reply back politely yes or no.

Also personally I think its okay to end an auction as long as there are no bids on the item. Once there is a bid..I wouldn't ask it to end.

Ricky Y

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Posted By: Matt

"I hate it when sellers end auctions early. I'm tracking an item, trying to decide if I want to bid on it, and then poof, it's gone."

The response to this is that the sellers probably are compelled to sell because of uncertainty of how the bidding will end up. If you put your bids in earlier, the sellers, seeing that the item will do well, will probably not end it.

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Posted By: cmoking

"If you put your bids in earlier, the sellers, seeing that the item will do well, will probably not end it."

But then if you do that, you decrease the chance of winning at the price you wanted. So would you rather have a higher chance of paying more and/or losing the card in an auction where you bid high and early...or would you rather have a higher chance of the seller ending the auction and selling it to someone else (and oh by the way, that someone else may have paid more than you wanted to pay anyway).

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Posted By: Matt

cmoking - exactly. Just be aware that by making the choice not to bid, you are contributing to a seller wanting to take a good offer early.

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Posted By: Jantz

I've had two auctions go "poof" on me in the last week. I was alittle pinced, but I guess I'll just wait longer and find another. I figure its the seller's property so he/she can do whatever they want with it.

Jantz

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Posted By: Eric Brehm

One thing I've seen lately on eBay is that, on high demand items, the bidding that takes place through the course of the auction is largely irrelevant, because serious bidders don't show their hand until the last few seconds of the auction, either manually or with a snipe program. For sellers, there is no guarantee this will happen late in the auction, so I guess I can understand them entertaining offers early on -- but I still wish they would either set a fixed price or run a normal auction, so everyone knows what to expect. As a buyer, I've had to adjust my strategy, and I generally don't put in my best max bid until near the end.

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Posted By: boxingcardman

"But then if you do that, you decrease the chance of winning at the price you wanted. So would you rather have a higher chance of paying more and/or losing the card in an auction where you bid high and early...or would you rather have a higher chance of the seller ending the auction and selling it to someone else (and oh by the way, that someone else may have paid more than you wanted to pay anyway)"

I have a modest proposal for handling this situation:

1. Make an offer early that is nice and fat so that the seller won't end early for less than you would like to pay; and

2. Make an early bid at a level you are OK with (but less than your offer) and then set a snipe for your real max.

I've done this quite successfully in the past. The offer makes sure that the seller won't panic sell to someone else by alerting him that the item is worth money to me, and the initial bid at less than the offer but still credible makes sure that the seller doesn't shill me to my max.

Of course, if the lot is a "gotta have it" type lot, I find that a high early offer is the best insurance.

Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc

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Posted By: cmoking

boxingcardman - not a bad plan, I like it!

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Posted By: John H.

I would never ask if a bid has already been placed on an item. If there are no bids I would ask very politely if the seller would consider ending an item early if I offered $X for it.

John

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Posted By: MVSNYC

"hows best the way to approach a seller without the "FEAR" of him feeling offended and making me feel like im doing something wrong"

i never get why people are so "AFRAID" of sellers, or of offending someone...it's only cardboard people...be polite, but no need to tip-toe around.

to answer your question, IF there are any bids, don't ask.

IF there are NO bids yet, ask "hello, since there are no bids on your auction yet, would you consider selling this at 'x' price BIN?"

edited to revise last sentence...

MS

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

It is against ebay rules to ask a seller to sell the item off of ebay. You should either get the high bid and then ask the seller to end the auction or ask for a BIN to be placed on the item.

I'm also curious why so many here will not ask for an auction to be ended if it already has a bid.

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Posted By: T206Collector

"Please do not end your auction early. If you decide to end your auction early, please give me an opportunity to top any offers you have received."

This way, I learn whether the seller is going to let the auction run its course; and if not, then give me an opportunity to bid. I make this request regardless of whether a bid has been placed on an item as sellers often will sell off-line even with a bid on their items.



_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Visit http://www.t206collector.com this month as we count down 4 Magies, 2 Wagners and a Plank!

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Posted By: Vincent

Personally, I hate when that occurs. I've lost out on a couple of items I needed for my collection, that I had bids on. Then I got out bid. Afew days later, the auction disappeared. Ended early.

But, in all fairness, I like to snipe too. And that tends to displease other bidders too. So I guess I shouldn't complain.


Thanks.