American Beautys on ebay

[tonyo]

Was anyone else watching all those t206 American Beautys that just ended 3 days early?

I probablly wouldn't have won any, but am just curious how that can happen in ebay-land? I don't sell much, but I didn't think you could end an item early if it has bids

I was watching 15 of them. They all had bids, but they all were ended early because "the item was sold" Here is one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/110735527594...84.m1438.l2649


Were they reprints and someone blew the whistle?

[Anthony S.]

They were real. Bummed me out when I started getting the "Sorry you didn't win..." emails from Ebay.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by tonyo

I didn't think you could end an item early if it has bids

Yup, the seller can end the auction early at any time - even minutes before the item is scheduled to end.

That listing was hard on my eyes.

[A2000]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Yup, the seller can end the auction early at any time - even minutes before the item is scheduled to end.

I believe a few years ago, eBay made it so you could NOT end an auction if there was less than 12 hours remaining.

You would think an eBay seller with more than 26,000 feedback would know better than to end an auction early. IMO, ending an auction early for a private offer = leaving money on the table.

[steve B]

They've got to stop allowing this. And stop allowing the cheats like ATX840 to even make offers off ebay. It hurts the seller, it hurts Ebay, and the rest of us that follow the rules. It also hurts other sellers. Plus offering something for bid is a binding contract acording to Ebay.

Most of us don't have a huge hobby budget. And when something like those ABs comes up we have to not bid on other stuff, or bid less on some others.

I was watching them too, And held off from bidding on about 10-15 other things since they were listed. Not all cards, but here are the card sellers who probably lost a few dollars because of their cheating.
buythatcard
jasonb9206
1950 browns
runlike
tntriley1
luckyjguy
Jerryjersey
I'm not sure how many of those other items I'd have won or been the underbidder on, but I didn't bid on 6 of them, and bid far less on one.

Steve Birmingham

[Matthew H]

If I see a card I want up for auction on eBay these days, I always ask if there is a BIN price for the card. Not because I want to buy it that way, but because there have been so many times that a card I want disappears. I am always relieved when I get a message back saying no.

[3-2-count]

Just my opinion, but if you see something you really need on the Bay it would be in your best interest to email the seller and ask if they end auctions early just so you don't get burned. I sure do. If they answer with a definitive "NO" you have nothing to worry about. If you receive any other reply other than that you'd better be willing to play the same game or risk losing the opportunity. My two cents!!

[aquarius31]

I was tempted not to respond to this thread but the previous comments have me going now. Even if you win through a BIN on ebay you're not assured that you win. Here's a wonderful story to share with all of you.

1) I used a BIN on a lot of 2 T206's which had a very good price
(purchased within 2 minutes of listing being posted)
2) Ask seller if he will combine shipping and receive a response that there was an error and cards shouldn't have been listed
3) Send a reply to seller trying to get more details but he's not clear with me so I tell him if it not's a mistake or if he plans to repost to let me know (thought I'd give him the benefit of the doubt as an honest mistake)
4) See a listing on B/S/T today for those exact same cards which I purchased through BIN but were "listed in error"
5) Find out that a side deal off of EBay was done for the cards at a higher price
6) Frustrated but agree with off-Ebay buyer on 1 of the cards on the amount that was paid off ebay (higher than the original BIN option for both cards)
7) The second card sold to another buyer before I could purchase that one

Due to "non-bidding" buyers making side deals with sellers on ebay after auction close and those sellers agreeing to those side deals people get screwed. What should have been an easy BIN transaction become one where I ended up negotiating with the "new" buyer for 1 card and losing out on the other card not to mention that the price was higher since the seller was able to obtain more from the off ebay deal.

I think I'm going to go onto ebay now and try to see if there are some recently closed low BINs where I can persuade the seller to sell it to me instead for a slightly higher price.

[egbeachley]

Originally Posted by steve B

Plus offering something for bid is a binding contract acording to Ebay.

only if it ends up being the winning bid

[vintagetoppsguy]

Some of y’all aren’t understanding that for a lot of dealers, eBay is just another way to advertise – no different than their personal website, a brick and mortar store, message board B/S/T, etc. In other words, they may have the same card listed on multiple sites. Their goal is to sell the card, they don’t care how/where it sells. A lot of dealers will list a card for sale on eBay, but at the same time it also resides in their showcase for sale. If someone comes into their store and purchases the card, they remove the card from eBay. I’ve also been at shows and witnessed the same thing many, many times where I’ve bought a card from a dealer, then watched the dealer immediately remove the listing from eBay. I’m not defending the seller here, but it is what it is. Besides, no one really knows why they cards were removed from eBay in the first place. Everybody is just assuming the seller ended the auction early for an off-line offer. What if the cards were lost or stolen and he HAD to remove the listings?

[atx840]

I called a seller who had 50 T206s & 50 T205s listed individually and bought the whole lot even though others had bid on them. Sort of a low way to go but if the buyer had the funds and the deal was right all the more to them. One mass sale is a lot easier to manage then 15.

On a side not I had snipes on a few of those cards : )

[Leon]

Originally Posted by atx840

I called a seller who had 50 T206s & 50 T205s listed individually and bought the whole lot even though others had bid on them.

Yeap, I bet you were pretty happy about that.

[JohnP0621]

I was also watching some of those AB cards and was pissed when the seller took them off. Ebay should not allow the seller to remove the cards after a bid has been placed. Is the bidder allowed to pull back his bid if he changes his mind?//

[steve B]

There has to be some way to cancel an auction since there are legitimate reasons to cancel. Like if the item isn't real, or becomes damaged while the auction is open.

Unfortunately even limiting things to that sort of reason won't work as the people who feel it's ok to offer or accept offers for sales outside Ebay will simply make their deals and claim he item was fake or damaged.

I may have been a bit harsh in how I put it, but I've had a lousy week so far and this hasn't made it any better.

And for all of you who think it's ok, go ahead and have that opinion.

But the next time you're bitching about shills or cards sold with bad scans and glowing terms, or trimmed Johnson T206s where the trimming is buried in the description, or any of the "grandpas attic" reprints....... Just remember you're no better than those sellers.

Steve Birmingham

[Leon]

Originally Posted by steve B

There has to be some way to cancel an auction since there are legitimate reasons to cancel. Like if the item isn't real, or becomes damaged while the auction is open.

Unfortunately even limiting things to that sort of reason won't work as the people who feel it's ok to offer or accept offers for sales outside Ebay will simply make their deals and claim he item was fake or damaged.

I may have been a bit harsh in how I put it, but I've had a lousy week so far and this hasn't made it any better.

And for all of you who think it's ok, go ahead and have that opinion.

But the next time you're bitching about shills or cards sold with bad scans and glowing terms, or trimmed Johnson T206s where the trimming is buried in the description, or any of the "grandpas attic" reprints....... Just remember you're no better than those sellers.

Steve Birmingham

Steve
I think I can safely say the overwhelming majority of the board has your back on your thoughts. I got a PM from Chris (ATX840 above) last night. My guess is that he has had some changing of heart in that situation. Maybe our thoughts do matter.

And also, I do agree with Tony above too. That being said I just will never make an offer on a card that already has a bid on it. If there are no bids I will ask about a BIN, but otherwise, I just won't do it. Someone else can and they can be the "better" collector for it, if that is how they feel. regards

[iggyman]

Originally Posted by Leon

Steve
If there are no bids I will ask about a BIN, but otherwise, I just won't do it.

Leon, since you opened up that can of worms......that sure is a slippery slope you are on. What happens in the scenario where no bids are placed on an eBay auction, you asked for a BIN, seller responds a few hours later with a fantastic BIN, you accept but in the interim someone places a .99 cents bid???

What about the "watchers???" No righteousness for them??? I don't mean to take shots at you Leon, since heaven knows I'm no eBay saint. Over the years, I've certainly emailed my share of sellers asking for a "buy-it-now" option. My point is more directed to the Net54 masses, "lets not cast the first stone......."

Lovely Day...

[Leon]

Originally Posted by iggyman

Leon, since you opened up that can of worms......that sure is a slippery slope you are on. What happens in the scenario where no bids are placed on an eBay auction, you asked for a BIN, seller responds a few hours later with a fantastic BIN, you accept but in the interim someone places a .99 cents bid???

What about the "watchers???" No righteousness for them??? I don't mean to take shots at you Leon, since heaven knows I'm no eBay saint. Over the years, I've certainly emailed my share of sellers asking for a "buy-it-now" option. My point is more directed to the Net54 masses, "lets not cast the first stone......."

Lovely Day...

Iggy, yeap, with 3000 members I knew there would be this response. If a bid has been placed then I would not expect the buyer to cancel it nor would I want them to (that scenario has happened to me several times and I have always told the seller to just forget about the offer). If there are watchers, my opinion, tough crap. Put a bid in. It happens to all of us...deal with it. Nothing personal at all....just sayin', no slippery slope for my opinion. No stones cast here........take care