I found a woodgrain this morning, put it on my list to bid, and now it's gone.  I think it was only listed overnight.  Here's a link:  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 3114463983   Just goes to show, you have to really keep on top of things.

I asked the seller what happened.  He said someone offered him $300 for the set,  so he cancelled the auction and sold it privately.  It seemed a fair price.  Anyone notice that the same thing happended a month ago to a 2nd edition set?  So, is this the new bidding strategy?  Is last minute bidding sometimes too dangerous? What's e-bay's policy on this?

enkidu wrote:I asked the seller what happened.  He said someone offered him $300 for the set,  so he cancelled the auction and sold it privately.  It seemed a fair price.  Anyone notice that the same thing happended a month ago to a 2nd edition set?  So, is this the new bidding strategy?  Is last minute bidding sometimes too dangerous? What's e-bay's policy on this?

 The following is from eBay's website:  eBay: Redirect  Selling Offenses   If you've experienced any of these selling misuses, please report offenses to the Investigations link below. Disciplinary action may result in the indefinite suspension of a user's account, temporary suspension, or a formal warning. eBay will consider the circumstances of an alleged offense and the user's trading records before taking action.  

Fee avoidance - Circumventing eBay fees. Examples:
Canceling a listing to sell the item to anyone who contacted the seller through eBay, or became aware of the item through eBay  Ending a listing early to sell the item at a higher price to the winning bidder

Sniping is more annoying.

 Oh, come on now, Mike.  There would be no fun at all in bidding if there was no sniping.

enkidu wrote:I asked the seller what happened.  He said someone offered him $300 for the set,  so he cancelled the auction and sold it privately.  It seemed a fair price.  Anyone notice that the same thing happended a month ago to a 2nd edition set?  So, is this the new bidding strategy?  Is last minute bidding sometimes too dangerous? What's e-bay's policy on this?

 Check out this lovely item... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 3114986806  The seller ended it 5 days earlier than its original end date. He actually added the buy it now feature so that he could sell it to the apparent winner. I wrote the seller to ask what the heck happened to the auction as the last I checked the opening bid was set at $20 bucks with no bidders. He said that user contacted him to buy it off ebay and he relented by adding the buy it now feature. I guess there is something to be said for putting a bid on it but even that is not enough to dissuade some sellers from not ending it to accept a private offer.  Anyone else seen one of these Gencon IX Bob Blake dungeons. It looks like an original tourney dungeon not one of the later reprints. At any rate its gotta be worth alot more than $45.

Hey Brette,  I do not think the seller can end the auction early as most of the auctions have been going down lately. I think it is not against the rules to add the buy it now feature since they are still paying ebay fees like this particular auction. I cant see ratting out the seller in these instances as it is really the bidders who are the real perps. The only way I can think to combat this new practice is to start doing it myself also. At least that way I can get in on the bidding.  Adam

Adam Shultz wrote:Hey Brette,  I do not think the seller can end the auction early as most of the auctions have been going down lately. I think it is not against the rules to add the buy it now feature since they are still paying ebay fees like this particular auction. I cant see ratting out the seller in these instances as it is really the bidders who are the real perps. The only way I can think to combat this new practice is to start doing it myself also. At least that way I can get in on the bidding.  Adam

 you'll prob see more of this....  Look at the buyers perspective, he gets what he wants, now, at a price he is willing to pay, like dislcosing his highest price to the seller, if the seller likes it he accepts it... this saves them both the wait and the risk to the buyer of last minute snipping, and this is prob the main reason why he is doing this, happened one 2 many times with some uncommon items that command a lot of last minute bidding... as I am sure we have all experienced...  For a seller he gets what he wants and doesn't have to wait to the end to know what the final outcome is, sometimes he may look at an item that has attracted no bids and wonders if it has "slipped through the cracks" and everone has missed it, or the price offered is what similar items have been getting in the past?, he may also save himself some $$ through fees and charges too, hay more $$ to him, I'm sure ebay make a killing, considering all the have done is automate the auction process.. sure the seller runs the big risk that he could of got more in some last minute bidding, but that is the risk he is willing to take obviously...  I can't see complaining on these seller/buyers, its not going to get the item relisted, just move on to the next auction.... and like you said may have to start doing this in the future ourselves;)  Brette:)

MR EBAY!  Man Daniel do you work for ebay or ?? Your really into the policies, etc.  Yes I agree with what you said but not everything is fair. Heck sniping isn't fair so ebay should get rid of that. Same with those sniping softwares out there. Ebay makes enough money already so something like that really won't hurt them.

d20sites wrote:I may not be MR EBAY but I find it dishonorable. You may find it funny that I bring up the subject of honor but it affects everyone's lives.   In a sense, we all got screwed over this transaction.  How many people got to bid on this item? I certainly didn't.  I go to eBay to bid on items.  I don't go to eBay to look at prematurely closed items and think how nice it would have been to have it in my collection.  I would have no problem with this if the seller closed the auction to reevalutate what he was selling.

 You are completely right but... There is no effective way to combat this. One can rat out the seller but it is usually a seller who has only one rare item and doesn't know how much it is worth. The buyer/private offerer is the perpetrator but there is no way to know a private offer was made. I doubt Ebay will invade its email system and read email transmissions to locate these private deals. So I think the only way to not be left behind on deals like that Bob Blake item is to at least write the seller and ask him not to end the auction early for private offers or sell it to you if he must end it for private offers. I told the seller of the Bob Blake item how much it was worth and he wrote back with sob story about how he didn't realize its true value. BTW Anyone ever see that item for sale before or own one?  Adam

The private sale was an act of theft.  The seller did not fulfill his end of the bargain by paying a percentage of total transaction.  "Buy It Now" starts an item as something for sale on first come, first served basis.  As soon as someone bids, it becomes an auction.  eBay gets it's fee either way.  Doesn't dishonest behavior bother you, Mkman?  Ã