From the article: Are You Selling Your Online Auctions Short?
As a tactic to buy items cheaply, online auction buyers will often approach sellers behind the scenes to try to get them to change their listings to "buy it now." Has this ever happened to you?
Share your story with other About.com readers. Share Your Experience
Ending Auction Early
- About a year and a half ago I put an item online that I couldn't find out much about, it was damaged but neat piece of porcelain. I put it on for $49.95 and within an hour I had two people wanting me to end it early for $200. I said no mostly because when I do an auction, that is what it is. It was on for seven days and had more people trying to get me to sell it early. I stayed the course and the last day I looked at it it was at 800, in the last four minutes it jumped to over $1,400. Turned out it was a rare piece of Dresden. People will try to rip you off if possible.
- —Guest captjinx@bellsouth.net
Lesson almost learned.
- I was selling an old jacket that I got as a gift, I knew it was expensive but not sure enough, I never used it, so decided to sell it. Started the bid at 50, quickly jumped to 120. A guy said he was "leaving" town and really wanted the jacket, offered 200 to end it. (I found it suspicious because: a) Internet is now found everywhere and b) the auction still had about 5 days left) I decided not to ended, the jacket sold for 500 dlls, I had no idea it could go so high, it made my month. Never again will I even consider early endings.
- —Guest Andres
Ending auctions early
- I have never requested an early departure from an auction, nor has anyone ever asked me to end one early. But online auctions are not what they used to be anymore. Ebay has changed so drastically (and NOT in a good "I lost weight and my face cleared up" sort of way either) over the years, that had you been away from Ebay for a while you would wonder if you were still on an Internet auction site. There are so many sellers with a Buy it Now price NOT participating in any auctions at all and finding a real auction that isn't set to run like 47 days long is a real search. And Ebay has become like the new boss who loves to be in control and punish. If I wanted to be treated like the red headed step child, I would go visit a step parent. If Ebay continues in this manner, they will lose sellers, and w/out sellers there are no products , and w/out products to sell, there will be no buyers. No buyers and sellers? No website. No Ebay. Simple math. I'm just saying.......
- —Guest meddjay@aol.com
