I THOUGHT I bought this Stratoliner

[mikepara]

Sorry but I cannot understand why you would still want the hat off this deadbeat excuse at an Ebayer. Its not exactly cutting off the nose to despite the face is it? Lovely hat it may be but there will be another. (Especially if the Floungers help the poor originator out now he's unemployed by not counter bidding on at least one decent hat?)

You should have reported the bum and if he's not kicked off at least we can all avoid him and warn any of his other poor 'customers' in future.

 

[RBH]

TOM...

I for one am going to put myself out there [ I love making new thin ribbon lovers!!!]if a nice Strat or even a Open Road shows up { in your size} Iwill do my part and YOU WILL HAVE a cool thin ribbon to add to your harem!!!
What about the rest of you guys??? Are you in???

 

[Tango Yankee]

Finally heard from the guy

I've received two messages from him, as follows:

Just got to my mail...Hey I understand you being predominently a buyer..the world has run on intimidation forever and the problem being the hat fits me fine....Really to get this excited over a legal option I exercised early Sun morn. in that I cancelled within ebay and I revised another item to list and evidently the canc. never went into effect..I guess...Glad you had a fine weekend..I want to check with the Bay as to why it did not...

The second:
I do think I have some ground to stand on that I state I have relisted within my items for sale for a given reason at a specific time well before the EOA...I mean who is running this auction???

I checked the second auction that we assumed was a three day auction. It was posted on the 24th as a 7-day auction. Although I think it is his responsiblity to make sure the first auction actually cancelled I no longer think this was a case of a deadbeat seller. I've sent him the following:

All I know is that I (and several others) bid on this auction in good faith. I won it, and immediately requested payment information that was not forthcoming. It was then brought to my attention that the auction had been relisted. The timing was such that it appeared to be a 3-day listing. From my point of view it appeared that you relisted because it didn't go high enough for you the first time.

I see now that it shows a 24 April list date. I don't understand why you didn't ensure that the first auction was cancelled before posting the new one, nor why you failed to respond to my messages yesterday.

What it comes down to is this: I won the hat in good faith. The marketplace has already spoken about the value of the hat in that I wasn't outbid and so far no one has bid on your second post. I concede that you are likely not a deadbeat seller though I'm sure you can see why it appeared that way from this side. I suggest that the best course of action is still to honor my bid. At least that way you will have received a fair price for the hat.

You relisted in part because you had only two bids. You do know that these days the majority of serious bidding does occur in the final minute or two. I know that sellers would prefer for buyers to bid early and often to drive the price up, but that's not usually the way it goes these days.

So, how do you propose we resolve this (if my suggestion is not suitable?)

Waiting to see what the response will be.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Tango Yankee]

I for one am going to put myself out there [ I love making new thin ribbon lovers!!!]if a nice Strat or even a Open Road shows up { in your size} Iwill do my part and YOU WILL HAVE a cool thin ribbon to add to your harem!!!
What about the rest of you guys??? Are you in???

Thanks, RBH, but not really necessary.

I actually received a couple of Open Roads recently. I'm just way behind in my posting! Now that I have more free time I intend to get caught up as I've picked up a lot of hats in the past couple of months.

I did want a Strat, though... I would have bid on the grey one that was up about the same time if I hadn't won this one.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Razzman]

How can you cancel an auction that already has two legitimate bids? I would think that before you could cancel; you have to somehow notify the bidders of this cancellation and have a pretty good reason why.

 

[AlanC]

Yes, it is my understanding that you can cancel an auction if you have a good reason for doing so, such as no longer having the item available or citing an error in the listing. The reality is, though, the auction was not canceled as it went to completion. I think you're being too easy on him, Tom, but maybe you'll still get the hat. Maybe.

One thing to keep in mind is that since the auction did go to completion you can leave feedback on the seller. Of course, he has the ability to leave retaliatory feedback, but you could still post a "WARNING--DEADBEAT SELLER--RELISTED FAIRLY WON ITEM", and you could do it now if you desire. Feedback can also be mutually withdrawn, thus if you left negative feedback its removal could be used as a bargaining chip.

 

[HDRnR]

Man thats bogus...I almost bid on that hat but i only bid on Paypal auctions. If this guy had any common sense and/or professionalism he'd honor the original auction. I hope you report this to Ebay. Good Luck

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Report him, let eBay use him as a chew toy.

 

[Tango Yankee]

According to the eBay help files:

If needed, you can end your listing before the scheduled end date. If there are bids on your item, you can cancel them.

Reasons for ending listings early include:

The item is no longer available for sale.
There was an error in the starting price or reserve amount.
There was an error in the listing.
The item was lost or broken.

He can argue that there was an error in the starting price since he did change it.

To end your listing early:
Type your item number into the End My Listing Early form. (You can get this number on your listing, on your confirmation email, or on your My eBay page.)

If there are bids on your item, choose between Cancel bids and end listing early or Sell item to high bidder(s) and end listing early (If your item has no bids, you can skip this step).

Choose the reason you're ending your listing early.

Your listing will end and will no longer be active on eBay. If there were bidders, they will be emailed that their bid was canceled and the listing ended early.

If he did indeed attempt to end the listing early it didn't work and he failed to ensure that it did end. He allegedly attempted the end the first auction early because of too few bids on it a few days into it, at least in part. After 6 days this second auction hasn't had any bidders. Hopefully he'll take my advice and go with what the hat has already brought, otherwise it's likely it won't bring anything. The last couple of Strats went for around $155, others for less. I think his $165 opening bid is a pipe dream.

Although I think he's handling the situation badly I'm inclined to believe there was no intentional duplicity on his part.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Dr Trinidad]

While at this point I guess it's open to interpretation it is still his responsibility to ensure that his auctions open and close by E-Bay standards. He also has an obligation to see that his customers receive notification. I would still report this to E-Bay and let them sort it out. That way if this guy is a con man trying to run two auctions and take the highest bid, E-Bay will have it documented and it may help out the next victim.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Argggghhhh...how many times do we have to say this?

REPORT HIM TO EBAY.

REPORT HIM TO EBAY!

Let them sort it out and if necessary, thrash him. Meanwhile, you will in all likelihood get your item. And he will at the VERY least learn a valuable lesson in either a) exercising care in his auctions, or b) trying to cheat people.

REPORT HIM TO EBAY. The longer you wait, the less of a case you have and the more difficult it will be to sort out. What if someone ELSE wins the SECOND auction? You need to stop the second auction NOW and get this straightened out (not the least reason is to keep him from doing it again to someone else).

 

[Wesne]

Argggghhhh...how many times do we have to say this?

REPORT HIM TO EBAY.

REPORT HIM TO EBAY!

Let them sort it out and if necessary, thrash him. Meanwhile, you will in all likelihood get your item. And he will at the VERY least learn a valuable lesson in either a) exercising care in his auctions, or b) trying to cheat people.

REPORT HIM TO EBAY. The longer you wait, the less of a case you have and the more difficult it will be to sort out. What if someone ELSE wins the SECOND auction? You need to stop the second auction NOW and get this straightened out (not the least reason is to keep him from doing it again to someone else).

Agreed.

 

[AlanC]

Flying Scotsman, just what are you trying to say?

 

[Tango Yankee]

Nothing further so I've contacted eBay

Geez, it's a pain in the butt to try to file a complaint! The eBay automated system has several specific things to file complaints about--no flexibility. I tried the "Paid for but haven't received item" route but when I put in the item number it came back and told me I had to wait 10 days after the auction closed to file a complaint.

Going the Contact Customer Support route was just as limiting as far as the subjects you could chose, but at least it didn't tell me I couldn't send it. I described the situation and sent it in. We'll see what happens.

You'd think they'd have a way to send them a complaint that doesn't fit into their narrow topics. I guess they don't want to make it easy.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[AlanC]

Not wanting to sound like a broken record, but I think you should pull the trigger on negative feedback. It's one way to get his immediate attention. He very well may leave retaliatory feedback, but you might at least get the ball rolling.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Glad to hear you reported him.

His explanation doesn't hold water. Assuming he DID try to cancel the first auction (which is allowed) and it didn't go through, the MOMENT he became aware that the first auction went to completion he had a legal obligation to cancel the second auction and honor the winner of the first (you).

This is particularly true since there were (are?) no bidders on auction number 2, so there are no bidders to contact on that one. He can cancel it immediately with no ill effects on any bidders.

His mistake should not be your loss. If he can't figure out how to properly cancel an auction, then that's his tough luck as a seller (and a lesson to him in the future to verify his transactions). Even if he can PROVE he tried to cancel it (unlikely), Ebay should make him honor his commitment to the successful bidder of the first auction. I've never heard of an auction cancellation that "didn't work" (that wasn't the fault of the user/seller, doing something wrong or not using the system correctly).

Don't roll over on this one...you won fair and square, and an honest merchant would honor your win. The fact that he won't means he's a cheat.

 

[AlanC]

Even if he can PROVE he tried to cancel it (unlikely), Ebay should make him honor his commitment to the successful bidder of the first auction.

Ebay won't be interested in letting him out of the first auction as he is now responsible for the fees associated with the final bid price. Ultimately, ebay is in it for the money (of course).

 

[DanielJones]

I was one of the bidders on the first auction and I never received an e-mail notifying me that the auction was canceled, so we can surmise at that time the auction was still quite alive and kicking. Plus if it went to the end with a winner and the winner never received said e-mail again the canceled auction was still walking.
I know there was one other Lounger here that bid on that one, did they get the memo?

Cheers!

Dan

 

[J.B.]

I just don't get it?!

Due to a change/error in that listing -- there was a (eBay-approved??) bid retraction that posted not quite 21 hours before EOA, which (as I understand it) did not require the seller's approval due to being 12+ hours before EOA -- BUT I just can't imagine that eBay does not make some notification to the seller that ..."Hey, one of your item's bids just went south"... which would alert the guy that somehow his first auction WAS STILL LIVE -- even if he was oblivious to the listing of current auctions that he was running (unlikely??)?!

But regardless of his having -or- not having constructive knowledge of the first EOA, he knows it now and as pointed out earlier in the thread -- he's had ample time to rectify the problem (and has not)!

I get a G-GERD (gross-gastric eBay reflux disease) just thinking about this nightmare!

Hope it works out for you, T.Y. -- and Good Luck on the job front!

...the seller ain't gonna give up. They just get the idea in their head and it sticks---alll the way out the eBay door. :rage:
Like I say, I've been through that one before. Remember "I not moron." ...

Ah yes, I seem to remember that fiasco...

Let's see now, IIRC that eBay seller was Ygnoramus_in_Yucaipa, right?

No, wait! Now I remember! It was Rabid*in*Redlands...

That flake was so in love with his relative's hat that he's probably turned that sucker into a shrine and is charging admission to see it?!

Gee -- how time flies?!

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Agreed.

I agree - he knows he's fouled up and he keeps digging himself further into the pit. Enough with his excuses - let Ebay review it and you both state your case. He's obviously lying. Let Ebay nail him.