The EBay thread.

[glatt]

Buyer was apparently out of town for the holiday weekend. On Sunday, he checked the tracking of the package to see when it would arrive, and saw it was left at his door Friday afternoon. He called his son, who went over there, and there was no package. The Post Office delivered it 5 days faster than they said they would.

I care about my 100% feedback, but I'm not sure I care to the tune of $280.

I wonder what the right thing to do is? I held up my end of the transaction, but the buyer has every right to be unhappy. Should I offer to split the loss with him? Give him a full refund, even though I didn't do anything wrong? Take the money and run?

[glatt]

Originally Posted by glatt

Buyer was apparently out of town for the holiday weekend. On Sunday, he checked the tracking of the package to see when it would arrive, and saw it was left at his door Friday afternoon. He called his son, who went over there, and there was no package. The Post Office delivered it 5 days faster than they said they would.

I care about my 100% feedback, but I'm not sure I care to the tune of $280.

I wonder what the right thing to do is? I held up my end of the transaction, but the buyer has every right to be unhappy. Should I offer to split the loss with him? Give him a full refund, even though I didn't do anything wrong? Take the money and run?

Woo hoo!

Buyer just got back into town yesterday (Dude, you should not order expensive shit from eBay if you don't plan to be home for a week) and I received this message and positive feedback from him today.

The package was indeed delivered by USPS on May 22nd, but was moved from the front porch and placed inside our back gate by the delivery person on Saturday. Hence all of the looking in and around the front porch by the family members did not produce the goods!

He found the package!

All my positive and professional communications with him paid off and I got good feedback.

[glatt]

So that nice Mamiya C220 I was selling sat there all week with absolutely no bids. There were like 20 people watching it, but no bids. I simply didn't get it. I know I priced it fairly.

Then 90 seconds before the auction was going to end, it got its first bid. Then another bid, then a final bid. Price was driven up by $5 over my starting price.

Don't people have better things to do in their lives than sit around watching auctions so they can try to snipe?

Similar thing with my Nikon. It went days before its first bid. Then it dicked around at $75-80 until a few minutes before the end when it shot up to $150.

People really like the auction experience.

But I've got 3 boxes packed and ready to go for shipment tomorrow. Signature required for delivery. Live and learn.

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by glatt

... Don't people have better things to do in their lives than sit around watching auctions so they can try to snipe? ...

When I see something on eBay that I'd like for my own use, I know that I may be bidding against others who bid on it:

for their own use
to resell and make a profit
to bid it up for the seller
just to win the bid and default on the payment

Any or all of whom may try to nickel and dime me to death with minimum bid increases ad nauseam.

I decide how much I'm willing to pay, enter that as my maximum bid, and let the eBay system automatically increase my bid by minimum required increments up to my maximum. This addresses the first of the aforementioned categories of competition and can happen early or late in the bidding. It's an automated response that depends on when the others bid.

If I know that I can be online when bidding closes, I prepare my maximum bid a minute before closing and wait until the last 5 seconds to confirm my bid. That addresses the other three categories of competition. I don't give them time to try to nickel and dime me into going higher causing me to lose the item only to see it relisted by the same person; or, someone else who got it to resell it. Either they already have a higher maximum bid entered or they don't and they don't like to go that route.

I've gotten some great buys this way squeaking my bid in just past those of the scavengers who are only buying for resale. It also eliminates bidders working with a seller and internet deadbeats trolling for a win. I was once offered what eBay calls a "Second Chance." It's the seller offering you a chance to buy an item for your last bid after the winning bidder defaults on payment. You don't know if the deadbeat was independent or working with the seller to jack your bid up. I've eliminated that.

If it turns out that someone else had already entered a maximum bid higher than mine, it doesn't matter. I wasn't going to pay any more for the item anyway and it probably went to someone who just wanted it more than me for their own use.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by sexobon

I decide how much I'm willing to pay, enter that as my maximum bid, and let the eBay system automatically increase my bid by minimum required increments up to my maximum.

♪ ♫This is how we do it.♪ ♫

That is exactly how Popdigr and I do it. Easy peasy.