Webuser Forums: Help understanding eBay

Firstly, if the seller has done that then they stand to be a good £5 down in listing and Final Value Fees as a minimum, and relisting the item back into an area where it has not sold for the price they wanted does not seem to make any sense. They appear to have got a price they wanted (or they have had to take what they could get) and are getting on with the next one.

We have often have items for sale on eBay that would be classed as 'rare' and to put it bluntly we often have a fair old number (like the old buses you never get one for ages and then 10 come along at once), but we list them one at a time and you often get the situation where what sells for, say, £60 one week, sells for £30 or less then next. That's eBay.

We started on eBay when I sold a stamp collection. Part of that collection were sheets of what the Post Office call Smilers (basically sheets of stamps with a decorative border) and they had cost me about £6.50 a sheet only a couple of years before. I listed one and it sold for over £240. Before that had finished (and the bidding had got to about £80) I listed the different second sheet, basically to catch on with the interest the first was generating. I immediately had emails from collectors asking how I had ended up with two of the rarest Smiler Sheets the Royal Mail had issued in 2002 and were they fakes?

Er, no. It was a bit more simple. I bought one of each when they were issued, and how I wished I had bought a few more! I still speculate on a number of things and buy bulk lots when possible - how we all wish we had lived a little nearer Wembley this week, yet £10 a programme seemed laughable before kickoff, but were fetching £50+ on eBay on the day! The same goes for the Nintendo Wii.

Whereas there are undoubtedly rogue sellers on eBay who get friends to bid up on items, there are a larger percentage of honest sellers who are just making money the best way they can. The biggest problem with eBay introducing this anonymity for bidders once an item reaches £100+ is exactly what we are discussing here. You straight away assume that as the identities are hidden that something underhand is going on. Why?

If you could see the bidders identities would it make any difference? It's highly likely that the seller (who can actually see ALL the bidders) is not even aware that the bidders IDs are hidden - as a seller this feature does not show up when you view the listing and bidders list.

Jumping onto the fence, though, I would be interested to know what the item is, as the mods pulled the listing details before I read the thread!

Of course the other issue here could be what we get a awful lot - a winning buyer pulling out AFTER winning. We once had a listing that started at 99p...........and 10 days later ENDED at 99p with one bidder. Anyway, I invoiced the buyer and they emailed back to say, sorry, made a mistake! I had to cancel the sale to get my fee back and relisted. 10 days later - sold for over £20. Like I said, that's eBay.

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I loved my grandmother very much.......and she fetched a good price on eBay.

Edited by FilthyRaider (Mon May 21 2007 09:19 PM)