i really wanted to avoid this thread: hopefully, my response wont piss folks off too much
can and shouldnt are two different things, basically. if as a seller, you want to cancel it, ebay has enabled you to do so.
but cancelling an auction is also different than not completing the sale
cancelling an auction is something that happens BEFORE the auction was supposed to end. when done shadily, it's done because you dont like the price. ebay allows this as long as there is more than 12 hours left. that is totally allowable, and the seller can make up a reason. there is nothing to prevent a seller from doing it, and it isnt against ebay policy. is it ethical, does it make good business sense? maybe not. but a seller is within their rights to do so. you cant force a seller to sell
which is also true post-closure. if a seller doesnt like a price on his auction, he cannot be forced to actually complete the sale. you cant force him to send it. however, as a seller, if you choose that tactic, you have to be willing to eat a negative or neutral. that is the penalty for that kind of action. ebay really cant do much about it, unless it is something that happens regularly. in this case, does it make good business sense? it depends. a negative might hurt sales long-term, especially if you dont have established feedback. but if you have good feedback, and the potential loss of money is great enough, a seller might be warranted in their action from a business perspective. is it ethical? no. but good business, successful business sometimes meaning not doing things in the most ethical way.
lord knows i break ebay policies every day (nothing that hurts my customers, just ways of exploiting ebay's system). because im breaking the rules, it is unethical, but has also built my business on ebay, and made me successful. ebay KNOWS what i do, and every once in a while they spank me, but they have never shut me down fully. they have made changes to their system based on my actions, and ive had to figure out new ways of doing things. cat and mouse, a bit, but with no interest from the cat in actually killing the mouse
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on a side note: i absolutely think the OP's response was the best way to do it. a negative, in my opinion, is tremendously damaging to a seller's ability to sell. if you get your money back timely, and the seller isnt an asshat about it, a neutral is a perfect solutions. plus, bang his stars
(11-19-2012, 05:25 PM)bestdrawl Wrote: the seller can pull a certain item up to 2 hrs before the auction ends. after that they can't. report them to ebay and demand your item. it is yours.
1. it's 12 hours
2. as i said above, you ebay cant force you to end it
3. the sense of entitlement that ebay has given buyers is blatantly ridiculous.
4. if i dont sell my item, and you stomp your feet? what are you gonna do about it? COME AT ME BRO. that's just silly. an item isnt "yours" unless you got it in your hands
and lket me expand this a bit: this is why beckett value isnt and shouldnt be based on EBAY sales. ebay isnt not a typical buying experience.
1. you dont get to inspect the card before purchase
2. unless it is a BIN, an auction format is not the same thing as retail*
3. you have to wait to get it
all three of these factors (plus more) necessarily mean that ebay sales will always be lower - for the most part - than in person sales
*in the appraisal world, for the most part, auction prices are not used to get retail value. auctions are very different than retail. auction sales are subject to way more variables, and a shorter sale time period.