# Ebay question



## txdyna65 (Aug 17, 2012)

Not sure if this is the right place to post it, but since the item is train related here goes. 

I found an item on ebay I wanted, obviously someone else did too and we get in a small bidding war, the price finally gets higher than I want to pay and he overbids me again. So I go find the same item with a buy it now and buy it. A couple days go by and I get a notice that the other bidder didnt buy the other item and I need to pay for it since I was last high bidder. Well I dont want it since I already bought another just like it and for half the price. Am I obligated to pay for this other one?

I looked all over ebay to try to find the answer but no luck.


----------



## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Call Ebay,
I do belive it's called a second chance, I don't belive you have to buy it, it is just an option if you wanted to buy it?
Let us know what they say, we are curious too!


----------



## Carl (Feb 19, 2012)

No, you are obligated to purchase the item. The Seller should have advised you that he would honor your lower bid, if you were still interested and that that you were "NOT" obligated to purchase. You are NOT liable for the purchase if the higher bidder elected to not purchase the item. If the seller continues to pursue your purchase of the item, report the issue to Ebay.

edit: I had left out the "NOT"

In my desk, someplace, is a recent court finding on a like matter, in which the court ruled against the seller. In another case involving a larger dollar purchase, it was found that the seller was acting also as the final bidder and then excuses himself from the bid and then claiming the second bidder was obligated and threatening a lawsuit (hoping this would cause the second bidder to purchase the item). Needless to say that this "scam" was quickly but to rest.

Sorry about not originally including the "NOT" in the above. That is what one gets for talking on the phone while trying to type.


----------



## brylerjunction (Aug 8, 2011)

Hogwash...he can make a second chance offer to you but you are not obligated to accept that offer.


----------



## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

Carl said:


> No, you are obligated to purchase the item. The Seller should have advised you that he would honor your lower bid, if you were still interested and that that you were obligated to purchase. You are liable for the purchase if the higher bidder elected to not purchase the item. If the seller continues to pursue your purchase of the item, report the issue to Ebay.


Confused, I drop out and the guy who outbid me fails to make the purchase and now I'm on the hook? At what price? My first bid or my last when I got into a bidding war?


----------



## brylerjunction (Aug 8, 2011)

JackC said:


> Confused, I drop out and the guy who outbid me fails to make the purchase and now I'm on the hook? At what price? My first bid or my last when I got into a bidding war?


think that may be a typo on Carl's part...


----------



## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Sounds like a "second chance offer". Unless you accept it (you would know if you did)
you are not obligated at all. I can't say the seller isn't trying something. Tell him to go
pound sand. If you accepted the "second chance offer" you are obligated. Buyers can't
be given bad feedback anymore(that I don't understand) so don't worry about your feedback score.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I have sold 100's of items on eBay, and I've had a few buyers back out. I've sent out second chance offers to the next guy, and some took them and some didn't. If you didn't accept a second chance offer, you are NOT obligated to buy the item.

If you look at the item on eBay in completed auctions, what does it say?


----------



## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

brylerjunction said:


> Hogwash...he can make a second chance offer to you but you are not obligated to accept that offer.


To put it mildly...

You lost the original bid, you are under no obligation to buy it as second in line. They can only offer you the opportunity to buy it at your original bid. Their tiff is only with the original buyer who backed out...


----------



## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Carl worded it wrong, it is a second chance for you to purchase, IF YOU WANT, at your last bid if you want it.

If you don't there is no need to do anything, you don't even have to reply.

Might have been the sellers buddy raising the bid, you never know.


----------



## marzbarz (Sep 23, 2011)

Really think you should call Ebay!! lol


----------



## txdyna65 (Aug 17, 2012)

Thanks for all the comments, I sent the seller a note explaining that once I was outbid I found another and bought it and had no interest in buying another. He replied with "would you like to purchase it at your last bid, which of course I told him no I had bought one already. All he said was ok, but now I cant find it on ebay at all, guess it doesn't matter, I got what I wanted and wasn't stuck with another. It's just funny because his first email wasn't a second chance thing, it was just a hey you gotta buy this kind of email.

Again, thanks for the help, I haven't bought much from ebay, my score is only 60 in 10 years, I usually just do the buy it now because I hate being outbid at the last minute and then have to hunt for another lol


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

You need Gixen, it'll help with being caught in a bidding war.


----------



## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

txdyna65 said:


> Thanks for all the comments, I sent the seller a note explaining that once I was outbid I found another and bought it and had no interest in buying another. He replied with "would you like to purchase it at your last bid, which of course I told him no I had bought one already. All he said was ok, but now I cant find it on ebay at all, guess it doesn't matter, I got what I wanted and wasn't stuck with another. It's just funny because his first email wasn't a second chance thing, it was just a hey you gotta buy this kind of email.
> 
> Again, thanks for the help, I haven't bought much from ebay, my score is only 60 in 10 years, I usually just do the buy it now because I hate being outbid at the last minute and then have to hunt for another lol



I would send a copy of the first e mail to e bay, sounds like extortion to me.
Probably figured you would buy it as being a newbie. 

You got in a bidding war with who? His buddy.

What was the sellers handle, what is his rating?
It also could have been an honest mistake, but I doubt that.


----------



## Carl (Feb 19, 2012)

I have modified my original post on this matter to include a word that was left out as a result of typing will talking on the phone. I have also included a note concerning another scam that is popularity on Ebay.


----------



## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

That one word makes a big difference.


----------



## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Carl said:


> No, you are NOT obligated to purchase the item. The Seller should have advised you that he would honor your lower bid, if you were still interested and that that you were "NOT" obligated to purchase. You are NOT liable for the purchase if the higher bidder elected to not purchase the item. If the seller continues to pursue your purchase of the item, report the issue to Ebay.
> 
> edit: I had left out the "NOT"
> 
> ...


One more NOT needs to be up there Carl.
The 4th word.


----------



## brylerjunction (Aug 8, 2011)

Carl said:


> No, you are obligated to purchase the item. The Seller should have advised you that he would honor your lower bid, if you were still interested and that that you were "NOT" obligated to purchase. You are NOT liable for the purchase if the higher bidder elected to not purchase the item. If the seller continues to pursue your purchase of the item, report the issue to Ebay.
> 
> edit: I had left out the "NOT"
> 
> ...


the second thing you reference is shill bidding...believe it or not in its infancy ebay used to allow the seller to bid on their own items 1 time..I think this stopped around 2000 or 2001..

in an related but not related story the same things happen at live auctions when an item is not selling for what the auctioneer thinks its worth he will take ghost bids and if the ghost bidder ends up winning the item its usually paddle #100 or #200, something easy. This way you can have a reserve without actually having a reserve. I have seen this done at auction houses all of the country and on all types of items. If you ever go to a live auction and plan to be active in bidding sit at the back of the room with people standing and moving and stuff its real easy for the auctioneer on the podium to take a ghost bid and the crowd will never know...


----------



## pookybear (Feb 3, 2011)

txdyna65 said:


> Thanks for all the comments, I sent the seller a note explaining that once I was outbid I found another and bought it and had no interest in buying another. He replied with "would you like to purchase it at your last bid, which of course I told him no I had bought one already. All he said was ok, but now I cant find it on ebay at all, guess it doesn't matter, I got what I wanted and wasn't stuck with another. It's just funny because his first email wasn't a second chance thing, it was just a hey you gotta buy this kind of email.


Easy one here, if the seller did an email instead of a second chance offer. It 
is a scam. That turns out to be angling for a deal outside of Ebay, which is 
against the rules. Sound to me like he had a shill bid placed to get the 
maxmium bid that anyone would make, then of course comes back to you
with an offer.

As a general rule I never except second chance offers. Did once or twice 
but it was with sellers I have done lots of business with before on Ebay. As
the second bidder, that does make you the first of the losers, harsh but 
then you are not on the hook for any deal as the EBAY "contract" was 
never completed. Also if this comes around again, let the seller know he 
needs to turn in the high bidder as a non paying buyer.

And finally never ever bid before the last few seconds of an auction. 
Solves the whole "just one more dollar" bidding war. 

Pookybear


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That's what the site in my previous post is for. I almost never bid "live".


----------



## pookybear (Feb 3, 2011)

brylerjunction said:


> in an related but not related story the same things happen at live auctions when an item is not selling for what the auctioneer thinks its worth he will take ghost bids and if the ghost bidder ends up winning the item its usually paddle #100 or #200, something easy. This way you can have a reserve without actually having a reserve. I have seen this done at auction houses all of the country and on all types of items. If you ever go to a live auction and plan to be active in bidding sit at the back of the room with people standing and moving and stuff its real easy for the auctioneer on the podium to take a ghost bid and the crowd will never know...


I had a smooth one place on me early last year. A certain train I had been 
looking for sometime came up in a New York auction house. The expected
bid was way under the real value. Me and several others placed real bids.
The auction house had firm rules about bid increments. Lets just say we were
all into the 100 dollar bids. Oddly enough at the end of the auction something
weird happened. Out of the blue the winner was not the winner after some
two hours after the auction had ended, and someone with a 25 dollar
bid increment wins the lot. I think the auction house bought their own lot
hoping for more money in a private sale. Needless to say I told them to stop 
sending catalogs. And no I was not the high bidder, I was still outclassed
during the auction. Who knew my some of friends had such deep pockets
they wont even buy lunch. <.<

Pookybear


----------



## Mr.Buchholz (Dec 30, 2011)

brylerjunction said:


> Hogwash...he can make a second chance offer to you but you are not obligated to accept that offer.


Exactly. I have had this happen to me many times. I've accepted them from time to time if I couldn't find a similar item, and have refused the second chance offer after having done the same thing as *txdyna65*. There is
NO obligation to accept.

From the seller standpoint, I have sold an item only to have the high bidder back out, and offered the second-highest bidder the second chance. He declined, having found another item instead. I didn't have any hard feelings, and I simply re-listed the item.

-J.


----------



## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

I would try and get with ebay to make this right. If the seller accuses you and you don't answer, ebay will stop you from buying there in the future. pete


----------



## wolfeinmane (Feb 8, 2012)

As everyone else said it's a second chance offer and in no way obligates you to buy it. Just a thought though, are you sure it was a standard bid auction and not an offer auction? I've never had an offer accepted so I have no idea exactly how they work.


----------



## wolfeinmane (Feb 8, 2012)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> You need Gixen, it'll help with being caught in a bidding war.


So that's how they do it!


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

wolfeinmane said:


> As everyone else said it's a second chance offer and in no way obligates you to buy it. Just a thought though, are you sure it was a standard bid auction and not an offer auction? I've never had an offer accepted so I have no idea exactly how they work.


You have to specifically tender an offer on an item and the seller has 48 hours to respond. I've bought a few things with offers, and I've been rejected in a number of my offers as well.


----------



## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

wolfeinmane said:


> As everyone else said it's a second chance offer and in no way obligates you to buy it. Just a thought though, are you sure it was a standard bid auction and not an offer auction? I've never had an offer accepted so I have no idea exactly how they work.


Are you talking best offer?

I had 2 accepted, my Heavyweight passenger cars were a B/O good deal, and I picked up another $1500 worth of Lionel for just under $500.
I did not think it would be accepted but he told me he needed rent money.
He had them listed for $850.
His loss my gain, good deal they were new in the box.
He said he ran them once just to make sure they ran.

Best offer is just that, make an offer and the most that can happen is your turned down or he accepts. If your first offer was turned down you can up it if you want.
But if he accepts you are obligated to buy it.

Second chance, I have had a few of them too.
Both good deals for me, otherwise I would have said thanks but no thanks.

One second chance was that he had more then one and asked me if I wanted the other one for what I bid. I said yes and I was glad I did not outbid the other guy, as I got the same thing $15 bucks cheaper.:thumbsup:

But in no way are you obligated to purchase second chance items, anyone try's to tell you that you are TURN THEM IN.:thumbsdown:


----------

