Having an ethics crisis, need some advice.

TKWill · Post by **TKWill** » Sun May 06, 2007 11:48 pm

What is the official verdict on eBay side deals? Haven't really noticed any posts that discussed this. I know that many of the members sell on ebay, and I really don't want to upset anyone. Just trying to get an idea of the likelihood of someone screwing you over. I am relatively inexperienced to the whole eBay scene, just want your thoughts.

steverino · Post by **steverino** » Sun May 06, 2007 11:52 pm

You'll have no protection from eBay whatsoever (not that you have that much anyways). Other than that, have at it. I've no ethic quarrels at all. I've made 3 good deals outside of eBay, no probs.

magnusr · Post by **magnusr** » Mon May 07, 2007 12:09 am

ThrillKillWill wrote:What is the official verdict on eBay side deals? Haven't really noticed any posts that discussed this. I know that many of the members sell on ebay, and I really don't want to upset anyone. Just trying to get an idea of the likelihood of someone screwing you over. I am relatively inexperienced to the whole eBay scene, just want your thoughts.

If you convince the seller to end an auction early, you break the eBay user agreement and you risk stopping one of your frends here from getting an item he/she has waited for. There is no official verdic on the boards as to whether either of those would be a bad thing or not.

If you and an eBay seller decide to make a deal for items that are not currently listed, that is the same as any online or postorder deal. Same morals, same risks.

Either way you lose out on the eBay protection, for what it's worth.

I'm afraid there's no general advice, except for the obvious like making sure your payment is tracable. You have to judge each situation on its own merits.

/Magnus

cinlach@aol.com · Post by **cinlach@aol.com** » Mon May 07, 2007 6:27 am

i can only speak for myself and what i would do.

so...

if it's on ebay then let it ride. the whole idea of an auction is that it may go for less then you expect or it may go for more.

if you've got something on and you're concerned about it not selling for what you want it to then end the auction and relist it with a reserve.

getting someone else or even yourself under a different ID to up the bid in order to get the final price in line with your expectations is called "shill bidding" and it's bad.

most guys here are going to be understanding if you end the auction earlier for whatever reason. if they were willing to spend more money then you ultimately accepted then it doesn't hurt them that you've ended something earlier...it only affects your profits.

whovianone · Post by **whovianone** » Mon May 07, 2007 6:35 am

yeah, I'll say it's probably not too terribly bad to end an auction or to ask to end it. But, some really get irritated. I've been asked to end early many times, but I don't do it. Mainly because I'm not covered by what little Ebay does to protect you as a seller or bidder. I've had retalliation on things I didn't really do wrong, or were mutually wrong, and I could just see someone bidding up auctions, then saying I didn't send the item to them. At least if you do everything through Ebay there is a trail as to what happened. But, I don't begrudge anyone to do it. I just am not willing to take the chance. Anyone else feel the same?

TKWill · Post by **TKWill** » Mon May 07, 2007 10:52 am

There is no auction to end. It was an unsolicited offer for things that I am looking for. It seems that someone was keeping track of my bidding habits and has made me an offer. I will probably go through with it and keep you guys posted.

Dr. Solar · Post by **Dr. Solar** » Mon May 07, 2007 11:04 am

The only time I did a deal outside of eBay was with a guy that lived in my area. He was selling Giant-Size X-Men 1, and it didn't hit his reserve price. I sent him an email, I went over to his place to look at the book, saw what I liked, and bought it from him.

I would never end an auction early, nor would I ask to end an auction early. I would be wary of someone just emailing me out of the blue offering me stuff. While I like to always assume the best in people, there is a difference between being trusting and setting yourself up for a scam.

Can eBay do private auctions, where only certain members can see the item? That would be a way to do it if possible.

myron · Post by **myron** » Mon May 07, 2007 11:05 am

ThrillKillWill wrote:There is no auction to end. It was an unsolicited offer for things that I am looking for. It seems that someone was keeping track of my bidding habits and has made me an offer. I will probably go through with it and keep you guys posted.

now that would bother me...I don't like the idea of people tracking my bidding habits...

greg · Post by **greg** » Mon May 07, 2007 11:08 am

Someone you don't know has asked you out of the blue to pay him money.

That is enough reason to avoid.

If the details change, your reaction may change, but as it stands, it's not good.

Heath · Post by **Heath** » Mon May 07, 2007 11:10 am

ThrillKillWill wrote:There is no auction to end. It was an unsolicited offer for things that I am looking for. It seems that someone was keeping track of my bidding habits and has made me an offer. I will probably go through with it and keep you guys posted.

I don't see any ethical problem with that, but I agree with what Greg and Myron said. Just be careful. If you're worried about getting scammed, maybe you can ask them to list it on eBay with a "Buy-It-Now" price at your agreed upon price and you'll buy it as soon as it is listed. Maybe offer to cover his listing fees too. That would at least give you some protection through eBay. And use your credit card to pay through PayPal. That would give you a little more protection through PayPal and a lot more from your credit card company.

ckb · Post by **ckb** » Mon May 07, 2007 11:21 am

Heath wrote:
ThrillKillWill wrote:There is no auction to end. It was an unsolicited offer for things that I am looking for. It seems that someone was keeping track of my bidding habits and has made me an offer. I will probably go through with it and keep you guys posted.
I don't see any ethical problem with that, but I agree with what Greg and Myron said. Just be careful. If you're worried about getting scammed, maybe you can ask them to list it on eBay with a "Buy-It-Now" price at your agreed upon price and you'll buy it as soon as it is listed. Maybe offer to cover his listing fees too. That would at least give you some protection through eBay. And use your credit card to pay through PayPal. That would give you a little more protection through PayPal and a lot more from your credit card company.

I don't think you need to go through this hassle if you can validate that the person is an eBay seller in good standing. Ask them their eBay ID, check out their feedback, and use the eBay system to contact them. Also check out the crap that they sell. If they answer, you know they are who they say they are.

Using CC through paypal is always a good idea.

whovianone · Post by **whovianone** » Mon May 07, 2007 11:29 am

I'll second Greg. I thought it was a seller you'd talked to, or an auction that was being ended, etc.

Outside of ebay you should probably duck. If they are honest, they'll post it for you as a private sale. It's not hard to set that up.

Chiclo · Post by **Chiclo** » Mon May 07, 2007 11:34 pm

ThrillKillWill wrote:There is no auction to end. It was an unsolicited offer for things that I am looking for. It seems that someone was keeping track of my bidding habits and has made me an offer. I will probably go through with it and keep you guys posted.

RED LIGHT! RED LIGHT!

Sounds like a scam.

More than once, I've contacted a seller with a large lot that did not sell and offer a reasonable price for some items (Magnus 18 and Deathmate Orange together for $5 shipped come to mind... finished off my Magnus run below #50) or contacted a winner of a large lot and asked if they wanted specific items from a lot (large batches of Unity 0 or Malibu comics with several Ultra 5000s... turned out the sicko collected Ultraverse afterall) and made a few side deals.

sckao · Post by **sckao** » Mon May 07, 2007 11:59 pm

Chiclo wrote:
ThrillKillWill wrote:There is no auction to end. It was an unsolicited offer for things that I am looking for. It seems that someone was keeping track of my bidding habits and has made me an offer. I will probably go through with it and keep you guys posted.
RED LIGHT! RED LIGHT!

Sounds like a scam.

More than once, I've contacted a seller with a large lot that did not sell and offer a reasonable price for some items (Magnus 18 and Deathmate Orange together for $5 shipped come to mind... finished off my Magnus run below #50) or contacted a winner of a large lot and asked if they wanted specific items from a lot (large batches of Unity 0 or Malibu comics with several Ultra 5000s... turned out the sicko collected Ultraverse afterall) and made a few side deals.

Your post doesn't really make any sense. Are you saying it's a scam? Or not a scam?

You seem to be going outside eBay to make some deals which is what makes it confusing...

I think the seller is just being proactive, personally. I don't sell on eBay much and I have to admit that I'm experiencing some trepidation at listing a bunch of stuff on eBay with no reserve.

It'd be nice to be able to contact known eBay buyers regarding items that are for sale, etc. (Although, in this case, it's for an item not listed on eBay.)

Chiclo · Post by **Chiclo** » Tue May 08, 2007 12:15 am

sckao wrote:
Chiclo wrote:
ThrillKillWill wrote:There is no auction to end. It was an unsolicited offer for things that I am looking for. It seems that someone was keeping track of my bidding habits and has made me an offer. I will probably go through with it and keep you guys posted.
RED LIGHT! RED LIGHT!

Sounds like a scam.

More than once, I've contacted a seller with a large lot that did not sell and offer a reasonable price for some items (Magnus 18 and Deathmate Orange together for $5 shipped come to mind... finished off my Magnus run below #50) or contacted a winner of a large lot and asked if they wanted specific items from a lot (large batches of Unity 0 or Malibu comics with several Ultra 5000s... turned out the sicko collected Ultraverse afterall) and made a few side deals.
Your post doesn't really make any sense. Are you saying it's a scam? Or not a scam?

You seem to be going outside eBay to make some deals which is what makes it confusing...

I think the seller is just being proactive, personally. I don't sell on eBay much and I have to admit that I'm experiencing some trepidation at listing a bunch of stuff on eBay with no reserve.

It'd be nice to be able to contact known eBay buyers regarding items that are for sale, etc. (Although, in this case, it's for an item not listed on eBay.)

I can see where the ambiguity is, definitely.

I have never given money to anyone who contacted me outside eBay wanting to sell me something. I was always the one initiating contact. Furthermore, I was the one initiating contact and I was the one putting up money.

I'd be wary if someone contacted me wanting money.

leonmallett · Post by **leonmallett** » Tue May 08, 2007 2:42 am

Heath wrote:
ThrillKillWill wrote:There is no auction to end. It was an unsolicited offer for things that I am looking for. It seems that someone was keeping track of my bidding habits and has made me an offer. I will probably go through with it and keep you guys posted.
I don't see any ethical problem with that, but I agree with what Greg and Myron said. Just be careful. If you're worried about getting scammed, maybe you can ask them to list it on eBay with a "Buy-It-Now" price at your agreed upon price and you'll buy it as soon as it is listed. Maybe offer to cover his listing fees too. That would at least give you some protection through eBay. And use your credit card to pay through PayPal. That would give you a little more protection through PayPal and a lot more from your credit card company.

I did this (what Heath suggests) with a seller who failed to sell a lot of Ultraverse books, who then agreed to break them up so I could buy some. He listed as Buy it Now at an agreed price and away we went. Worked for me.

vkid · Post by **vkid** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 2:28 pm

Any time I make a deal through someone on Ebay, I ask them to put up a buyitnow. I then buy it immediately. That way, everything is legitimate and there are not questions. I've done it as a seller and as a buyer. Only once did a seller not want to do that, and unfortunately, we did not finalize the deal.

TKWill · Post by **TKWill** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 2:33 pm

Update

I completely forgot about this thread. The seller was "azbat" who used to post on this board. I asked him to sell it on eBay with a BIN and he posted it with a very discreet title. Everything went off without a hitch and I felt like I got a heck of a deal.

Thanks to the Bored for all of the help on this. It is good to be able to dip into the pool of experience on here.

Second_Death · Post by **Second_Death** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:36 pm

I've had dealings with azbat here on the boards and would highly recommend him. Not sure if he is posting these days.

Next time you have a possible side deal in the works with a seller, throw a pm at one of the long-timers here for a reference. More likely than not, if it involves a valiant book, someone here has probably bought from them before.

TKWill · Post by **TKWill** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:43 pm

Second_Death wrote:I've had dealings with azbat here on the boards and would highly recommend him. Not sure if he is posting these days.

Next time you have a possible side deal in the works with a seller, throw a pm at one of the long-timers here for a reference. More likely than not, if it involves a valiant book, someone here has probably bought from them before.

Yeah this all took place in my earlier days on the board. Not that I am a vet by any means, just wasn't sure of what to expect from everyone. I know better now.

stone384 · Post by **stone384** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 6:12 pm

Az is over at Lyria...

m

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Having an ethics crisis, need some advice.

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