eBay Issue - Your help needed

[*MAD DOG*]

A smart arse on eBay has listed a camera for sale for $0.99c. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....ht_1158wt_1139 But in his description of the item he states "...Price at Harvey Norman is $109. Please be advised that my reserve price is $45. Should the item not achieve at least this price at auction, I reserve the right to remove the listing and terminate any contract of sale (expressed or implied) between myself and any purchaser. Placing a bid on this item indicates your acceptance of this condition..."

Normally I wouldn't have an issue with this, except i'm selling the exact same camera on eBay with a starting price of $49.99 and by this seller falsely advertising his camera at $0.99c it will adversely affect my auction.

I'm asking all YarisWorld members who have eBay accounts to report this item as he has broken the rules of listing items on eBay.

To top it off I sent the seller a question see below

Originally Posted by *MAD DOG*

Dear robor88,

If your reserve price for a sale to go through is $45 why didn't you list it at $45 to begin with?

- maddogaj

and this is the response I got

Originally Posted by robor88

Dear maddogaj,

Are you trying to insult my intelligence, or are you simply a spiteful individual that has nothing better to do? The "tone" of your question suggests one or the other to be true.

Can I suggest a more productive use of your time doing things other people do such as reading books, working, watching TV, bushwalking, cycling, watching or playing sport, or photography perhaps.

Nevertheless I will humour you and briefly answer your silly question (and I used to say I didn't think there were such things as stupid questions!):

For starters, listings were free for 99c auctions on the weekend that I posted the listing. Given that I'm not a multi-millionaire, I try not to spend money where I don't have to, so I took the opportunity of a free listing. I wouldn't have listed the item otherwise.

Secondly, a 99c starting price in an auction generally is not the same as a reserve price, regardless of what eBay may have people believe.

Thirdly, I prefer to lay my cards on the table with any potential purchasers rather than being unhappy with the sale price and simply ignoring the transaction when the sale ends like some eBayers have been known to do.

Fourthly, a 99c auction generates more interest than a $45 start price auction. If I was desperate to get $45 I'd place a classified ad, however as you will have noted, I state that I reserve the right to end the auction if it doesn't reach that price. I don't say that I definitely will. I don't feel it is appropriate to put something to auction if I'm not prepared to be at least a little flexible with the price.

To conclude, I hope this response has given you a bit of an insight, and given you something to pass the time with, but please in future try to keep your questions relevant to the item being sold. If you're not interested in bidding or you think any of the conditions or the price are unfair, DON'T BID, move on, and go enjoy life instead of trying to be a smart alec.

Take it easy,

- robor88

While I agree that I can be infuriating and over the top at times, this time I was not and just asked a simple question and got slammed for it. What an ass hat. Please report the seller and let me know you have.

Thanks Yarisworld

[CTScott]

Ebay has always had the "reserve" option, but this listing is not using that option, but rather is imposing his own reserve. If someone were to win it for less than his implied reserve, they could file a complaint with ebay against the seller. Unfortunately though from my experience ebay will do absolutely nothing. I haven't had this exact situation happen, but bought something with "buy it now" and have had a seller cancel the completed auction and refund my money. Ebay does allow a seller to cancel an auction, so as long as you don't get stuck for them money, they don't seem to care about the ethics.

[hachi-roku_fan]

Dude, just bid his camera to $44.99 and be done with it. He won't sell it to you for less than $45. Problem solved no?

[frownonfun]

Mad Dog, I totally see where you are coming from but then I also know that Ebay will nickel and dime the crap out of you in every way they can and it just seems like this guy is trying to lessen the extent of that by using this 99c listing deal they had going on. And given that I strongly dislike ebay, I don't blame him.

[cali yaris]

If he had just used an actual eBay reserve, he would be within the rules.

[Altitude]

I know how much people love to bid on crap on eBay. But if you really want to sell something set a "buy it now" price and it will sell fast. You'd probably even sell yours before his auction completes.

[severous01]

that's what setting a reserve is for. it's so you dont have to sell anything if you dont reach the minimum price. there's nothing you can do other than bid on that item up until like 49.00 and be done with it.

if the listing doesnt have a 'reserve' on it then the sell is a contract and cannot be undone unless he wants to be hit with negative feedback and such