Moral issue on ebay bidding?

After reading the posts about certain Ebay listings being deceptive we know
which ones...let's not start that up again), I was wondering how many of us
have had books listed that went for more than they were probably worth.
Have you ever had a book that you knew wasn't worth more than $5 or $10 sell
to a bidder caught up in the heat or really wanting that book for over that
amount? Should we mention that to the bidder? If I bid on a book and I
don't do my research and wound up with a book that was worth less than what
I paid, I am at fault so I don't feel an obligation to warn a bidder that
they are bidding too much. So why so much fuss over Ebay bidding? If
someone bids on an item and pays too much, that's their business...isn't it?
Maybe they have more money than sense, or flat out stupid, or they really,
really want the book, but I don't think that's my problem. I'm sure most of
us have bid on something and not read ALL the description and get something
less than what we expected...and accepted the blame....

....of course this is different from out right fraud with a faked autograph
or something like that...but how do we do what is fair to the bidder if the
bidder doesn't know any better?

Bill

"Kelley Roberts" wrote
...of course this is different from out right fraud with a faked autograph
or something like that...but how do we do what is fair to the bidder if
the
bidder doesn't know any better?

It's not the job of the seller to educate every bidder.
If the description is an honest one, the seller's liability ends at that
point.
If someone bids too much due to their ignorance, that's their problem, not
the seller's.

--
Bob Finnan
The Hardy Boys Unofficial Home Page
http://www.Hardy-Boys.net
New & Out Of Print Books, Books-On-Tape, Videos, DVDs, CD-ROMs For Sale
http://users.arczip.com/fwdixon/hbsale.htm
To reply: replace spamless with fwdixon
.................................................. ....................

"Kelley Roberts" wrote in message
om...
After reading the posts about certain Ebay listings being deceptive we
know
which ones...let's not start that up again), I was wondering how many of
us
have had books listed that went for more than they were probably worth.
Have you ever had a book that you knew wasn't worth more than $5 or $10
sell
to a bidder caught up in the heat or really wanting that book for over
that
amount? Should we mention that to the bidder?

Don't forget that for every $5 or $10 dollar book that goes for $75, there
was someone willing to pay $74. It's not just one silly or uneducated bidder
that pushes the price up. It takes at least two people who really want the
item.

The fact that, as a seller, you know where the book could be had for the
lower price doesn't give you an obligation to tell your bidders. Part of
what you get paid for is knowing that information, and finding and
presenting books that you customers don't know where to get for themselves.

That said, I did once let a buyer off the hook on an expensive item. It was
a set of horse training pamphlets that routinely went for $75 to $100 on
eBay, and this bidder offered $90 or so for them. However, I had been
watching this and similar items, and she had bid on the same thing from
another seller for only $9 and change. The other seller's description wasn't
good, and you had to know what it was to realize it was the same thing. But
I knew that once my buyer got both things in front of her, she was going to
feel cheated, even though the higher price was actually fair. I wrote and
explained her good fortune on the lower priced item to her. I offered to
cancel the auction by mutual consent, which she was very happy about. In the
end, I re-sold my pamphlets for about $75, but I felt that was better than
having an unhappy customer. In retrospect, what I should have done was
outbid her on the cheap lot and resold THOSE with a better description!
(But, live and learn.)

Alice
www.mywingsbooks.com

Certainly. I had a book (signed) that I would have priced at $45 sell
for $120.00. The two high bidders were both from The Netherlands. I
e-mailed the high bidder and asked if there was something I'd
missed... He replied that he "was the #1 ______ fan in Holland and
didn't have this particular book signed and that the other bidder was
a pretender to the title of #1_____ fan and couldn't be permitted to
one-up him."

There's a big difference between someone overpaying for something
because of "auction fever" and someone buying an item that has been
horribly misdescribed.

Whilst not book related but still relevant to the topic someone told me the
other day they had sold a $ 10 Vinyl album for $ 1400 on ebay simply because
two bidders wanted it and money was no object.

Stan

On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 07:36:14 GMT, "Kelley Roberts"
declared:

After reading the posts about certain Ebay listings being deceptive we know
which ones...let's not start that up again), I was wondering how many of us
have had books listed that went for more than they were probably worth.
Have you ever had a book that you knew wasn't worth more than $5 or $10 sell
to a bidder caught up in the heat or really wanting that book for over that
amount? Should we mention that to the bidder? If I bid on a book and I
don't do my research and wound up with a book that was worth less than what
I paid, I am at fault so I don't feel an obligation to warn a bidder that
they are bidding too much. So why so much fuss over Ebay bidding? If
someone bids on an item and pays too much, that's their business...isn't it?
Maybe they have more money than sense, or flat out stupid, or they really,
really want the book, but I don't think that's my problem. I'm sure most of
us have bid on something and not read ALL the description and get something
less than what we expected...and accepted the blame....

...of course this is different from out right fraud with a faked autograph
or something like that...but how do we do what is fair to the bidder if the
bidder doesn't know any better?

as long as the book is properly described, it is up to the bidders
(remember it takes 2 for the price to shoot up) to decide how much it
is worth to them.



robert

"I've been long, a long way from here
Put on a poncho, played for mosquitos,
And drank til I was thirsty again
We went searching through thrift store jungles
Found Geronimo's rifle, Marilyn's shampoo
And Benny Goodman's corset and pen"

"Kelley Roberts" wrote...
After reading the posts about certain Ebay listings being deceptive we
know
which ones...let's not start that up again), I was wondering how many of
us
have had books listed that went for more than they were probably worth...

Everything old is new again... http://snurl.com/1v9m


--
Jon Meyers
[To reply,
lose your way.]

MindElec wrote:
"Kelley Roberts" declared:

After reading the posts about certain Ebay listings being deceptive we know
which ones...let's not start that up again), I was wondering how many of us
have had books listed that went for more than they were probably worth.
Have you ever had a book that you knew wasn't worth more than $5 or $10 sell
to a bidder caught up in the heat or really wanting that book for over that
amount? Should we mention that to the bidder? If I bid on a book and I
don't do my research and wound up with a book that was worth less than what
I paid, I am at fault so I don't feel an obligation to warn a bidder that
they are bidding too much. So why so much fuss over Ebay bidding?

[snip]...

...of course this is different from out right fraud with a faked autograph
or something like that...but how do we do what is fair to the bidder if the
bidder doesn't know any better?

as long as the book is properly described, it is up to the bidders
(remember it takes 2 for the price to shoot up) to decide how much it
is worth to them.

And until all the people who are willing to pay more have copies and
stop bidding, that IS the market price. That might be a few days
or it could be the start of a new "collectable" fad that may last
a while if the number of people interested (and speculators) are
greater than the supply.
(defintion of "a while" to be determined.)


If the item, author, artist, creator, etc. has been mentioned
in some media than the demand could soar. A few years ago I was looking
for the books of a cartoonist and managed to pick up all the hard to
find titles as the sole bidder at 2 or 3 dollars each - I had most of
the titles for a second set (for a gift) when there was suddenly
competition for the books. Not just one person, but lots of different
bidders - I never found out why, but this seems to be a permanent
change in the market. [10 to 15 dollars each]

Another example:
I had been contemplating getting Dali's Cookbook [LES DINERS DE GALA]
for about 6 months and then decided to get a less expensive copy that
had been on abebooks the whole time. I called the dealer and was
informed that it sold the day before - he had gotten 5 inquiries in
two days after over 6 months of no interest. This was because of
the opening of an exhibit of Dali's work that included the book.



Brian