problem with a bidder, what should i do?

[cyanide]

Hello everyone!
Im asking in here because i havnt experienced a larger amount of bad trades/ wierd buyers before, its happend once in about a year, i guess im lucky lol.

Anyhow to the subject; i have a couple of plushies out at ebay at the moment. I got a question for one of them (fluttershy beanie), from someone who asked if i could cancel the auction for her at 50$ because she coudlnt go any further than that. She also said she had a daughter with a pretty bad disease and that she would want this pony for her.
She also woundered if i could comission one for her if she wouldnt win , i said sure, but im on a long comission list so that may take a while.

I politly replied that i couldnt cancel it as it is against ebay rules, an that it would be unfair to the other bidders. I also suggested her to check other auctions as there are cheaper plushies out there. But no she wanted mine badly, as her daughter loved fluttershy.
 Its pretty sad if the thing with her daughter is true, but who goes on ebay and try to get sellers to end auctions early because of it? i wouldnt tell a thing like that to a seller, but maybe thats just me?

She replied that she really wanted the pony anyway and had set a bid at a very high bid to ensure winning it (she told me the exact sum) 

Me: well, im sure it wont go that high so you'll probably win it.

Bidder: Yes , and im getting a bit worried now as its been going up in price, but if it ends in the hundreds im sure we can work something out!

Me: well, im sorry but i cant go down in price if youd win it (i assume this is what she ment), as i'll get a % based fee from ebay based on the selling value.

I then offered to remove her bids so that she could put a new lower bid, if she wasnt able to pay that much or worried for the price to get too far off.

She: No, i dont wanna loose.




Ok,so now i have a bad conscience  incase her story is true. I have heard of similar stories from other sellers where buyers try to pull this move to get a cheaper and or cancelled auction. What should i do? shoudl i remove her bids? i dont really want any hassle if she would win (wich she probably will based on her max bid...) but at the same time what if she really realy wants this for her daughter?

Ugh i feel that i lack experience on matters like this =( you guys got any ideas?

[DGRequiem]

Did she really say "No, i dont wanna loose." because if so.... I really, really, really doubt that this is an adult that you're dealing with.  The grammar/punctuation/spelling scream tweenager.

Cancel the bid.  It may seem harsh, but she doesn't intend to pay that much and told you so.  And if you cancel her bid, she can't leave you negative feedback for not selling the plush for less than she bid.  Think she won't? 

I had someone neg me for 'not selling them the doll' after I had to file a NPB when they told me AFTER they won that they wanted to do a payment plan that wouldn't start for 3 months.  I had them saying all of this in my ebay messages, and when I tried to get Ebay to remove it?  They wouldn't.  It was my first and only negative feedback in 12 years with over 300 feedback..  Ebay told me that "you should be able to redeem yourself" And that was the last thing I sold on ebay. 

[cyanide]

Did she really say "No, i dont wanna loose." because if so.... I really, really, really doubt that this is an adult that you're dealing with.  The grammar/punctuation/spelling scream tweenager.

Cancel the bid.  It may seem harsh, but she doesn't intend to pay that much and told you so.  And if you cancel her bid, she can't leave you negative feedback for not selling the plush for less than she bid.  Think she won't? 

I had someone neg me for 'not selling them the doll' after I had to file a NPB when they told me AFTER they won that they wanted to do a payment plan that wouldn't start for 3 months.  I had them saying all of this in my ebay messages, and when I tried to get Ebay to remove it?  They wouldn't.  It was my first and only negative feedback in 12 years with over 300 feedback..  Ebay told me that "you should be able to redeem yourself" And that was the last thing I sold on ebay. 

Hi, yes " i dont want to loose" is her exact words.

Yea ive also had that when i first started with plushies, a guy wanted to have a payment plan on a plush, i said no. and in the end he backed out, he didnt leave me a neg though , i guess i was lucky there. Hene i dont want to get into troubles like this again, its so annoying. It would also suck to have to risk getting a negative feedback , id like to keep it at 100% positive.

I didnt reply after that last message, maybe i should message her and let her know i wont accept any part-time payments or lower price should she win, and if i dont get a proper answer i'll remove her bids, because this all seems fishy to me =/

thanks for your input!

[ponylady]

I personally would cancel the bids.  If I have learned anything in all my years on ebay, go with your gut feeling.  If you think she is going to jerk you around then most likely she will. And I know it sounds harsh but I do not buy into any kind of sob story, especially when they use their child as an excuse. 

But I am curious to know how high did she actually bid?  She asks you to end it for her and $50, then mentions she will work something out if it goes it the hundreds. I am sorry but I have to agree with DGR here, it sounds like your dealing with a tween here.  It's to close to the holidays for a mom to be spending hundreds on a plushie for their kid and then making excuses. 

[tulagirl]

Oh goodness I would be on the phone with ebay, this bidder is a serious problem. I don't care if the story is true or not she/he should not be trying to manipulate the auction this way.  I would be quite concerned this bidder may be trying to force you to sell it to her lower if she wins.  This is wrong of her to bid really high and then expect you to lower the price to what she wants should she win.  No way would I put up with that.

[cyanide]

@ ponylady: She did put a bid at 600$ , but claimed she couldnt go higher than 50$ at the first message, hence why my alarm clocks started to sound. I mean why bid that high if you cant go that high? it doesnt make sense to me =/.and because of this bid, she most likely will win.

I texted her again and said that i cannot accept part time payments or going lower should she win. and again offered to cancel her bids so that she could put a lower bid. I will see what she replies to that. If she still claims " she dont want to loose" or dont have a really good answer i will cancel the bids for sure.

[saply]

Cancel her bids and block her. Even if she wins, she sounds shady enough that your feedback is in danger if the transaction doesn't go -exactly- her way. I don't have any patience for people who try to make underhanded deals like that.

[kakenterprise]

I would agree with going ahead and blocking her.  She doesn't sound like she's worth dealing with.
Things could end up working out but she sounds like someone I'd personally rather not take the chance with.

[ponylady]

Holy Cow! $600.  And then only wants to pay $50    Yeah, I have to agree that would have sent out BIG RED Flags. 

The thing is you may get more than $50 for it.  But with her stupidly bidding that outrageous amount, it could ruin it for a honest buyer who is going to pay you for it.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

I would definitely cancel her bids and block her.   The inconvenience she can cause, not to mention the financial loss you could take, is not worth the potential sale.  ESPECIALLY as she told you she won't pay anyway.  Could you PM me her ID?  What she's doing is considered harrassment! 

[Tiggums6]

Cancel and block. Hey you have bills to pay and a life to live too!

[tulagirl]

Boy I wouldn't wait for a reply from this person. I seriously would cancel and block that is just crazy to bid like that. Why try to reason with them? They are not rational in the first place to do that.

[Eskara1862]

Her name wouldn't happen to be PrincessLuna101, would it?  Because this sounds almost exactly like what I've just been through.

The poor grammar/communication skills sound like PrincessLuna101's messages to me.  She kept stating how badly she wanted my journal, but that she didn't have a job and can't afford to pay so much for it. I told her that I couldn't cancel her bids but that she could retract if she wanted.  When you cancel a bid, it doesn't go on the bidders record; an account could be suspended for too many retractions, so you always want to force a retraction if possible.  In the space of 7 days, I received 16 messages from her. I ended up telling her that I wouldn't cancel her bid and that I could offer the journal to the person below her for a second chance offer.  That is what happened and I ended up with a better selling price on my item because of it. But, after I sent the second chance offer? Two more messages saying that she really wants it and if the second chance guy doesn't, can I work out something with her for a lower price? Honestly, $26 is too much for one journal and she just can't afford it right now. Uh... Then why bid that much?

In your case, I would say cancel the bid.  Trust me, it's way too much hassle to deal with someone like this.

I would like to know her ID as well too. Now that I'm forced to sell on eBay (that whole no job thing is true for me too, atm), I want to block the crazies as much as possible!

[ClosetAvalanche]

Cancel, stop communicating with her and block right away. Not worth the trouble.

[Izrabeth]

It sounds Headache to me, it sounds a pretty ebay story to force you drop her your plush for $50
Nah, cancel and block as all the others suggested