Seller just ended and item on ebay... after there were 3 bids

[daffodil101]

There's a pony i've been watching for over a week.  It was due to end tomorrow night, but when I logged on thismorning to check on its progress the item had been ended.

I was sure that once a bid has been placed the seller CANNOT change or remove the listing, like it's a binding contract.  I definitely know that sellers can't change the postage from the GSP to regular mail if a bid has been placed. 

I'd contacted the seller when the pony first came up if she could add a buy it now because I was keen and she said she was hoping for a higher amount than my offer.  She also said it was a childhood pony and she was reluctant to let it go for less than her price, and she thought she'd get more through auction.  That didn't happen- the bids were up to less than my offer, and it was a day to go so it seems she freaked out that she wasn't going to get her price and ended the listing.

The ended listing page showed '0 bids' and said 'reason: item no longer available'.
Are sellers even able to do this?  Surely it's against ebay policy??

[bluerose9978]

I think there is an option to cancel bids but eBay still charges fees from the seller. I'm not positive.

[Galactica]

There's a pony i've been watching for over a week.  It was due to end tomorrow night, but when I logged on thismorning to check on its progress the item had been ended.

I was sure that once a bid has been placed the seller CANNOT change or remove the listing, like it's a binding contract.  I definitely know that sellers can't change the postage from the GSP to regular mail if a bid has been placed. 

I'd contacted the seller when the pony first came up if she could add a buy it now because I was keen and she said she was hoping for a higher amount than my offer.  She also said it was a childhood pony and she was reluctant to let it go for less than her price, and she thought she'd get more through auction.  That didn't happen- the bids were up to less than my offer, and it was a day to go so it seems she freaked out that she wasn't going to get her price and ended the listing.

The ended listing page showed '0 bids' and said 'reason: item no longer available'.
Are sellers even able to do this?  Surely it's against ebay policy??

She might have had it listed somewhere else and it sold.  Then it would be unavailable.  That's not a violation of ebay policy.

Although it is weird that she kept it listed elsewhere once she had bids on ebay.  I usually have my dolls for sale listed on a couple of different boards, and once they go to ebay- as soon as they have a bid, I will delete them from the boards.  It seems rude to delete bids.

[LadyMoondancer]

A seller can end an auction at any time.  It gets sold to the highest bidder at the time.

Unless the seller cancelled the bids on the auction before ending it, which probably is what happened with your auction.

[Ringlets]

Your seller I would think, cancelled all the bids, before ending the auction with the " Item is no longer available" option. Really not fair IMO but it is still allowed on ebay   Quite often - which is reeeaaally annoying - a seller will do this when someone *has* offered to buy the pony/item outside of ebay / via messages  for a higher price than on ebay.  Some people do list items on multiple sites too . A seller is usually more tempted to accept an offer like this when it doesn't look like its going to go as high as they'd like during the auction.  This practise is *not* looked on favourably when there are already bids on an item ..but it still goes on 
What that seller should have done is put a reserve on it, started the bidding at the lowest price they were willing to accept, or to add a BIN option at the price they wanted instead.
I'm sorry this happened to you. I've had it happen to me to and its really frustrating  

[flying_narwhal]

If the item has 12 or more hours left before it ends, sellers can end it early with the option to cancel all bids and not sell the item. I understand it can be frustrating especially when you are really hoping to purchase the item. I've seen it happen before with several items I was hoping to bid on. Like your item, they were all  items the seller had owned in childhood. I think sometimes when people are selling childhood items and they don't see them reach the price point they're looking for 24 hours before the item ends, they make the decision that it is not worth it to part with something they are emotionally connected to. But like others have said, a reserve should be put in place if this is the case. Other times I think they just decide that it is too difficult to part with a prized childhood possession and decide they do not want to sell at all.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

It's not against Ebay policy but you are more than free to share the ID  to warn anyone else off from buying from the seller, should this be a common behavior for them.

[Tak]

I'm still new to eBay. It seems like really bad business practice. I'm sorry that happened to you.

[Galactica]

I'm not so sure a seller can easily sell to a buyer asking to buy outside of ebay-  ebay doesn't let you provide email addresses through messages,  and if they find out a seller negotiated to sell an item that is on ebay, outside ebay to an ebay user- that would violate the terms of use, and I think that person could risk losing their seller privileges.

However, I will admit the circumstances and lack of explanation don't look good. 

[daffodil101]

Update-

Well I ended up contacting the seller and asking if it was still available.  She said she was worried it wouldn't go high enough.  I made an offer, but was ultimately out-offered sadly.  It went for $1200.

Here's the photo, see if you can spot why I was so keen on it 


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Thanks for the insights!   

[jrr74]

I see!!

[SpaceButtPonies]

I don't D:

[daffodil101]

Have a closer look    I count 8 mail orders...

[bluerose9978]

Not just the mail orders but Diamond Dreams as well! I would have told the seller that bidders usually bid by proxy and it would have gone high right at the very last second but it sounds like she sold it for what she wanted.

[buddyboymama]

Oh, my! I wouldn't have noticed if it hadn't been mentioned how many MO there are, but are Baby Gametime and Baby Sugarcake in there? I see all of the TAF babies. With Napper and Star Hopper in there, I'd assume the rest of the sparkle ponies are MO too. And Clipper. And who knows who could be hiding behind baby carriages or messy hair! Sorry that you didn't get the lot.