Ticked

[Gallinator]

I think the interpretation is key. I read it in the same was as did Estovia - if I have an item up for auction, then sell it to someone on SCF or wherever else, it's no longer for sale. You can argue the ethics of doing that, but I think you'd be safe under the very vague rules as established by Ebay. If they really wanted to avoid this happening, then they'd be more explicit but even then there's little they can do since they never actually have your item in-hand.

For the record, I've never ended an auction early and it's very frustrating being on the buying end when it happens. I'm now pretty aggressive in contacting Ebay members directly for items I want because of this practice, and I don't think that's really helpful for the hobby.

I think my main point here - other than needling centrehice - is that once a bid is in place, you have two parties to an expected contract. The mechanism for this contract is the auction format. If one wants to take offers or merely advertise, then one uses a BIN with or without OBO. However, once that initial bid is in place, it is crystal clear to me that the auction should be allowed to run its course and the item sold to the highest bidder. Again, to be clear - no bids = do pretty much whatever the hell you want - bids = let the auction run to completion.

If the values of items were high enough to make it worthwhile to file suit in the appropriate jurisdiction, we would see a lot more lawsuits over this kind of stuff - and the seller would lose every time. This is why eBay explicitly excludes Real Estate and Motors from this policy, as it wants to stay out of the business of adjudicating who gets what when items of real value are at stake (which could lead to other discussions of what eBay does for forgeries, fraud, etc., but that would be a digression).

Really, guys, I hacked this topic to death on the eBay boards over 10 years ago (same user name). It's been set for so long that I was surprised to even see any opposing viewpoints. If you end an auction early after it has bids on it because you got a better offer off eBay, then you're a dick. Period. Just don't do it - and don't solicit others to do it, either, because then you are an accessory to a dick. Nuff said!

[Drewk86a]

There aren't 100,000 auctions ending daily, there are about 12 million auctions ending daily.

Even worse! Imagine the bare minimum. $1 price with free shipping per auction nets eBay $120,000 per day!

[MatsSundin13Rocks]

Even worse! Imagine the bare minimum. $1 price with free shipping per auction nets eBay $120,000 per day!

That would be $43,800,000 per year which is definitely way low. Considering that the average price is a lot more than $1 plus free shipping I'd say ebay is raking in easily over $1 billion dollars per year. I'm sure some more accurate numbers are available online.

As for ending items early it should only be done if their are no bids on the auction or it is a BIN/OBO type listing. Once there are bids it is a binding contract. If I win an item and don't pay then I get a non paying bidder strike against me. Therefore the seller should be required to sell the card if it has bids on it unless they have set a reserve price in the auction.

[flopfish]

That would be $43,800,000 per year which is definitely way low. Considering that the average price is a lot more than $1 plus free shipping I'd say ebay is raking in easily over $1 billion dollars per year. I'm sure some more accurate numbers are available online.

As for ending items early it should only be done if their are no bids on the auction or it is a BIN/OBO type listing. Once there are bids it is a binding contract. If I win an item and don't pay then I get a non paying bidder strike against me. Therefore the seller should be required to sell the card if it has bids on it unless they have set a reserve price in the auction.

Like I said, when you are on the other end and get a ridiculous offer on a card, it's pretty hard not to accept it.

[Drewk86a]

That would be $43,800,000 per year which is definitely way low. Considering that the average price is a lot more than $1 plus free shipping I'd say ebay is raking in easily over $1 billion dollars per year. I'm sure some more accurate numbers are available online.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Ebay had earned gross revenues of $11.68 billion for fiscal year 2011 (a 27% increase over 2010). After adjusting for costs, taxes and other expenses, eBay realized a net profit of $3.23 billion. Not bad.

[flopfish]

According to the Wall Street Journal, Ebay had earned gross revenues of $11.68 billion for fiscal year 2011 (a 27% increase over 2010). After adjusting for costs, taxes and other expenses, eBay realized a net profit of $3.23 billion. Not bad.

Imagine all of the hockey cards you could buy...