Question
OK, you list a rare/very cool theatre card, almost 80 years old for $100.00.
7 day auction.
Within 24 hours you have 3 watchers. Then you get the email.
"I'll give you $500 to cancel the auction and sell it to me now".
What do you do?
Answer
Make believe you are not at the computer for next 6 days. Then see if any bidding before replying.
Answer
What do you do?
1. Make it a Featured auction and promote the heck out of it.
2. Find a collectors site and ask someone why this guy thinks it's worth $500. Then revise the auction with the new info.
Answer
Depends if he is romantic over it, or is it a highly sought after card. Which one is it?
Answer
Hi
Well I would not end the auction early and sell just to him.
And my email to this buyer if it was my item would be.....
*I am a gambler. I prefer to see this item run in a regular auction to the end to be fair to all the bidders. I would be happy to see you as a bidder. Thank you for the question. *
You also might mention to him that...
This item already has several watchers, and has had several email questions.
Answer
My usual style of response:
Dear Whoever,
I appreciate your offer. I do have a personal policy of not closing any auction that I have running, as I consider it is unfair on anyone who has already taken time to research or made arrangements to bid later in the auction. Please feel welcome to bid, you may well end up getting this for much less than you have offered.
Good Luck!!
Kind Regards, Kevin
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Worst result:
I only got $22.00 for an item that had an offer of $100. This was one of only two that has made less than the offer. I have probably had about 25 to 30 such offers
Best Result:
Two stereoviews that had a current "book value" of $600 to $800 - I got an offer of $1000 each. I figured that I would only get about half of the offer but stuck to my policy on principal, and figured that there would still be good profit. They ended up making $3680 and $3750......
I figure that I am way ahead, even allowing for the two losses. I have had several others that I thought would not get near very good offers, that exceeded them substantially.
I recommend that you keep the auction running.
Cheers, Kevin
Answer
I agree, let it run. In my experience when there's an early offer that high, there's a VERY good chance it's worth much more.
Answer
Originally Posted by Joanne
I agree, let it run. In my experience when there's an early offer that high, there's a VERY good chance it's worth much more.
I wholeheartedly agree. The one or two times I've accepted an offer like this I've made a VERY nice profit, but probably not as much as if I'd just have let the auction run. I accepted a couple of similar offers very early in my ebay career, but have since learned not to do so.
Answer
Let it run............
I have only been in the loosing end once and it was a low dollar common item anyway, all other times it went higher than the offer....and I have had probably 50 or so in my selling history.
Answer
I did this once....only once and really got sucked in with a $35.00 offer for an item and I thought wow, this is great. Ended the auction and relisted under buy it now. Found out after the sale it was worth over $200.00....plus the jerks filed a chargeback against me saying the item arrived broken. I offered them their money back when I received the item but guess what....they wanted to keep the item AND wanted their money back. They refused to send me a picture of the broken item. I refused and PayPal backed me up on it, refused to refund their money......so they wait 3 months and filed a chargeback with their credit card. CC gave them their money and they got to keep the item, PayPal had to charge my account to pay CC. Now PayPal is appealing the Credit Card Company saying the entire transaction was very suspicious. I have to wait 72 days for an answer, am out $52.00 for the item and shipping and the jerks got it all. Oh well, still makes me steam!! On the positive note....PayPal really hung in there with me and is still actively appealing the Credit Card Company's decision. Anyway.........don't do it. Hang with your auction.