Yet another ebay thread.. ethics related

[SooperDave]

I sold a laptop on ebay this morning. The issue is the buyer paid too much. It should have sold for around $250. It went for over $400. Two bidders got in to a bidding war and jacked the price up during the night. Now for the problem. One of the bidders may have been a scammer. I got a message from him this morning asking if I would tke a cashiers check. I answered back no and he replied that it was ok cause he was outbid anyway. Without checking first he jacked the price way up. If I remove his bids the winning bidder would have paid $275. The winnig bidder (a woman) has 200+ feedback and should know the ropes. I know it's not my fault and "buyer beware" but I still feel like I'm ripping her off. I was brought up not to take advantage of an honest mistake. I was thinking of throwing in a laptop bag, SD card and upping the memory to make up the gap in price. I wouldn't mind if she didn't pay. Then I wouldn't have to worry about it. I fail as a Ferengi I'm looking for other opinions. I'm on the fence between buyer beware and throwing in a ton of extra crap.

 

[Malak]

I think throwing in extras would make their day. You really don't know the other person was a scammer so there is no reason to feel guilty. If the winner wasn't willing to pay that much they wouldn't have bidded.

 

[BoomerD]

How do you know the winning bidder isn't also a scammer who will file a complaint with Paypal and get his money back...and keep your laptop to boot?

 

[SooperDave]

How do you know the winning bidder isn't also a scammer who will file a complaint with Paypal and get his money back...and keep your laptop to boot?

This could happen with any ebay sale. I'm not sure what your point is.

 

[BoomerD]

This could happen with any ebay sale. I'm not sure what your point is.

The point is...you're feeling guilty about an auction in which the price went higher than you expected...and so you're considering throwing in lots of extras to "sweeten the deal," when you really still don't know if it's a legitimate buyer or not.
Why not wait until the transaction is complete...and your funds have cleared Paypal...THEN, if you still feel guilty, contact the buyer and offer to send the extra stuff to them at no charge.

 

[SooperDave]

The point is...you're feeling guilty about an auction in which the price went higher than you expected...and so you're considering throwing in lots of extras to "sweeten the deal," when you really still don't know if it's a legitimate buyer or not.
Why not wait until the transaction is complete...and your funds have cleared Paypal...THEN, if you still feel guilty, contact the buyer and offer to send the extra stuff to them at no charge.

Thats not a bad idea. It would cost to send a second package but f I did get scammed I'd go from feeling like I took advantage of somone to being a huge sucker in milliseconds. Your idea is well worth considering.

 

[grohl]

Always go with your conscience.

 

[bruceb]

The bidder knew how much they wanted to pay for the item or they would have set a much lower bid limit. But in this case, since you are getting so much extra than what you expected, throw in a laptop bag. You can even pack the laptop in it and then place it in a shipping carton. The buyer will appreciate the bag and you can get one inexpensively.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

You are also assuming that it would have played out the same way if the scammer wasn't involved. The lower price might have drawn in other competitors and you could have ended up around the same price.

 

[CRXican]

they bid, too bad

 

[frostedflakes]

I wouldn't feel guilty, if the lady wasn't willing to pay that much she would have put in a lower bid. You can throw in some extras if you want but I wouldn't bother (unless it's stuff you don't think you'd ever need and just want to get rid of).

 

[Patranus]

An item is worth whatever someone else is willing to pay for it.
Apparently the winning bidder was willing to pay at least $400 for it.
To her, the laptop has a value grater than or equal to $400.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

They bid what they wanted for it... end of story. 404 no ethics dilemmas found.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

They bid what they wanted for it... end of story. 404 no ethics dilemmas found.

This.

 

[DayLaPaul]

You're getting way ahead of yourself. The 2nd bidder is under no obligation to buy the laptop off you at her max bid price. Find out if she even wants it first.

 

[SooperDave]

You're getting way ahead of yourself. The 2nd bidder is under no obligation to buy the laptop off you at her max bid price. Find out if she even wants it first.

She is the first bidder. The second bidder is the possible scammer. His bids ran the auction up $150 and he still didn't win. His message to me:

Bidder: Sir, this will be for my son in AIT @ Ft. Lee, may I please send you a cashiers check for all inclusive, if I am lucky enough to win it? Thanks it looks and great and he can really use it. Thanks again, if not possible I understand.

Me: Thank you for your intrest but this is Paypal only. Regards,

Bidder:Tis ok, I have been out bid, Thanks for responding so quickly. Thanks again

The usual scammer will ask to end the auction early. This person didn't but the English and cashiers check set off warning bells.

 

[DrPizza]

I'd look through her history with a fine toothed comb, looking for signs that she's a scammer. If not, then I'd send all the extra stuff.

 

[DayLaPaul]

I thought you said there was a $400 winning bid.

 

[SooperDave]

I thought you said there was a $400 winning bid.

Over $400. His bids raised the final price by $150

 

[DayLaPaul]

So you're saying that when you cancel a winning bid after an auction has already ended, the next person in line is obligated to buy your item at their max bid price?

That's news to me. But admittedly I've been out of the ebay game for a while now.

I thought you can only make a "2nd chance offer" to the next person in line and it is their option whether to accept or decline.

 

[DrPizza]

DayLaPaul, I'll attempt to explain it to you. The back-up bidder contacted him wondering if he'd take a cashier's check. It was the person who came in 2nd who was the scammer. Thus, the scammer artificially raised the price beyond what the buyer should have paid.

In a real auction, when it's discovered that someone's bid is bad, they back up the bidding to the last bid before the bad bidder began bidding. (I've only seen this happen with idiots doing something dumb like shooing a fly away with their bid number; after 2 or 3 quick bids, the auctioneer realizes the guy isn't actually bidding.)

 

[DayLaPaul]

OK I get it now. You're too nice for your own good OP. I see no moral or ethical dilemma in selling her the item at full price.

Your guilty conscious is based on the mere *possibility* that the 2nd bidder was a scammer. You don't even know that for sure, yet you are willing to take money our of your own pocket on the chance that he is.

 

[Soundmanred]

She wouldn't have bid so high if she wasn't willing to pay, so I don't see the dilemma any way you look at it...

 

[coloumb]

From what i recall - you can't accept cashier's checks for electronic goods on ebay [you can - but you'd have to purposely post it under the wrong category].

I'd say just take the winning bid amount and call it good. It's not your fault they got into a bidding war.

 

[SooperDave]

So you're saying that when you cancel a winning bid after an auction has already ended, the next person in line is obligated to buy your item at their max bid price?

That's news to me. But admittedly I've been out of the ebay game for a while now.

I thought you can only make a "2nd chance offer" to the next person in line and it is their option whether to accept or decline.

edit: The good doctor explained it better than I