eBay selling/buying ethics, a friendly discussion.

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The Chip Spa

The Chip Spa

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Since this is chip talk, I'll ask in the realm of chip sales.

Many times I see a chip or chips on eBay by the time I click the listing and it goes right to "The listing has ended". I can only assume that someone reached out to the seller and struck a deal either inside or off the platform. There has been times where I have done just that even had the seller come to PokerChipper or via other means bought "Off platform". I don't really have a big problem with this practice as the fees and such have gotten a bit crazy and I buy and sell "On platform" way more.

The thing that stings me a bit is when you "buy it now" or "Win" an auction at a reasonable price or even at a great deal and your sale is flat out cancelled and you see the same item relisted and sold for more money. If you list something on these sale platforms and someone accepts I believe the deal should be honored. This has been a regular occurrence on these sites for a while now but I especially notice it in chips and I have been a buyer of many things on eBay without this happening.

I'm not calling any one user out here as you do business how you want to but know, if I see this kind of ethic in buying it doesn't really entice me to do business with a buyer/seller. I'm not even sure its any better if its something you have wanted for many years and that's the method to obtain it but I guess that behavior falls more on the seller than the buyer, but indeed the buyer isn't practicing the most ethical methods.

I'm sure this may be a controversial opinion but come on man...... If you call me up on a car deal and offer me $10000 for the car I'm selling and come by to pick it up and I tell you "Oh sorry someone came over and paid me more and I sold it" you'd be pissed.

What's your thoughts on this ???

PS: Again, I see this practice a lot and I'm not referring to any specific person or deal.
 
I'm surprised auction sites like eBay allow sellers to cancel a sale after it's been "bought now" by a buyer. Seems like more of a platform problem. Definitely unethical by the seller, but apparently they are doing what eBay allows them to do with no punishment.

As far as selling stuff on Marketplace or Craigslist, that's just a crapshoot. Totally depends on the type of person who posted the sales ad. Some people just want stuff out of their house and they will sell to whoever pays the most and can pick it up the fastest. Some people actually give priority to people who reached out first, and will take a day or two to make sure they honor that timeline (and honor the pricing).
 
I've been on eBay since 1999, but have only done ~100 transactions on there (all were as 'Buyer'), so my limited experience has been good luckily, but this seems shady AF if you do the BIN and then get refunded/cancelled, that is some bullshit......
I would at least report the seller to eBay and leave a Negative reaction if possible. And if you know the user is on PCF or here I would try to publicly call them out for their action as well. But that's just me.....

I browse eBay every day, but barely if ever place a bid, I guess that's easier..... ;)
 
nitzilla said:
Oh yeah, I had a CL deal go bad when the seller ghosted me and then put the chips up on eBay for 3x the price I was locked in for.....we were messaging and had a meet up planned and then he went silent.........fuck that guy!
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I assume he wasn't invited to the meetup! 😂 😂 😂
 
I don't like the feedback system on ebay. If I provide honest negative feedback, it seems like the seller is hurt and then sometimes doesn't want to sell to me. Sometimes shipping charges are well above the norm. Sometimes the description is wrong, or the pic. Then they ask if it arrived in a timely manner. I say, it should be, was it shipped in a timely manner, then don't hurt the seller if the shipper is slow. I rarely give honest feedback, unless the person is a total crook.
 
Himewad said:
I'm surprised auction sites like eBay allow sellers to cancel a sale after it's been "bought now" by a buyer. Seems like more of a platform problem.
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This. Pretty ridiculous that eBay allows this. Unfortunately, many will do whatever they are allowed to do to obtain the most money possible for their chips, but this issue needs to be addressed at the platform level because you're never going to change the behavior of people whose moral code allows them to engage in these shady behaviors in the first place.
 
I believe that a seller who cancels a sale AFTER IT CLOSED is in violation of ebay terms. I'm 99% sure the buyer of such a listing can submit a complaint to ebay. I've sold many items on ebay, not just poker chips.
I too, have had a bid on auctions in the past and subsequently, the seller ended the listing. I'm sure the seller was approached by someone else offering a high price and just decided to go with it.
I will tell you this: On a couple of occasions, I had an item up for bid on ebay (not chips) and was messaged with a very high offer from a buyer to cancel the listing and sell to them. My response to them was to relate my previous experiences in which my bids were cancelled and the item taken down. I told them that if my item had NO bids, I would have ended the listing and sold to them. However, because my item had bids - I could not and would not take the item down and do to others what had been done to me. I nicely suggested they put in a bid and wait until the auction ended.
The outcome was that person won the auction AND at a lower price than they offered me to take it down. After the auction, I messaged them with shipping info and congratulated them on winning the auction and pointed out that they got the item cheaper than they offered. I told them that it was a win-win for both of us.
I am not claiming to be the most honorable person. All I'm saying is that yes, money is a motivator. But at some point, shouldn't profit be tempered by other things? At what point does one value profit over everything else?
It's a personal decision. Some may say I was stupid to not accept maximum profit for that item. I have no regrets for not "pulling the rug out from under" other bidders who made good faith bids on my items.
 
It's rare that I do auctions on eBay, mostly all Buy-it-now these days for a bit more certainty. But for auctions, I will always honor the commitment to the winner. I have to sleep at night, even it if costs me a few bucks across a lifetime for being honest.

I have to imagine eBay would resolve any discrepancies. Otherwise, who would ever trust their *very expensive* service.
 
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