alimaui

This is not how ebay works. There is no "commitment" except through hitting the "Buy/Bid" button. Unless there is a "Best offer" option the BIN is firm. The only way for the the OP poster to receive the price negotiated is to click "BIN" and then wait for the seller to send an invoice with the adjusted price. If the OP did not attempt to purchase the item OFFICIALLY through the ebay buttons, then the item is fair game for anyone else. Some sellers list hundreds of items, and sellers receive questions and special requests all day long. It is not reasonable or expected to email back everyone who asked a question.


It is very simple to monitor an item on ebay.

Ebay operates on a very simple premise, "Put your money where your mouth is." THe person that does it first and best will get the item.

Born2Sew

Perhaps the point that I missed is that she should have clicked on the buy it now button. I understand well how ebay works. I've done a considerable amount of purchasing from ebay. However, in the past I have contacted a particular seller regarding an item, told them what I wanted and they've sent me an invoice accordingly. So it can be done. It just depends on the seller.

alimaui

I have done this too! It is totally possible! (My favorite is to negotiate a discounted price for lots of yardage.) And I have never had a seller not send an adjusted invoice who agreed to it.

I just wanted to point outSince the OP never actually hit the buy button, she never had any agreement, is not owed anything, AND has no reason to be angry at the seller.

MTS

My comments were not meant to be sarcastic. I was just trying to better inform you as to the workings of eBay.

And, not p!ss anyone else off, but just because you've bought hundreds of items on eBay, doesn't mean you have the slightest clue about SELLING on eBay.

Some of these sellers have thousands of listings at a time, and are not personally invested in each listing. It's just an inventory item number to them. As was already mentioned, they might get hundreds of ASQ (Ask Seller Question) inquiries. (Although less the in the past, as eBay tries their best to hide that button. They are not too fond of off-site deals being made.)

Anyway, sold is sold.

And maybe the listing had less than 12 hours to go. Did you know that NO changes could be made to the BIN price (or other details) in that time period? If the BIN price wasn't changed officially, then the seller would have to pay FVF (Final Value Fee) to eBay on the listed ending price, regardless of what you negotiated.

Now, if you had agreed on reducing the SHIPPING charge - which is really where your original problem was, you could have hit the BIN button, and the invoice could have easily been adjusted for the shipping, regardless of how much time was left on the listing. Plus, you would have the emails as back-up should there be any seller's remorse after.

MTS

For a BIN.

However, for an auction, I prefer the last second, with a snipe. :D

justflyingin

Agreed. No one can leave feedback that didn't actually buy the product off of ebay.

I actually think you aren't supposed to be buying things from the sellers "outside of the normal realms" of the auction. IOW, unless he would set up another auction that you could bid on, you are taking a big risk even buying it "off the normal path". And you aren't supposed to because EBay doesn't get their percentage.

So, lesson learned. I probably would have bought it and asked them to lower their shipping costs...(if I had really really wanted it).

But in the end, you are much better off if you love your $7 iron.

MTS

Ah, this is a huge issue among sellers.

If you're a smart Seller, you love those kinds of deals.

If I had something listed, and you contacted me because you wanted to know if I had more of a product, or another color, I'd have you buy the one item as a BIN (let's say it was a yard), and then I'd sent you an adjusted invoice for the additional yardage/items/addl shipping we agreed via email.

Now, obviously, eBay hates this, which is why they hide the ASQ button, no longer provide email addresses with the questions, and otherwise try to keep a seller as far removed from the buyers as possible.

However, once we've completed a sale on eBay, we can certainly move our business off eBay, if we're both comfortable with the change. eBay would prefer it not to be. But I've got buyers that now just email to see if I have Itemxx in stock, and I'll just send them a PayPal invoice (so the BUYER is still protected for the transaction). It can be anywhere from 10-15% savings for the seller on the transaction.

I'll just add - if you're personally uncomfortable with taking things off eBay, then you can always ask the Seller to set up a separate listing.

I used to do this all the time years ago. I would set up the BIN so only your ID could bid on the listing, and eBay would get their percentage. However, for reasons I can't understand, eBay took away that feature. So no more private listings for individuals.

Now, if were to set up a BIN with items specifically for you, anyone else could come along and BIN it. And maybe they aren't serious. So now I've got a deadbeat buyer, and an interested buyer who can't bid on the item.

So I just began taking those transactions off eBay. There are ways. But they took away a pretty helpful feature which was allowing them to get their cut. :roll:

bodie358

Not to add flames to the fire here - but, you cannot leave any feedback for a seller unless you have committed to buy an item from them by pressing the BIN button (or are the winning bidder for an item). Also, the seller cannot leave negative feedback for ANY buyer - no matter the circumstances.

MTS

Another "enhancement" by TPTB at eBay. :roll:

ptquilts

"I probably would have bought it and asked them to lower their shipping costs.."
Speaking as a sometime ebay seller, nothing ticks me off more than a buyer who attempts to negotiate shipping costs AFTER a purchase. The terms of sale, including shipping, are right there for you to see. If you buy, you agree to those terms. To try to change the terms, with the unspoken threat that you might leave negative feedback if the seller does not cave in, is not fair. If you really need a shipping discount, get a firm commitment BEFORE you bid.