[meteorite-list] AD... Time to get back to work

[Meteorites USA]

Hi Michael,

Agreed... Though I don't think I have to say some people tend to blur 
the line and confuse and extend the policy to include "any" item listed 
rather than simply applying the rule to an item that has bids for which 
it was originally designed. Obviously ending an item which has bids is 
unethical "IF" it's solely to resell the item somewhere else or to 
garner a higher price. There is however, one valid reason I can think of 
to end an auction "after" it has bids and that's if the item being sold 
somehow gets destroyed or stolen before the auction ends. Of course the 
seller then has the obligation to contact the high bidder (before ending 
the item) and let them know about the circumstances and offer a 
solution. I believe the seller also has the obligation to provide a 
reasonable replacement, or offer of credit or discount on another like 
item to make it fair for the buyer. If the buyer wants to purchase the 
piece in a broken state then that's their prerogative, and they should 
realize that just because a seller ends an item does not mean that 
seller is doing bad things. People are becoming way too paranoid in 
suspecting that many honest sellers are a fraudsters. Ebay is 
propagating this hysteria by scaring buyers into thinking it's not safe 
to buy off their site.

Just my opinion...

Regards,
Eric



Michael Blood wrote:
> Hi Eric and all,
>         As long as no bid has been placed, it is entirely ethical to remove
> An item from an auction. Once ANY bid has been placed, removing
> that item is very much an illegal action and, more importantly, an
> unethical action  (who would prosecute it as a crime given the eBay
> venue?). In a live auction, the auctioneer is legally bound to continue
> To the conclusion any auction item upon which a legitimate bid has
> been placed. 
>         Best wishes, Michael
>
>
> On 9/27/09 4:22 PM, "Eric Wichman" <eric at meteoritesusa.com> wrote:
>
>   
>> Ebay is ONE sales OUTLET of many sales outlets businesses use to boost
>> their online sales. I list items in many places online and offline. If I
>> get a buyer for an item from one place (other than ebay) and that item
>> just happens to be listed on eBay too, do you think I'm going to tell my
>> buyer "Sorry, but I can't sell you that item because it's listed on
>> eBay."? Hell no... I'm going to end my auction (if it doesn't have bids)
>> or store item and sell the item to my buyer! 
>>     
>
>
>
>