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 Replies: 46 / Views: 7,346 |
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Valued Member
United States
114 Posts |
I was the high bidder on a beautiful 1871 PEI penny that looked to be high Red MS. ebay listing at: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1871-CANADA...047675.l2557I was the high bidder when I wrote to the seller asking if it was a coinage or medal strike. He wrote back saying he was canceling so he could get it graded and find out its value. He knew this about it from the subject in his listing: "1871 CANADA VICTORIA PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND CENT 1C RED SUPER HIGHGRADE COIN" Seller gave an accurate description: # Begin description: This is a Auction for 1871 CANADA VICTORIA PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND CENT 1C RED SUPER HIGHGRADE COIN NOT CLEANED 1" WIDE NO VISIBLE DENTS OR DINGS QUALITY PIECE WONDERFUL GIFT ITEM READY TO DISPLAY ADD TO YOUR COLLECTION This is a No Reserve Auction So please read description and look at all pictures to review condition of item. I am no expert so I report the items as best as I can. If you see a discrepancy in this listing please contact us so I can rectify this information. This item is directly from an Estate. This Item is used. This item is sold in as is condition. # End Description I was very upset that he canceled the item so that he can have it graded, slabbed, and then relist it. As far as I understand, that is a violation of ebay sales rules. He listed "There was an error in the description" as the reason for pulling the item, but clearly, there was no error, it was described perfectly and was in no way deceptively listed. He just didn't know what he had. I called ebay and asked them to do something about it, and they told me they would investigate, but I got a strong impression they were blowing me off. I'm sure the price would have gone quite a bit higher than the $16 I had as high bidder, probably into the hundreds. My main gripe is that this is an auction, and you don't know what stuff will go for, and once there's bidding on it, that's really too bad, except in the case of a deceptive listing. I really want this penny, and I'm willing to pay a fair price, but this practice of pulling an item to have it graded, and then re-listing has me a bit angry. ebay did say that if he lists the same item for more money than the original listing, they can force him to drop the price, but if he has an NGC slab that says NGC MS66, it's going to go much, much higher than with the original ad. Any thoughts on the ethics of this, or how I might complain more effectively? |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2781 Posts |
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Any thoughts on the ethics of this, or how I might complain more effectively? #1 his ethics suck. #2 you can complain all you want, unless you want to take legal action (which would be a total waste of time) there is nothing ebay can or will do. i NEVER ask questions that might alert a seller to a variety, especially after I've bought something. some might, but I rarely (if ever) buy for resale, so I bid on what I see and sometimes get pleasantly surprised & my hunch pays off. chalk it up to what it is and move on. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1984 Posts |
It is kind of lousy that this happened, but if it is any consolation I suspect that this coin would have gone for far more than $16. Provincial coins and tokens are well followed on ebay and something like this was very unlikely to slip through without many bidders. I wouldn't be too worried about whether it was medal or coinage. There are strings on this site about that.....the medal axis coin is almost unheard of. So this one in all probability was coinage. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
695 Posts |
Be a complete jerk and bid on the resisted item and say that you never got it. After you get refunded your money from paypal, send him the $16 you won the original auction for.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2543 Posts |
Is it really that upsetting that you (no offense to you intended at all) were on the verge of obtaining a valuable coin from an ignorant seller for an ignorant seller's price, then he realized what he had and decided to get full value ?
If I got a deal on something because no one else wanted it, I would feel great, if I got a deal on something because the seller was ignorant as to what he had, I would feel kind of bad.
Is it really unethical to pull an item because to realize halfway through, it is far more valuable than you realized ? Sometimes these things workout, sometimes they don't, I would just move on.
Edited by denco7
08/04/2014 09:22 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
629 Posts |
Of course it's a bummer for you not to win but if you were the seller, wouldn't you want to give yourself the opportunity to get as much as you can out of the coins that you own?
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
4227 Posts |
Quote:It is kind of lousy that this happened, but if it is any consolation I suspect that this coin would have gone for far more than $16. Provincial coins and tokens are well followed on ebay and something like this was very unlikely to slip through without many bidders. If the auction was ended before it was over, I have to agree with this. It's very rare for anything to get past collectors on ebay. Plus, since he ended the auction "because there was an error in the listing," ebay will likely side that's correct since he originally listed it under Canadian large cents. I know it sucks to lose out on a beautiful coin though. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1354 Posts |
He should have researched it prior to putting it out for sale. If he didn't then he should accept what the auction brings in.... Bad business practice.
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
5395 Posts |
"Be a complete jerk and bid on the resisted item and say that you never got it. After you get refunded your money from paypal, send him the $16 you won the original auction for."
That is even less cool than what happened to the OP. Saying you never got something in the mail that you did is MAIL FRAUD. NICE .......... MIDROSS real nice suggestion ...........NOT!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2543 Posts |
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He should have researched it prior to putting it out for sale. If he didn't then he should accept what the auction brings in.... Bad business practice. I think we have to remember that this is ebay, not Heritage, Stacks and Bowers or Great Collections. It is basically just Craigslist plus, many people are selling their stuff because they need money to pay the rent or fix their car.  Edited by denco7
08/04/2014 11:13 am
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Moderator
Canada
10458 Posts |
Mint state coins never have that 'pink' colour to them - that coin has been dipped (and poorly so). I bet you will see it listed again, raw, after the seller gets it back in a 'Genuine - Questionable Colour' holder.
"Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert OppenheimerContent of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_USMy eBay store
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5395 Posts |
"It is basically just Craigslist plus, many people are selling their stuff because they need money to pay the rent or fix their car" Actually a very minimalist generalization. A lot of us rely on ebay as an extension of our websites or bricks and mortar coin stores. Hardly selling stuff to pay rent! |
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Valued Member
 United States
114 Posts |
I not only agree with all of the advice that "this is ebay" and "sellers do that". I just felt like venting a bit, and I really know ebay isn't going to do anything. Also, yes, if I were a seller, I would want to maximize return on it. I also knew the coin would have gone much higher as the auction went on. I was prepared to pay a couple hundred dollars for it as I really want a PEI penny in that kind of condition. I understand that ebay's ethics (or lack of ethics) suck. I also think ebay should have a better policy for coin listings, but I'm sure they'd never want to put in the time and money to enforce it. What really annoyed me is that I have an email from the seller that states the reason for pulling the auction is that he wanted to find out from NGC what it's grade is and what it's worth, and no other reason. To me that was a total violation of listing rules on an active listing. And so it goes. Nothing to do about it but say publicly that antbraden acted with questionable ethics on this one. Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
560 Posts |
Both seller and buyers ethics are questionable.
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Valued Member
United States
114 Posts |
I hope the previous poster meant that "in general" that buyer and seller ethics are questionable and not mine. Even in general, I've found that the vast majority of sellers and buyers act ethically, but in this case I think the seller was in the wrong.
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Forum Dad
United States
24167 Posts |
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Be a complete jerk and bid on the resisted item and say that you never got it. After you get refunded your money from paypal, send him the $16 you won the original auction for. That statement makes me sad I'm even a member of the same forum as you. That's disgusting. Sorry guys and girls, but I'd have pulled it too. If the auction was finished when I realized it, I would have followed through, but when I'm still allowed to end the listing? I'm ending it. This listing could have just as easily been the subject of one of the many... "This coin needs to be put in a slab before selling on ebay" topics that get started here. Well maybe he got an email to that effect and agreed. I don't see it as a big deal as long as the seller doesn't do it all the time. |
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Replies: 46 / Views: 7,346 |
Posted 08/04/2014 08:24 am
