Is there any way to contact winning bidder of an auction?

[crazzee_shopper]

I hope you can help me.

There was an item on ebay which I was interested in, but not quite interested in the starting price.

I had message the seller asking if they would be willing to sell it to me at a lower price if no one bids on the item in the current auction.

I noticed that the auction ended yesterday with a bid so I figured "oh well" wasn't meant to be.

Now the seller messaged me asking if I was still interested in the auction. If so to message her my email address.

I said yes but I wasn't interested in purchasing outside of ebay.

Now I get a message on my email address asking "why not. I would get the item for cheaper and save her on fees." She wanted me to do a cashiers check

RED FLAG! RED FLAG!

So I replied nicely that I wouldn't do a transaction outside of ebay because it doesn't offer buyer protection.

Now I'm curious as to why she didn't sell to her winning bidder and wanted to contact the winning bidder if the bidder actually backed out of the transaction.

Is it possible to do that?

 

[fashion_mom1]

Honestly I would be curious too, but I would probably leave it all alone. Too many red flags.

 

[lightpinkdaisy]

I am afraid only if they leave feedbacks...

 

[fashion_mom1]

Can you go under bids? She who the winning bidder is, click on it and the contact them that way? That's what I would do if I decided to contact them.

 

[crazzee_shopper]

^I tried, didn't work.

Oh well. I'm walking away from this seller. Who knows what might happen even if she agreed to an ebay auction. Bait and switch?

It's not worth it.

 

[fashion_mom1]

^I tried, didn't work.

Oh well. I'm walking away from this seller. Who knows what might happen even if she agreed to an ebay auction. Bait and switch?

It's not worth it.

That's what I think too. Something is up.

 

[Bitsy's_Mom]

I sell a lot on eBay. Quite possibly the winning bidder didn't want to pay for the item or changed her mind. It happens to me every once in a while.

Sometime if someone wants to buy something post-auction, I simply bill them via Paypal, which gives them buyer protection and prevents someone from stealing the items out from under them on a Buy It Now. It saves me some fees, which I appreciate.

Someone insisting on a check would concern me.

 

[NITE_FOXX]

yes that is intresting it seems like alot of sellers prefer money orders and checks lately. i wonder why.

 

[Rome4me]

yes that is intresting it seems like alot of sellers prefer money orders and checks lately. i wonder why.

It's a way for sellers to save on Paypal fees. You used to be able to advertise in your listing that you accepted checks and money orders but ebay stopped that. It is still acceptable to buy that way, but as a seller, you cannot state it in your listing. Ebay and Paypal want money on the front end and back end...and they get it! Sellers see their profits shrinking by increased fees and lower prices so they are just trying to keep a bit more for themselves. It is totally acceptable for a seller to offer other means of payment.

 

[sarahsar]

It's a way for sellers to save on Paypal fees. You used to be able to advertise in your listing that you accepted checks and money orders but ebay stopped that. It is still acceptable to buy that way, but as a seller, you cannot state it in your listing. Ebay and Paypal want money on the front end and back end...and they get it! Sellers see their profits shrinking by increased fees and lower prices so they are just trying to keep a bit more for themselves. It is totally acceptable for a seller to offer other means of payment.

But in the situation here, where the seller wants to do an out-of-eBay transaction with a cashier's check, the buyer would have no protection whatsoever if the seller didn't send the item, sent a fake, etc. It's way too risky for a buyer to go for that.

 

[fashion_mom1]

but in the situation here, where the seller wants to do an out-of-ebay transaction with a cashier's check, the buyer would have no protection whatsoever if the seller didn't send the item, sent a fake, etc. It's way too risky for a buyer to go for that.

ita!!

 

[ballet_russe]

this does not sound right, I agree.

If you are the 2nd bidder, then she should send you the formal offer with the eBay Second Chance Offer.

 

[SWlife]

this does not sound right, I agree.

If you are the 2nd bidder, then she should send you the formal offer with the eBay Second Chance Offer.

I totally agree^.
You're right to walk away from this with the way the seller is approaching this.

 

[Nyria]

I sell a lot on eBay. Quite possibly the winning bidder didn't want to pay for the item or changed her mind. It happens to me every once in a while.

Sometime if someone wants to buy something post-auction, I simply bill them via Paypal, which gives them buyer protection and prevents someone from stealing the items out from under them on a Buy It Now. It saves me some fees, which I appreciate.

Someone insisting on a check would concern me.

If something goes wrong (like seller sells a fake or buyer does a chargeback) they might not cover you if they realize you went out of ebay to save fees.
Ebay owns Paypal so if they suspect you tried to 'cheat' them they would not help you out =(

 

[Nyria]

It's a way for sellers to save on Paypal fees. You used to be able to advertise in your listing that you accepted checks and money orders but ebay stopped that. It is still acceptable to buy that way, but as a seller, you cannot state it in your listing. Ebay and Paypal want money on the front end and back end...and they get it! Sellers see their profits shrinking by increased fees and lower prices so they are just trying to keep a bit more for themselves. It is totally acceptable for a seller to offer other means of payment.

But it is not acceptable by ebay to not buy through ebay.
Just wanting to make that clear to people who might be reading this and getting ideas

See my signature -- I made it because I got tired of all the people being scammed.