Do you take sales off the bay?

trumanfinn

trumanfinn

O.G.
Jul 31, 2009
3,918
63
#1
I discussed a sale a few months ago with a very well known, reputable seller on ebay. I ended up buying a less expensive bag, and she emailed me that any time I am interested in a bag I can "Email her privately and discuss working out a lower price." Of course, I took that to mean taking it off ebay.

So last night this same seller had a bag I really wanted for a bin of $699. I thought I'd be crazy and put in a super low offer, only $300.

She messaged me a counter offer this morning that said "Please accept the offer OR email me at xxxxx to discuss." I emailed her, and she sold me the bag for $50 less than her counter offer.

I had it authenticated, and she seems trustworthy, but I still feel like I did something bad! lol

Do you guys do this? Is it pretty common practice?
 
#3
NEVER!!! There are trustworthy sellers that would really like to offer a bag for less but rest assured they will price it at a profit! I would NEVER take the chance of it being fake or in bad condition! ...or even not sent!!! You have NO protection buyng off e-bay! Even if it is real, what if it comes to you in terrible condition...or not at all? You have no protection except to go through your credit card company for a claim, and that is a Pain in the A$$. It is not worth the few $$$ saved. I would be very suspect of a seller selling a bag for less than 1/2 of the BIN and still offering a lower price on the side!!!
 
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#4
I did this prior to becoming a member here at TPF. I had no idea how bad I could get screwed over by purchasing off ebay & being unprotected. Thankfully I've only had GOOD experiences with it, but after reading horror stories on here I will not do it again. Remember when it comes to $$ people can be incredibly greedy.
 
#6
Hi OP, I did this once and never received my item! I was a new ebay newbie a long time ago and did the transaction outside of ebay. I paid with funds in my paypal account and never got anything. Needless to say, horrible experience! Never again!!! Don't do it even though you are paying with CC...
 
#7
yikes! now I'm getting scared!
The price was actually $450 on a bin of $699- she offered $499 as a counteroffer on ebay, then gave me $50 off for going private.
She has over 4300 feedbacks (there are 4 negatives, but I read through them, and they all look like crappy buyers lol)
I guess we'll see what happens!
 
#9
I've done this on rare occasions, as a buyer and a seller. I'm talking much lower-dollar items, though. As a seller, I have developed a friendly business relationship with a Malaysian buyer and I sell handbags to her via direct Paypal invoice a few times per month. I don't list those items on eBay, though - I just send her photos via E-mail.

I'd exercise extreme caution for buyers as to this practice. I'd never cheat a buyer - but there certainly are sellers that will, unfortunately. On the occasions where I've sold off eBay to a buyer, I refer then to my Bonanzle booth or we discuss a Paypal invoice via E-mail....but these are rare situations and only when the buyer makes the request.
 
#10
If she has a good reputation, why would you expect her to cheat someone? If she doesn't cheat them on eBay, she is not going to cheat them off eBay.

As a seller, I would rather do the deal off eBay if given the chance. I price my items to sell and sometimes, the difference in making anything, is the fees. Because I wouldn't cheat a buyer on the 'bay, I am certainly not going to cheat them off the 'bay.
 
#11
I'm sure this is done buy reputable sellers but it is also a ploy used by scammers. The buyer protection on a non-ebay transaction is not as good. I have seen threads where this all worked out fine and threads where it didn't. If your seller is a longstanding ebay member with lots of good FB, chances are you will be fine. I hope this works out o.k. for you but I wouldn't recommend doing it again.
 
#12
I've done this once personally although unintentionally - silly foreigner me misunderstood what the seller was implying! :P It worked out fine for me, but I'd never knowingly do it, especially for expensive purchases.
 
#13
While it's tempting I'm too chicken to do this in case it's one of those instances of "not as described" or counterfeit. I'm also the type who insures all packages. Protection gives me peace of mind and I have fewer worries about scammers. Just too many horror stories out there.
 
#14
I don't like the Ebay selling fees either, or the double dip by having to pay Pay Pal fees as well.

However if I list my item on Ebay I'm paying for higher visibility and taking the transaction off Ebay to avoid fees is dishonest, IMO. It's morally wrong to me to make other sellers pay and I cheat the system by not paying the fees that generated the sale.

Just my take on it.
 
#15
It has only happened once but it was for shipping reasons. It was a pretty big thing I was selling and the winner offered to meet me at a close place so she wouldn't have to pay for shipping. She did pay me in cash and it was like a Craigslist transaction. Trust me, I most likely will never do it again.
 
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