ebay seller pulls auction in final minutes!?

I found a car a really liked on E-bay; I ran the vin, checked insurance, examined every photo in more detail that a high school boy with a pin-up centefold would, e-mailed the seller a half dozen times, talked with him on the phone... You know the story - fell in love with the car. Last 24 hours I knew I was going to get it and even started shopping accessories I knew I'd need! Then, I'm watching the final countdown ~ hitting my refresh button every few minutes ~ and suddenly, I see that ALL bids are gone and a message appears that states that the selled has discountinued the auction! I guess it's "legal" because e-bay apparently allows the functionality, but it really disappointed me. I called the seller and he appear to have mis-understood the reserve price concept so he closed the auction when he saw what was happening. Why does E-bay allow this? - Aside from people misunderstanding reserve, that parameter on it's own should offer all the protection that a seller needs to make sure a car doesn't sell for too low. I suppose dealers need that cancel function so they can keep cars on the lot - but what a let down! Scott

I feel your pain... It happens often!

Hi guys... Literally while posting my other e-bay sob story, the "seller" calls me up. He apologizes for his error and my disappointment. (My wife runs the ebay account - I think she may have e-mailed him and applied a little guilt - God knows she practices with me often!) Anyway - he offers the car to me at a point between his "buy it now" and my final bid. Our two figures were actually pretty close, so the suggested price is fair for the car. To the wise members of Rennlist: What's your take on this? Good deal for me (I do want the car), or potential scam? After all - he's now got me to the point where I'll pay more than I was winning the auction at. Could this be a masterful scam...

I would try to arrange sale thru a dealer. Do not under any circumstances use an escrow company. There are a lot of fake ones. I heard a lot of stories of people who were scamed in similar fashion. Seller would contact them offline and give buyer a escrow company that sounds legit. In a while escrow company dissapears and so do the money.

Remember if you buy outside the EBay process you don't get any of the protection, if any, they'd offer on the transaction. And the seller is avoiding whatever comission EBay would charge them (I have no idea what that is though) so it could affect what price you'd want to offer. And to paraphrase what Gery NJ said, if you use an Escrow company make sure it's one you can get recommendations for from someone other than the seller. There are legit escrow companies but people have been burned.

Does not sound like a scam... It is more like he needs to get X amount for the car to make money on it. Obviously knowone bit at the buy it now. If you are comfortable with the price and he has been cooperitive up to this point... Go for it...BTW can we see the auction? Also how is his feedback?

Walk away if you are concerned that it is a scam. There are plenty of great condition pre-loved 996's out there at great prices... so I would not lose any sleep over this one.

Thanks guys - I really appraciate you interest and help. Car's three hours drive from me so I would be doing the transaction directly - $14K bank check for title of a car with an edmund's dealer TMV of $19.5 The seller is actually a dealer. He says the cars is his personal vehicle, but the title is held by the dealership. ( e-bay photos also show dealer plate on car) I thought this would automatically give me a 60 day powertrain warranty like I would have in a New York state used car dealership transaction. Apparently not in Ohio; the seller says that his dealership can give me a 30 powertrain warranty for $150. link to the auction: I didn't include it origionally because it's only a BMW http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...gory=6007&rd=1 You'll see the seller/dealer has no feedback - say's it's his first time on ebay which also explains why he didn't understand how reserve worked.

wow great deal!

Typical E-bay scam. But if you really like the car and the price is good then that shouldn't matter.

WWest - so what's the angle? - The seller contacts the top couple bidders and hangs out a carrot hoping one of us will stretch for it?

No kidding I did not know those things were going for so cheap! Great Deal!

This guy works for a dealer..............he knows the ropes, you are being scammed................

I agree. When you sell on ebay, before the reserve is met, there are less bids. Once people know what the reserve is, they are more likely to bid and have interest because they know what they are working with. When you list a car with no reserve, you are more likely to get a lot more attention for your auction, which can drive the price up a bit. Now, the trick is being ready to cancel the auction if the price doens't get up to where you want. I think this guy knew what he was doing. He has no/low reserve to spark interest in the listing, but then canceled when the price wasn't right. But, if you like the car, and the price is fair, there is no reason not to go for it.

i suggest you go to him. the fact the guy has no feedback(prior transactions) is probably why you got such a good price. It might mean he is a new seller or he is a fly by night operation. Now, you might as well go and see the car and then if you like it buy it. Don't say you'll buy it over the phone since you are not under obligation through ebay anymore. Maybe you'll see something you don't like/hear when you start/drive the car. I think you lucked out that the car is only 3 hours away. bob

I think there is something wrong with this picture - the car is too cheap - especially if he is a "dealer" - did you check CarFax?

Dont take it personal, to some people its all a game.

He's a dealer but 'didn't understand the reserve price' system on ebay??? Yeah, right. If it sounds too good to be true (ie $5k under book value), it probbaly is!!! Good luck - hope you don't get to badly burnt.

I don't know......is it $5k under retail blue book? If so, then that is about right. Used cars are selling at or even slightly below wholesale. If you pay full retail for a car right now, then you got a bad deal.

sounds fishy

The one thing that strikes me is the mileage - it doesn't say if the car has a full service history, and digital odometers are incredibly easy to fiddle. It's not difficult to run up 150k on a bmw and for it still to look mint. Really not sure about US law governing car sales, but if you discovered that the mileage had been clocked, you would have a case via ebay for misrepresentation if the car had been bought at auction, whereas if you buy direct the seller may use a disclaimer. May well be that the service book has all the stamps, in which case no problem. If he's a new ebayer , genuine mistakes do happen. At least you're close enough to go and look at the car. And if anything at all looks even slightly dodgy, I would run, not walk!

I had something similar occur with me, I was highest bidder, about 10 seconds before closing, the auction closed. I was annoyed, but after a little time thought there was something fishy. Especially when you add up, my seller too was new to eBay. There are plenty of other cars out there. So, actually it became a positive for me to regroup. Actually prices are still doing down a bit with newer model year,and winter around the corner. Good luck with your future searches.

What's that old saying? "Buyer Beware!" I would not put a lot of trust in this individual (or any used car salesman for that matter). But since it is easy to go look, go. If all seems what you want and the vehicle has a clear title, think of buying it. But I wouldn't pay more than my high E-bay bid.

Thanks everyone for your opinions. I've offered the seller my high price as I offered it on e-bay. I have yet to hear what seller's take on my final offer is. If he goes for it, I'll still have the ability to review the car with no commitment. With rear wheel / front engine - that 3 series is probably not the best snow belt winter car anyway... Scott

Scam!!!!! The seller has changed his Ebay ID within the last 30 days. There is a "change of ID Icon" next to his name. I am sure this is because he stung a couple of people before. Ask him what his previous ID was so you can look it up. I have bought and sold a couple high ticket items on Ebay and I have the feedback to prove it (100%). Guys like this hurt the whole Ebay process. I would file a complaint with Ebay and threaten to turn him to the local DMV for unfair pratices. You can contact the former bidders and a pattern will emerge.

Its funny, not too long ago there was a post by a Rennlister who pulled his auction at the last minute and was asking the Rennlist for advice on his dealing with the very pissed off high bidder who was pressuring him to go through with the sale. The consensus then by the board was that pulling an auction at the last minute was perfecty within the EBay rules and he should feel no guilt in telling the disappointed bidder to get screwed.

"The seller is actually a dealer. He says the cars is his personal vehicle, but the title is held by the dealership. " BS, they always say that. "He's a dealer but 'didn't understand the reserve price' system on ebay??? Yeah, right." amen, i don't know which speaks louder to his integrity - that he has the audacity to spew that sh*& or that he pulled it last minute when his price wasn't met. incidentally, you can always tell a scum bag by the way he/she overly embellishes what he/she is trying to sell. people with integrity list their cars as openly and honestly as possible being sure to point out any flaws. these are the people with lots of feedback - and the vast majority (98%+) of it being positive. given it's only 3 hours away, and that you appear to be dealing with a piece of dung, just make sure the car is examined by the best BMW body shop in town for prior damage as well as an independent BMW dealer for mechanicals whom you choose and you should be fine.

Have to jump in here... As an experienced ebayer I see this more and more. Cars are $40 to list and $40 if you sell. Many people list their items to get interest and then close the bids before they sell to avoid ebay's ever increasing auction fees. Unethical?...certainly. However, that being said, if the car is only 3 hours away go check it out. You can't do much worse than buying it off the lot as long as you can actually see it and have it inspected. BTW: You can look up a seller from his email address as well. If he has changed his i.d. but not his email address you can do a search by email address and find his history. Good luck!

as far as changing your eBay ID, eBay is forcing those eBayers that have an email address as their eBay ID to change their ID. eBay recently asked me to change mine because of this. Although my feedback, which I take great pride in, is 100% positive, I hope bidders dont think I am hiding anything..