Ebay bidding, what do you favour

I use a sniper and forget it until afterwards. Reduces temptation.

GIXEN has never failed to work if the bid was high enough.

Other snipers are available.

bugloss":3scitknn said:

You don't buy a car over the phone and pay before you see it, do you ? If you do, you must be a fool.

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If I see a car I'm interested in, I arrange to go and see it, have a good look, poke around, go for a test drive. After that I decide if I want to buy it, and how much I'm prepared to pay. I'm struggling to believe that anyone thinks it's reasonable to "commit" to buy first, then inspect and possibly pull out.

bugloss":3scitknn said:

I don't see anything wrong with taking a little of the sellers time, after all they are there to make money. If they can't be bothered to answer a couple of questions to keep their customers happy and make the sale then they're probably not telling the whole truth about what they are selling.

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Absolutely. But that all happens BEFORE any bidding or Buying It Now takes place. Why should a seller effectively take something off the market for a tyre-kicker when there are other people willing to do their checking out up front?

I agree. Winning/bidding is to buy. Same as a regular auction. You can do your best to reduce bad deals with questions/visits etc before the auction ends. If somebody started messing around once my auction had finished I would not be a happy bunny.

Not tyre kicking but confirming that the seller is not a lying scumbag before parting with my money.

A few examples to explain my case;

Ever had someone tell you that those bearings are "buttery smooth" and only to find out that they are not when you unpack them, I have on two occasions. (Wheels from UK) There must be some pretty gritty butter in the UK at the moment.

Ever had the seller tell you that it's NOS when in fact it's rusted, Seller conveniently misses out that particular fact. (Frame from UK)

Ever had the seller tell you that there's no damage to the bike when in fact the seat tube has been crimped too hard by the front mech and has been crushed. Luckily spotted that before bidding. (Bike from the UK)

Ever had the seller tell you that there's no damage to the bike that they haven't mentioned, only to find that the wheels are so buckled that they don't spin round at all and you have to buy new ones, plus the frame is scratched too. I have. (Bike came from Italy)

Ebays standard response in all occasions: Send it back at my expense. Why should I have to pay to send a damaged item back?

Sorry sellers but you only have your fellow Ebay sellers to blame.

I'll add that none of the people I've dealt with have complained about answering a few questions after the auction has ended, someone even went as far as supplying a video of the bike (I didn't ask for that, before anyone picks up on it) and I've safely bought bikes from Belgium, USA, UK, Germany and Holland since I started asking questions after close of auction.

widowmaker":lfyn7pjj said:

Sorry chaps

I didn't mean to open a can of worms with my thread :facepalm:

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I wouldn't worry about it I'll take the blame for opening my mouth. :roll:

bugloss":1zbhuc0j said:

Ebays standard response in all occasions: Send it back at my expense. Why should I have to pay to send a damaged item back?

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You shouldn't, any decent seller should take that cost on the chin. Just like any decent buyer asks his questions before bidding.

suburbanreuben":nm2bnvbm said:

Under English law it is not actually a contract, enforceable by anyone, until money actually changes hands. It doesn't have to be the full amount- a 1p deposit would suffice- but without monetary consideration, no contract exists!
I dare say it's the same in much of the world too.

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I'm not a lawyer so happy to be corrected but I thought for a contract to be be legal there had to be "consideration" passing in both directions but consideration can take different forms. In this case the consideration is a promise to pay. At Sotherby's for example I think the expectation is you bid, you are bound, not that you have no obligation before cash paid ?

It is different in a shop where goods on display are essentially an invitation to treat.

In the UK distance selling regs mean that a "buy it now" contract can be cancelled in the cooling off period but a contract still exists. In cases where goods not as described I think these regs also mean that the cost of postage can also be recovered although as always difference between legal right to recover and actually enforcing recovery.

Does this make sense ? does anyone definitively know the legal position ?

I'm not a Moderator but this thread has gone way off topic now! Maybe we should read the OP's first post what he was wanting to know.

You're right, back on topic and no harm done.

Shall I start ?

The History Man":1fwp4a5g said:

I use a sniper and forget it until afterwards. Reduces temptation.

GIXEN has never failed to work if the bid was high enough.

Other snipers are available.

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Just won a pair of gloves with my magic finger!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171138539036? ... 1439.l2649