Hi newsgroup:

I "bid" on a radio, within an hour or so, someone "outbid" me. So-far so good,
all is fair. (and I was kind of glad for opportunity to change my mind)

Anyhow, I *didn't* engage in a bidding war, the other guy won. After the auction
I was given an offer to "purchase" the radio.

I *suspect* the seller had another account and bid to inflate the price, hoping
I'd play along. Nothing illegal or immoral about it, but just thought I'd point
it out to anyone looking. (Seemed strange that all of a sudden someone would be
interested in it, despite there were still hours to go and it had been listed
for days)

If you are interested in something with relatively few (or no) bidders, bid on
an item and then are outbid, it just might be the merchant playing you. By not
playing along, you could end up saving yourself the cost of a bidding fight.

As for me, I'm still looking at them, just not emotionally attached. (My ace in
the hole)

Jamie
--
http://www.geniegate.com Custom web programming
(rot13) User Management Solutions

Anyhow, I *didn't* engage in a bidding war, the other guy won. After the
auction
I was given an offer to "purchase" the radio.

************************************************** *******************************

NO- I'TS A SCAM. i got the same offer on a radio i was outbid on. i
received an email
off ebay for the same item. i emailed the seller and was told it was not
from him. a
scam, i googled ebay scams and found out this is nothing new. the scam
email said the
buyer backed out and i could have the radio for the top bid price. the
old send the
money and never hear from them again. i forwarded the email to ebay.
don't fall for
this one.
Drifter...

In: , Drifter wrote:
************************************************* ********************************

NO- I'TS A SCAM. i got the same offer on a radio i was outbid on. i
received an email
off ebay for the same item. i emailed the seller and was told it was not
from him. a
scam, i googled ebay scams and found out this is nothing new. the scam
email said the
buyer backed out and i could have the radio for the top bid price. the
old send the
money and never hear from them again. i forwarded the email to ebay.

Was yours a link to an ebay site or a clone?

Thanks for the warning, I don't think thats what this was, just because
of the relative lack of interest in the item. (I didn't do it)

It is something to watch out for though, thanks much for the info!

Jamie
--
http://www.geniegate.com Custom web programming
(rot13) User Management Solutions

Drifter wrote:

Anyhow, I *didn't* engage in a bidding war, the other guy won. After the
auction
I was given an offer to "purchase" the radio.

************************************************** *******************************

NO- I'TS A SCAM. i got the same offer on a radio i was outbid on. i
received an email
off ebay for the same item. i emailed the seller and was told it was not
from him. a
scam, i googled ebay scams and found out this is nothing new. the scam
email said the
buyer backed out and i could have the radio for the top bid price. the
old send the
money and never hear from them again. i forwarded the email to ebay.
don't fall for
this one.
Drifter...

This is a common scam.

A few months ago I sold a Questar lens, and a bidder contacted me with a copy of
an email he got from someone claiming to be me offering to close the auction in
return for a prompt wired payment. Fortunately, I was able to confirm it wasn't
me and add a warning to my auction that this was happening.

I've also had people contact me after an auction claiming they were the seller
and the high bidder backed out so the item was available for my bid.
In one case, the guy attempting the fraud was remarkably stupid because I won
the auction, paid for the item, and already had it.

But these kinds of things aren't likely to happen on auctions for items bringing
less than several hundred dollars.

Yes, I am glad you mentioned it, I have never verbalized it before (or
placed my agreement in text.)

But, a few times I have felt a seller has a "friend" bid against you to
"hype" the price to a level he wants... What I can;t figure out, is a
way to ever be able to prevent this--other than realizing what you are
willing to pay, make the bid and let them go their merry way...

.... and when they contact you back... tell 'em, "naaa, already got one!"

Warmest regards,
John
wrote in message
.. .
Hi newsgroup:

I "bid" on a radio, within an hour or so, someone "outbid" me. So-far
so good,
all is fair. (and I was kind of glad for opportunity to change my
mind)

Anyhow, I *didn't* engage in a bidding war, the other guy won. After
the auction
I was given an offer to "purchase" the radio.

I *suspect* the seller had another account and bid to inflate the
price, hoping
I'd play along. Nothing illegal or immoral about it, but just thought
I'd point
it out to anyone looking. (Seemed strange that all of a sudden someone
would be
interested in it, despite there were still hours to go and it had been
listed
for days)

If you are interested in something with relatively few (or no)
bidders, bid on
an item and then are outbid, it just might be the merchant playing
you. By not
playing along, you could end up saving yourself the cost of a bidding
fight.

As for me, I'm still looking at them, just not emotionally attached.
(My ace in
the hole)

Jamie
--
http://www.geniegate.com Custom web programming
(rot13) User Management Solutions