[geeks] eBay question

[Phil Stracchino]

Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 05, 2007 at 01:57:48AM -0500, Bill Bradford wrote:
>> If you don't like the seller's terms, don't bid.
> 
> But what are the sellers terms? He advertises a minimum bid he has no
> intention of honoring.  That is IMHO false advertisement.

This goes back to the LaserJet 8500DN we tried to buy earlier this year.
 The seller listed it with a $199 opening bid and didn't set a reserve,
then backpedalled fast and started lying and making excuses when I was
the only bidder.

> If he wants a minimum price for the item, that's fine with me, but shouldn't
> he have to advertise that price, not something lower. If you go into a
> store that has advertised a $400 price for something and you go in there
> and they tell you it's $600, you can pay it or leave, that's illegal.
> Why isn't it at eBay?

In the retail world, it's called either bait-and-switch or false
advertising, depending on the exact details.  But auctions are a
different world.

That said, I don't much like the idea of reserves either; if you're not
willing to sell X item for under $400, then IMHO you should have to list
$400 as your opening bid.  Hidden reserves make people waste their time
bidding on an item they don't know the actual minimum price of, when if
they knew it, they might be bidding on a different, similar item with a
higher opening bid but no reserve.  I will not bid on auctions with a
reserve, and I know many other people won't either.


-- 
        Phil Stracchino                CDK#2
 Renaissance Man, Unix ronin, Perl hacker, Free Stater
 phil.stracchino at speakeasy.net   alaric at caerllewys.net
 Landline: 603-429-0220           Mobile: 603-320-5438
        It's not the years, it's the mileage.