auction interference

katiusciav
Community Member
i've never had this one happen to me before, and i'm not too knowledgeable in the area (of course, when you search ebay's policies, they're so vague)...anyways, i recently sold item 250190013793...the next day, buyer paid via paypal, very excited about getting her piece after several emails...
...five minutes after paying, she sends me an email stating she just received 'credible' information from an ebay member stating my item was a fake...pardon?

first of all, i thought buyer's identities were protected after 200.00, but ebay has obviously changed that, now they expose the winning bidder, but not the other bidders...
...secondly, i assured her that my item is not fake (believe me, sooo not fake) and urged her to tell me where she just received this info so i can verify/look into it (i wasn't worried about its authenticity), that i'm the seller, so i have a right to know if i'm selling something that is being called fake...(i was just trying to get information here)..but she didn't budge...in the end, i told her i would be refunding her in full (even if she had changed her mind), since i don't want anyone out there buying my product with the least bit of doubt about its authenticity...i'll easily second chance it since i'm now hesitant about relisting as i obviously have someone out there either out to get me and 'watching' my items for whatever reason...
...for someone who has never seen the painting, i don't know how they can come to that conclusion...
...anyways, before the suggestion comes up that she made it up and had buyer remorse, this isn't possible, as she had information about the painting that she couldn't have known otherwise...(its a long story, and i don't have time to type it all here-off to another art auction)...
...bottom question is...is this auction interference? if so, how do i or ebay prove it? i've already emailed ps support and asked them, but i'm wondering if they'll actually do something...the thought of having someone out there who could potentially harm my business is a little unnerving...
...anyone know anything on this subject??
Kat
Message 1 of 26
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auction interference

treasure-pot
Community Member
Kat, it is absolutely auction interference but without the email that your buyer received there is nothing that anyone can do about it. eBay would take action against the person that sent the email to your buyer but they, of course will need to know who that person is.

Your buyer is being extremely unfair in not sharing that email. I'm not sure that I would have let them off the hook and refunded without providing proof that they received such a warning in the first place.


Bill
treasure-pot

Co-Author of



Bill


Message 2 of 26
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auction interference

jakeeangel
Community Member
Oh wow! What Bill said. 😞 I had to say that I'm so very sorry that someone did this to you.



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Message 3 of 26
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auction interference

Your buyer is being extremely unfair in not sharing that email.

Perhaps there never was an email?
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.


"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.
Message 4 of 26
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auction interference

treasure-pot
Community Member
without providing proof that they received such a warning in the first place.

Yep... it could well be just an elaborate example of buyers remorse. Without the physical proof it seems forward to even ask for the refund.


Bill
treasure-pot

Co-Author of



Bill


Message 5 of 26
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auction interference

whoscloset
Community Member
I wouldn't refund unless I received a copy of the e-mail.

Monique

Message 6 of 26
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auction interference

Scammers are getting smarter and smarter - you should demand a copy of the email just because if it is true (highly unlikely) then with a copy of the email you can then address the problem otherwise you risk it happening again and again and again - so in the end it will cost you more down the road if you choose to let it go.

Good Luck!

TIM @ FTL
Message 7 of 26
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auction interference

What use would a copy of the "email" make, even if it exists who cares? would you refund because some unknown third-party claimed your item is a fake even though they have never actually examined it?
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.


"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.
Message 8 of 26
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auction interference

At least she would know who is interfering with her auction.
Message 9 of 26
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auction interference

whoscloset
Community Member
A copy of the e-mail, with headers, would allow me to show ebay that there was auction interference and help ensure that it doesn't happen again.

Monique

Message 10 of 26
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auction interference

katiusciav
Community Member
hi guys, thanks for the replies...
bill: the reason i refunded her and have reason to believe that she wasn't lying is somewhat of a long story...but anyhow...i rarely do this, but sometimes when i have time, i'll search ebay for 'deals' on artwork...so i found this piece that was sort of poorly listed...great artist, but not even mentioned in the title of the auction!! bad listing!! so, i scooped it up with my buying id, and re-listed it about a week or so later (properly lol!)...and made a good profit on it...
...anyhow, by the time my listing ended (this listing in question)...MY original item that i bought was no longer showing...
...SOOO...there was no way of her knowing the first completed item had ended without someone emailing it to her...and someone did...she provided me with the completed item number, there's no way she could have had it without someone emailing it to her...which led her to believe there were 'duplicates' of this painting circulating...which, really, there weren't, it was the same painting..
...this is why i didn't think she made the email up, because she had proof...i totally understand her point of view as a buyer, i would think the same thing, since my selling id wasn't showing as the original purchaser as i purchased it with my buying id...
...long story short, i guess she wasn't convinced in the end, i don't know if she believed me or not that i purchased this to sell...and i just don't want to complete a sale with someone who is uncomfortable or who has any doubts about the painting's authenticity...it makes me uneasy...i want everyone to be fully satisfied and confident with what they purchase...

...unfortunately, she's not wanting to tell me who the person is that notified her..i think she fears retaliation of some sort, as she was already upset that her winning id is now being shown by ebay (why they've changed that is beyond me-they hide all the bidders who didn't win, but now expose the winners)...
...so ebay is saying i need the original emails of the person who notified her in order to help me...of which i don't have of course because she won't provide...
....i've since second chance offered this, party said they're interested, but only has 18hrs left to buy...looks like i'll have to second chance down the list of bids and lose some cash...i'm reluctant to relist with 'someone' now watching it, but i guess i could make it private...which makes it look like i'm hiding something the second time around...
...oh well...what can ya do 😞
Kat
Message 11 of 26
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auction interference

If I'm following your story correctly the sender of the email would have been the person you bought it from.
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.


"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.
Message 12 of 26
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auction interference

jakeeangel
Community Member
Here's a dum thought....what if the under bidder emailed the high bidder to get them to back out on the off chance you'd offer it to them for less?

Stranger things have happened.



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Message 13 of 26
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auction interference

katiusciav
Community Member
If I'm following your story correctly the sender of the email would have been the person you bought it from

hi recped...possibly, but not necessarily...the completed item COULD have been showing WHILE my item was running, and one out of a thousand people could have seen it and decided at that point it was a duplicate and was going to email winning bidder and kept the item number, OR, yes, it could have been the person i bought it from (maybe angered?)...i'll never know...

debbie-this wouldn't be possible either as bidder id's are protected after 200.00 until the very end, and then only the winner is revealed (which, like i said before, it used to be that they were ALL hidden, but ebay has just recently decided to reveal the winner now...i can't figure out why)...

...i'm thinking it was probably the original owner, since i had another email into him about buying another painting about a week ago and he's since stopped emailing me...i had bought a total of two paintings off him from ebay (off ebay ever really, to resell) and did quite well, so it probably is him...oh well...that was fun while it lasted...i should probably wait a month before relisting if i ever buy from ebay to resell...its not like i'm selling generic items here..original paintings are kind of hard to blend in and disguise!
Kat
Message 14 of 26
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auction interference

katiusciav
Community Member
debbie-this wouldn't be possible either as bidder id's are protected after 200.00 until the very end, and then only the winner is revealed (which, like i said before, it used to be that they were ALL hidden, but ebay has just recently decided to reveal the winner now...i can't figure out why)...

did i just write that? yes, i did...i'm half asleep still...okay, so yes, this is a possibility, but how could the bidder under her have known my completed item listing when it wasn't showing anymore? they would have had to have been it before bidding on the item, and then of course, they wouldn't have bid on it had they thought themselves it was fake...another possibility, someone could have been 'watching' the first item (mine that i bought), and never removed it from their watched list (this is the only case where it doesn't get removed)...so as you can see, could have been lots of people...
Kat
Message 15 of 26
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auction interference

katiusciav
Community Member
been=seen

i have to go back to bed
Kat
Message 16 of 26
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auction interference

but ebay has just recently decided to reveal the winner now...i can't figure out why)..

The rationale for hiding bidder id's was because of bogus second chance offers. Scammers never sent these to the winning bidder only to the underbidders.

Hiding the winning bidder no doubt led to a few sellers thinking they could shill with impunity (or at least some buyers might see that as a possibility).

The hiding of bidder identities is a tricky affair, balancing transparency and bidder security is difficult. Have to say I'm not seeing bogus second chance offers mentioned very often these days, before this policy they were really becoming rampant with many buyers getting ripped off and seller reputations tarnished.
"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.


"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.
Message 17 of 26
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auction interference

katiusciav
Community Member
...well, ebay ain't going to do nothing for me...big shock..they say they need the original email header of the auction interferer...but i don't have it...that's why i emailed them...was hoping they could easily look at my winning bidder's email messages and see who sent her the email...of course they can easily do that, but they said they can't 'legally'...who knows...
i find it funny how towards the end of every support email comes the "as an ebay user myself, i feel your frustration"...i often wonder...is this a form email reply, or do all of you customer service reps really sell on ebay? then that got me to thinking, there must be some ebay employees who sell on ebay, if so, do they receive the same treatment we do?? would be interesting to know...
Kat
Message 18 of 26
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auction interference

jakeeangel
Community Member
Of course it's a form letter but eBay does encourage its staff to use the site to familiarize themself with it. They don't use it nearly as often as we do which is how we end up pulling our hair out at some of the ludicrous statements we get in reply to our emails asking for help.

And no, they can't and won't go into someone's eBay email account. Despite what some very annoying person on the other boards thinks, they cannot just go into someone's eBay messages. They are treated the same as private messages sent from your your computer using your ISP.

There are very real privacy issues concerning that. What makes you think they would go into someone's messages? Don't you recognize what an invasion of privacy that would be? I'm sorry but I don't even understand how you could ask them to do that and think that they would.



Come See What Else We've Got Up For Auction!
Message 19 of 26
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auction interference

katiusciav
Community Member
i don't think its that ludicrous..if its sent through ebay messages, then i don't see it being an invasion...they push their way in all the time when it involves their own best interests...if they find 'auction interference' a real policy violation, what the heck is so private looking into ebay messages? its their own email system for god sakes, its not like its an email system outside of ebay...i find it hard to believe they haven't done it before like i said to better their own purposes...
Kat
Message 20 of 26
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