I have an active auction - a buyer is asking to buy it outside the auction - I refused but is this allowed?

[redmissi182]

I am sure I read somewhere that asking to buy an item outside of an eBay transaction is against eBay policies, but I cant find this anywhere. Am I wrong? Is it perfectly OK to ask a seller if they will accept a PayPal payment for a specific amount and cancel an auction? I didn't say yes and wouldn't since I paid to list the item, but I want to know.

[heidilynn0_3]

Hi .. This is what you are looking for..

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/rfe-spam-non-ebay-sale.html

[reallynicestamps]

Not exactly the right question.

EBay wants to be paid for giving you a place to advertise your stuff, so, no, they don't want you to sell "off eBay".

You could offer the customer a "private listing" setting up a fixed price or auction listing exactly like the one he has indicated interest in, but with his offer as the price and using his eBay name as the title (the latter is so that only he will find it.)

EBay would be fine with this. If you do it as a FP, it can be purchased immediately.

However.

You are a new seller. Not even 10 DSRs yet. As such you are a target for scammers.

There is a good chance that the buyer knows that your item is underpriced. Or he may have some other scam in mind.

Since most auctions only run for seven days, I would encourage him to bid his max and let it ride. Offer to ship by Air Mail (which you have to do now anyway, but it sounds generous) immediately on payment.