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retasi

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 10, 2005
66
2
On ebay can i sell i an item i dont have yet but will have by the time the auction ends?? And also can i end an auction early?

Thanks
 

Sdashiki

macrumors 68040
Aug 11, 2005
3,529
11
Behind the lens
yes and yes.

dont tell people you dont have it yet though, cuz you are going to have it by the end. so you ARE selling it and not pre-selling it.
 

retasi

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 10, 2005
66
2
thanks and what if for some remote chance there it does not come by then?
 

yellow

Moderator emeritus
Oct 21, 2003
16,018
6
Portland, OR
eva01 said:
the buyer would be pissed.

I would never sell something unless i already had it in my possession.

I second that. I would be VERY angry if I bid on an item (and won) and was told by the seller that he didn't have it yet. To me, that screams scam and you better be sure I'd be all over you and eBay to get that fixed.
 

atszyman

macrumors 68020
Sep 16, 2003
2,437
16
The Dallas 'burbs
You could always claim to have the item and cite delays in the shipping process. I once had an auction end 1-2 days before I was leaving town for a week. As soon as the auction ended I emailed the winner and told them that there would be a shipping delay of about a week. I never got feedback on that auction but never received a complaint either.
 

CanadaRAM

macrumors G5
retasi said:
what if i said i should have it by the end of auction

"Pre-sale listings are those that describe items for sale that are not in the control or possession of the seller at the time of the listing.

The seller must guarantee that the item will be available for shipping within 30 days from the date of purchase (i.e., the day the listing ends or the date the item is purchased from a store front listing). The seller must also clearly indicate within the listing the fact that the item is a pre-sale item with a delivery date that indicates the item will be shipped by the 30th day from the end date of the listing. Additionally, this text must be no less than the default font size of the eBay Sell-Your-Item form. Currently, the default font size is HTML font size 3."

You could always claim to have the item and cite delays in the shipping process.

"Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:

* Listing cancellation
* Limits on account privileges
* Account suspension
* Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings
* Loss of PowerSeller status
* Referral to Law Enforcement"
 

andiwm2003

macrumors 601
Mar 29, 2004
4,401
471
Boston, MA
no offense. but sellers that do what you plan to do (and what other posters recommend to do) are one reason why i stop using ebay.

if you don't have the item then say it in your listing. everything else is at least unfair.

Lying to a customer because you can't or don't want to ship isn't nice either.
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
I recently hada similar thing happen to me.

I pre-ordered two xbox 360's and when I received notification that both had shipped I decided to advertise one on ebay, giving myself a week of bidding I thought I'd be safe and have plenty of time for the machines to arrive.

My first xbox arived a couple of days later. I decided this is the one I wanted to keep (as I wanted to play straight away) so I opened it, installed my faceplate and had a blast.

3 day's later however the second xbox still hadn't arrived. mmmm I thought.
The next day, knowing the auction only had 1.5 days left I rang the online retailer (my account status clearly said shipped) and I was exaspirated to find out that the xbox had not shipped, regardless of my status and in fact the reason it had not shipped was because the box got damaged in the wharehouse (it was on the bottom of the pallet).


They told me they had checked the contents (so now I couldnt sell anything as unopened) and they were ok and if I wanted to proceed with the order they would ship it out that day and give me 10% back on my CC for the damaged box.

I made it clear that I was dissapointed and as they had already charged my CC for the item it was only fair that they gave me 20% back. Incredibly they agreed.


So anyway I had to cancel my Ebay auction and I still had to pay the ebay fees.


When finally the 360 arrived the box was only slightly damaged and everything was in perfect condition. I decided not to bother selling and just plugged it in to my Dell 2005fpw in my office.

Moral of the story. I would'nt sell anything on ebay unless you had the goods in your hand. Too much can go wrong.
 

e²Studios

macrumors 68020
Apr 12, 2005
2,104
5
What always bugged me about ebay is when people charge 10x or more than it actually costs to ship an item just so they can lowball the selling price, or just because they are greedy bastards. I really find it hard to find real deals on ebay anymore, back when ebay was new it was person to person and it was easier to find deal but nowadays with people making a living off it and people selling for or through companies it is sometimes no cheaper than buying it new, and at times ive seen prices go over the new cost.

To the OP, just wait till you have the item in hands, then post it on ebay.. dont gouge on shipping either...

Ed
 
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