I feel like I got the shaft on this one.

[esquire]

Well, I was watching this auction...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3049004569

I decided to snipe and put in $178.09. The high bidder put in his bid at the same time that I placed my bid. At that time, the high proxy was only $100.
http://cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAP...tem=3049004569

Not even 12 hours later I get an email from ebay regarding a "Second Chance Offer" to buy the item at my proxy ($178.09) because the high bidder was unable to follow through. I thought it was suspicious that someone would back out of an auction so soon. I became more suspicious that the high bidder had private feedback. I felt this must have been a shill bid or a "nuclear bid" gone wrong. But I looked at the seller's feedback and he had 100% with over 200 transactions. I didn't know what to think.

So I emailed the seller asking what happened to the high bidder, especially since it was not even 12 hours after the end of auction. He says that the high bidder was from Germany and that he had emailed the seller asking him if he could bid, even though it said shipping to the USA only. The seller claims to have said no, but the bidder bid anyways (why the seller didn't block him from bidding right then and there I do not know). After the auction ended the seller told him he could not sell the item to him, and hence I get the second chance offer.

I guess I am more pissed off than anything. I could have won the auction for $102.50 if the German bidder would have been unable to bid. Or do you think I was taken? I know MIB/NIB Jaguar CD players do go for about this price, especially with all the games that are included (the seller has offered to throw in another game plus a composite video/audio cable).

Another question I would have is why does ebay make your high proxy the second chance bid? Logic would seem to indicate that had the high bidder not bid, the proxy bid would not have gone that high. For instance, why isn't the second chance offer $102.50 on this item?

[Gamereviewgod]

Taken....nuff said. Way too many things going on there to be legit if you ask me. Not to say that it's impossible, just improbable...

[dave2236]

then tell him you'll take it for $102.50, after all that guys bid really shouldn't count.

thats what I do when I have non-paying bidders.

[jonjandran]

Yea don't offer the whole amount.
Since the other bidders bid wasn't legit , your bid of $102.00 would have won. Tell the seller that is as high as you'll go.

[Flack]

I hate when people say what I'm about to say, but I'm going to say it anyway.

"What everybody else said."

It's an old, rotten eBay trick.

Flack

[Darth Sensei]

Why does Ebay do that anyway on a second chance offer? It's not fair. The bid should be just a little more than the last legitimate bidder would pay.

Of course they do it just to increase revenue.

Dave

[punkoffgirl]

You're not taken if you don't give him that much money for it, plain and simple.
You COULD just force him to relist it, it's not like he can give you negative feedback.

[Keir]

Why does Ebay do that anyway on a second chance offer? It's not fair. The bid should be just a little more than the last legitimate bidder would pay.

Of course they do it just to increase revenue.

Dave

It is just eBay trying to make money, however, there is a problem with your suggestion. If the highest bidder hadn't bid, so the high bid was at $102.50, it's likely that someone else watching would have bid whereas they wouldn't when the high bid was at $180 (even if only for a couple seconds).

esquire, you're under no obligation to agree to the second chance. BTW, I've dealt with biggwolf before and had no problems.

[mcgrail0007@netzero.net]

The seller has perfect feedback. I also sell items on eBay. I wouldn't want to deal with sending a system to Germany. If I was in that sellers position, I too would have offered you a second chance. It is your choice to decide if you should take the second chance offer or not. You could offer him less and he might accept it. He might just relist the item and you might be able to get it for $100-$150 or it could go higher than the second chance offer. The choice is yours. You can't be taken on this unless you decide it is in your best interest.

One other thing. Since the high bidder claims to be live in Germany, you never could see his feedback or what auctions he has bid on because of European privacy laws. If you are on eBay enough you will realize that a number of users claim to live in Germany (who actually live in the U.S.) so that people can't see what they bid on.

[anagrama]

I wouldn't want to deal with sending a system to Germany.

Why is is that US sellers often won't ship worldwide? I mean, the buyer pays for all extra shipping costs, and a larger audience means a potentially higher final bid price.
Is it purely laziness, or am I missing something?

[Raccoon Lad]

Probably the same reason virtually all German sellers will only ship to Germany.
(I look at ALOT of german SMS auctions)

[anagrama]

Probably the same reason virtually all German sellers will only ship to Germany.
(I look at ALOT of german SMS auctions)

Yeah, that's true I suppose (I've been looking at a lot of German Megadrive auctions recently). German sellers can be a pain aswell, since many don't take Paypal, and want bank transfers in Euro's, which would cost me around £10 a time.