I sell on e-bay... not so much in the plant area, but am TRYING to help DH clean out his shop and the container behind it, so have a fairly active e-bay store. The rules for e-bay are that it is "forbidden" for a seller to sell a listed item outside of the auction venue. If you are caught, they can suspend you from selling. This is not to say that it never happens. On one hand, it is better for a seller to sell outside the auction as they would not have to pay a final value fee (the largest fee for selling something on e-bay) on the item sold. On the other hand, the auction works as some protection for the seller if they end an auction but payment is never received. As a buyer, you can always ask, but don't be offended if a seller declines to sell something to you outside of the auction. One thing that is definitely NOT against the rules is asking the seller if they have any inventory for sale that is not currently listed... that is kind of a way around the going against the rules thing. Hope this answers at least one of your questions. I have been active on the LA as well, but so far it has only been on the buying side :). Julie

I would suggest filing a non-paying buyer dispute. You have 45 days from auction's end to file. In order to close a dispute you must take additional steps besides filing the dispute. If you leave a dispute in limbo, then it is automatically closed after 90 days and you have no recourse and you don't get your fees refunded. If the buyer doesn't pay, then close the dispute by saying you no longer wish to communicate with this buyer. This gives her a strike, which is different than a negative feedback. 3 strikes and a member is kicked out. I would not offer a second chance to the next bidder unless a dispute has been filed. Your buyer could file a dispute first and claim you were a non-performing seller and sold the item she won to another bidder. It's unlikely this buyer would do this, but it has happened in the past. Talking about past options...it's not the end of the world if you get an undeserved neg. You simply post a reply and state that the neg was left in retaliation and give the facts. Those that take the time to look at feedback can see the true story. Now, eBay has changed the rules and we won't be able to do that.

sue36, you are looking at hours:minutes:seconds there, so the other bid was entered six seconds before the end, not 6/100ths of a second. When you are outbid and the winning bidder wins by a small amount, this is almost always one bid increment. He may have put in a bid that was much higher but he only has to win by one bid increment, so that's all that he has to pay. Ebay's bid proxy system works really well this way. Once in awhile someone will win by less than one bid increment but I think this is only when his bid was entered before yours. Maybe. It's happened to me on both ends many times in nine years of ebay buying and selling. Someday I'll look at this more closely and figure out the details! Ha. When you put in an amount, always add some change to foil those who bid in even dollar amounts. For example, if you are willing to pay $25.00 for something, make your bid amount something like $26.88. You'll beat anyone who is also thinking $25 is a good price, and you'll beat those who think that going a few cents more (like $25.01 or $25.50) is a smart tactic. Sometimes I go one odd-number notch up and then another just to be safe, and more than a few times this has been necessary to win! And usually if you're willing to pay $25, then another dollar plus change is not a big deal. Oh, and I've been using Auctionstealer for many years and am quite happy with it. I used the free snipes for a long time and then started paying by the year for their service. I think only once they failed to bid for me and I have not had any problems with security at all.

The auction page does state something about clicking "here" to read their terms and conditions, and on that T & C page it says, "Regarding part numbers: Depending on stock availability, we may occasionally substitute items to facilitate quick shipping. These items will be made by the same manufacturer as the item you ordered and will work the same in every wayÂwe guarantee it. The part number of the item may be different, which will not affect itÂs functioning. Please do not bid if this possibility bothers you." This disclaimer allows them to ship something other than what it pictured or described. However, it doesn't say anywhere that the item (featured or substituted) may be used, but it also doesn't state that the item (featured or substituted) is brand new. Only that it is manufactured by the same manufacturer that made the automobile for which it is intended. It is "OEM" -- Original Equipment Manufacturer. Having said that, this auction does tend to lead the average person to believe that the item will be new. As I stated in another thread about an eBay auction, the eBay headquarters are in California, and eBay sellers are thereby governed by the laws of this state. California Civil Code Section 1770 prohibits activities such as "bait and switch" and representing goods/services to be one thing when what you actually get is something else. This particular auction may very well fall into that, especially since the seller said that if you pay more money you will get a newer item. That's a classic bait and switch! If you paid by credit card (even if was paid through PayPal but charged against a credit card), contact the company and dispute the charge. If you paid through PayPal either by credit card or by a debit to your checking account, file a claim with PayPal that the item received is not what you purchased. And notify the seller that you will be filing a complaint of fraud with the Office of the Attorney General for the State of California.