Moral maze

[RosieH]

I'm feeling a bit torn. I've just sold something on ebay for more than ?10 more than it costs in the shops.

I was transparent about what it was and the cost of it at retail, yet the bidding went a bit mad towards the end and someone chose to spend ?37 on something they could buy elsewhere for ?25. I can't help but think she must think it's something else and feel bad taking the money.

Is it a case of caveat emptor (been reading that a lot on here this week) and should I shut up and spend my ill-gotten gains on some fabulous Diptyque candles from CharlieCharlie, or should I give her some money back to soothe my pricked conscience?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

If you were transparent, including the retail cost, I wouldn't worry.

[????]

It's bothering you - I would. What's a few quid, her mistake but you'll feel better...

*Couhgs* plus Karma

[benjaminty]

pass it on .... buy something else that's overpriced on ebay... If you can't find anything let me know and I'll whack something on quickly. :)

I'm here to help

[HAL9000]

I've noticed that bidders can go completely mad at times. Complete the sale: take the payment and deliver the item. If the buyer is dissatisfied you'll soon know about it by way of a SNAD dispute - in which case you may have to make a full refund. No point in pre-empting the issue. Just my opinion.

[KidKruger]

Go to Boots, buy a dozen of the same product and whack 'em on Ebay every couple of days.

Once you get into the pattern of pocketing a ?10er every deal you won't feel so bad - it's always tough at first.

If you end up losing money then you may become a saint.

[HonaloochieB]

Aaah Rosie, you gave her fair warning.

You told her about caveat emptor, so she knew you had an empty cave ready to stash all the dough you was gonna fleece offa all the rubes, suckers and hicks.

I'm prouda ya RosieH, 'bout time we had a Sergeant Bilko figure on the EDF.

[Huguenot]

Why would someone pay ten quid more on eBay than in Boots?

I've racked my brains, but the only conclusion I find plausible is thst the buyer is mentally ill.

Any better ideas?

[vinceayre]

Its probably that bloke off the bus Huguenot!

[Huguenot]

Indeed it could be, best solution may well be to smack him about a bit?

[vinceayre]

You must have seen these places in the far flung colonies where a person gathers together a bunch of people by claiming huge discounts on goods and proceeds to push the price up by getting mates to keep bidding, its one of the oldest scams in the world. What happens is the crowd become overcome with the desire to purchase this product simply because its being auctioned so therefore must have a value.

E bay is simply the 21st century version of this but without the shill.

[reggie]

It,s possible to sell a pound coin for more than a pound...true but spooky.

I suggest feel good about yourself, which in this case probably means accept less money.

[????]

That's nothing, at the end of 2008 you could buy ?1 billion of debt for about ?100 million.

[benjaminty]

This is good news for you Reggie... have you relisted your err urmmm "track"?

[Brendan]

Rosie from a purely pragmatic point of view there is no moral obligation upon you even if the person paid ?100. They were in an open bidding competition and they chose how much they were prepared to pay.

But the person whose life is run on pure pragmatism is hardly human.

The issue is not whether it is wrong or right but that it is bothering you. That fact that it is means you are one of those people with an annoyingly overdeveloped sense of fairness. It can be a right bastard sometimes but experience has shown me that if it bothers you now it will carry on bothering you and so you may well feel a lot better if you just bung the person ?10 back.

It doesn?t really make any sense but at least you can take some solace in the fact that even though you?re a bit of a bleeding heart at least you aren?t a cunt like every other cunt in this fucking world.

[jimmy two times]

So you made a profit selling body lotion on Ebay . Don't rub it in !

[SimonM]

I've seen this madness many times on Ebay, people paying more for 2nd hsnd books or DVDs that are available cheaper and brand new on Amazon or Playcom. I'd just shrug your shoulders and bank the tenner!

[Marmora Man]

It's called capitalism - any good has a cost, which you Rosie have paid. It also has a value, best decided by the market. Your buyer is presumably satisfied else they would have bought at that price. They may value the joy (??) of buying on ebay, the fact that they didn't have to go out to the shops, that they live 200 miles from a Boots.

Hang on to your profit and use it wisely - beer, wine, chocolates, washing up liquid, charity donation, garden seeds, the choice is yours.

[HAL9000]

I think I've figured out what might have happened in this case. A bidder mistakenly bid ?35 thinking the item was priced in US dollars. That bid was cancelled either at the last minute or just after the auction had ended leaving the person who had just outbid him or her as the winner.

A misunderstanding by one particular bidder fuelled a bidding frenzy leading the winner to pay over the odds.

[iaineasy]

give it back, its a tenner to make yourself feel better and the right thing to do, its less than you would spend on drinks to make a freind feel better so treat yourself!!:)) because your worth it.

hugs

[RosieH]

Haha, Hal, you looked it up? Close but no cigar - the cancelled bid was before the frenzy and took it all back to a quite normal price (?20) for a day or so. My goodness, you're a bit like BBW and his facebook cyber-sleuthing...

[karter]

you could have sold it on the edf rosie and keep it local.

[Ann]

I've only recently got hooked on the buy and sell section and I think it's great.

RosieH, I've bought and sold on E Bay. My conscience would be pretty clear if I was you. E-Bay self regulates.

It was a lesson to me when I bought the Nintendo Wii for my son two or three years back ( when they were launched). I hadn't anticipated the arrival of the wii but plenty did. People bought with the absolute knowledge that they could flog them on e-bay for an approximate ?100 instant profit. I paid over the odds but I was grateful to obtain an item that I couldn't get in the shops.

Your buyer has to accept responsibility fot their own bidding. That's the way e-bay works . It and you are not registered charities.

I am actually curious as to what body ltion is worth ?35.::o

[jimmy two times]

This all reminds me of a song by Otis Redding: 'Sitting on the dock of Ebay..wastin' time'

[Horsebox]

Keep the ?10. If you've sold the item in good faith and listed it honestly, it's the buyers responsibility to research elsewhere and know the market value of what they are buying.

Not your problem.