Ebay Question-2nd Chance offer

[ktkerber]

I don't use Ebay that often, but I know many of you are very knowledgeable about it. I just won an auction and immediately paid with Paypal. Shortly after I get an email from the seller asking me if it is OK to do a 2nd chance offer? I won the item fairly and paid immediately. Why would I want to let him do a 2nd chance offer? I really don't know what this means, but I assumed that he wanted to offer it to the other bidders to see if they would pay more. Somewhere I thought I heard this was something that was done if the buyer didn't pay. I guess I am confused as to how this is allowed?!

TIA.
Kristen

 

[johnlal]

A second chance offer usually happens when the winning bidder doesn't pay for the item, or the deal otherwise falls through. In your case, you bid and won-- fair and square. He is obligated to send you the item. It sounds like the seller expected to get more for his item, and wants a second shot at it. That's his fault for not putting a higher starting bid or reserve on it. If he doesn't send your item, report him.

 

[mechteach]

I had this happen to me once - the seller had multiples of the item that I had won, and wanted to use the 2nd chance offer to sell them without paying additional eBay listing fees. (A little bit scummy, IMHO.) I don't know if it is the same situation for you, though.

 

[overlyspoiled4sure]

We use the 2nd chance offer, BUT only if we have multiples of the same item. The winner gets the item shown in the picture & then we offer 2nd chance to the next highest bidder. Perfectly legal or the ebay system wouldn't offer it. It does save listing fees but you're stuck with final value fees & the fees associated with paypal.

Sometimes the 2nd chance offer gets accepted & sometimes it doesn't. It's a gamble you need to be willing to take. The only person to see the 2nd chance listing is the person you're offering it to.

There have been times when we wondered if the same item might make more later; in that case, we will wait & offer the item again at a future date.

As the original winner, OP, I'm surprised the seller offered you 2nd chance. Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[chalee94]

in the past, these were usually scams. you'd get emails from the "seller" but no reference to the offer in your "my ebay" section of ebay's website.

if you can see the offer in the "my ebay" section, it's probably just a mistake on the seller's part.

 

[Dancemom03]

I think the seller probably had multiples and sent second chance offers to all the underbidders above what they would be willing to sell the item for. In short OP, IMO, you getting one was probably a mistake. In order for my theory to be right though, you'd have to have entered more than one bid on the item you won. Was your winning bid the only bid you made or did you enter a bid prior to winning?

As far as a seller wanting more than the item sold for... the only way to get that would be to relist it. Second chance offers bring less, not more. Those are based only on the bids already placed and, since you won, they would all have to be less than what you've paid even if only by a penny...

FTR - Nothing scummy about a second chance offer. The listing was already paid for once, bidders liked what they saw enough to bid and made their decision about what the item was worth to them by bidding that price. If the seller has multiples, or winning bidder doesn't follow thru for whatever reason, he can offer items to the other bidders as well. It doesn't avoid fees - you pay that initial listing fee for your item to be seen in the search by fresh bidders - so since second chance have already seen & bid once there's no need for a listing fee - it was already paid in the beginning. The seller will still pay fees on the final sales price, in addition to paypal fees for accepting the payment.

In my experience, the odds are lower that a second chance offer will become a sale -- decreasing even further with every hour that passes after the end of auction. With so many second chance offers declined and the listing not visible to new bidders via search results, I can't imagine how it would be fair to expect sellers to pay listing fees on it too... BUT I'm sure if ebay thinks it's possible they'll change the rules to charge sellers for that too before all is said & done in today's "new improved ebay marketplace"

 

[ceecee]

We use the 2nd chance offer, BUT only if we have multiples of the same item. The winner gets the item shown in the picture & then we offer 2nd chance to the next highest bidder. Perfectly legal or the ebay system wouldn't offer it. It does save listing fees but you're stuck with final value fees & the fees associated with paypal.

Sometimes the 2nd chance offer gets accepted & sometimes it doesn't. It's a gamble you need to be willing to take. The only person to see the 2nd chance listing is the person you're offering it to.

There have been times when we wondered if the same item might make more later; in that case, we will wait & offer the item again at a future date.

As the original winner, OP, I'm surprised the seller offered you 2nd chance. Doesn't make sense to me.

I done this as well, it's offering the item to the second highest bidder at what they bid for it. Ebay actually lists it as a second chance offer. Maybe the seller did this so you'd know there were like items? One buyer wrote me a nasty email after winning one of my auctions accusing me of relisting her item. In fact she received it the next day, but was she ever rude in the email!

 

[iheartdisney]

Maybe the 2nd place bidder sent him a real sob story- and wanted to see how badly you really wanted it?
Sounds weird to send a second chance offer to the winner.

 

[Traveliz]

Maybe the 2nd place bidder sent him a real sob story- and wanted to see how badly you really wanted it?
Sounds weird to send a second chance offer to the winner.

That wouldn't make sense - if the ebayer has two than the second place bidder could have one, if they don't then sending the winner a second place offer doesn't make any sense anyway. I think either its a mistake or they do have multiples and they are offering a second one (as well as the first) to the winner.

Liz

 

[iheartdisney]

That wouldn't make sense - if the ebayer has two than the second place bidder could have one, if they don't then sending the winner a second place offer doesn't make any sense anyway. I think either its a mistake or they do have multiples and they are offering a second one (as well as the first) to the winner.

Liz

I guess we read the OP differently. I didn't think OP was sent the second chance offer, but an email asking if it was OK for the seller to do the second chance offer. When I have sold things, I have had other bidders contact me after the auction "in case the buyer flaked", and once when I bought a bed, when I was picking it up, the seller told me that the second-place bidder had emeiled her several times saying it wasn't fair that I outbid him, that he really wanted the bed and would pay her more for it.

 

[DMRick]

This is flaky. eBay won't even let the second chance offers go to the winning bidder.
I'd be interested in seeing how the seller worded the note she sent you. Why would she need yoru permission to do a second chance offer? If she has more than one of the items, she can just go ahead and do it.

Very weird, IMO.

I don't use Ebay that often, but I know many of you are very knowledgeable about it. I just won an auction and immediately paid with Paypal. Shortly after I get an email from the seller asking me if it is OK to do a 2nd chance offer? I won the item fairly and paid immediately. Why would I want to let him do a 2nd chance offer? I really don't know what this means, but I assumed that he wanted to offer it to the other bidders to see if they would pay more. Somewhere I thought I heard this was something that was done if the buyer didn't pay. I guess I am confused as to how this is allowed?!

TIA.
Kristen

 

[Traveliz]

It is very weird - and when reading the OP I guess I am not sure what I am reading because I can't imagine that I as a seller would ask if I could do the second chance offer to the winning bidder. The second chance isn't sold at a higher price (ever? is it?).

Liz

 

[ktkerber]

Hi,

Thank you all for your responses. Here is the message I got from the seller 4 minutes after I won the item This message was sent to my ebay account and then forwarded to my email.

"Is it ok if I put this up for a second chance offer .. sya no if u dont want to but i would rly appreciate it if u said yes"

I said No because I won the item fairly and I had already paid for it. I put the bid in with just seconds left and then paid as soon as I knew I won. I also told him that I thought he could only do that if I didn't pay, which I already had. He sent me a message back saying he was sorry for the mix-up. I am wondering if he just didn't get what he wanted and wanted to try to get more money. I am confused as to why he thinks I would let him do a 2nd chance offer when I won the item, paid for it, and obviously wanted it. I thought maybe I was missing something since I don't purchase from ebay that often. I wasn't sure what a 2nd chance offer was. Anyway, I guess I was hoping that it wasn't as slimy as it seems to be. He has no other items up for auction so I don't think he had multiple items. It also did not say that in the description of the item. Well I guess I will wait and see if the item comes.

Thanks again,
Kristen

 

[waughzee]

I had this happen to me once - the seller had multiples of the item that I had won, and wanted to use the 2nd chance offer to sell them without paying additional eBay listing fees. (A little bit scummy, IMHO.) I don't know if it is the same situation for you, though.

What's scummy about it? Ebay allows this and they DO charge final value fees on it.

 

[Traveliz]

Hi,

Thank you all for your responses. Here is the message I got from the seller 4 minutes after I won the item This message was sent to my ebay account and then forwarded to my email.

"Is it ok if I put this up for a second chance offer .. sya no if u dont want to but i would rly appreciate it if u said yes"

I said No because I won the item fairly and I had already paid for it. I put the bid in with just seconds left and then paid as soon as I knew I won. I also told him that I thought he could only do that if I didn't pay, which I already had. He sent me a message back saying he was sorry for the mix-up. I am wondering if he just didn't get what he wanted and wanted to try to get more money. I am confused as to why he thinks I would let him do a 2nd chance offer when I won the item, paid for it, and obviously wanted it. I thought maybe I was missing something since I don't purchase from ebay that often. I wasn't sure what a 2nd chance offer was. Anyway, I guess I was hoping that it wasn't as slimy as it seems to be. He has no other items up for auction so I don't think he had multiple items. It also did not say that in the description of the item. Well I guess I will wait and see if the item comes.

Thanks again,
Kristen

That is weird - I wonder if he even knew what he was doing.

Liz