Bidding Wars in B&S acceptable?

I was asked to bid up a price when I inquired about buying an item in the Sell Marketplace. The buyer said he was already bid up twice from his asking price and he asked me to up the bid. I told him I didn't get into bidding wars, thankyouverymuch.

Anyway, I thought it was classless and it left a bitter taste in my mouth. It might be acceptable practice, but people like that never get a dime from me.

Just thought I'd get some other opinions on this practice...

I wouldn't buy from anyone that asked that anyway. Seller sets his price- if he's not happy with that then its his own fault.

Why trust someone with your money that could screw you over if someone makes him a better offer.

dog rocket wrote in post #13495315
I was asked to bid up a price when I inquired about buying an item in the Sell Marketplace. The buyer said he was already bid up twice from his asking price and he asked me to up the bid. I told him I didn't get into bidding wars, thankyouverymuch.

Anyway, I thought it was classless and it left a bitter taste in my mouth. It might be acceptable practice, but people like that never get a dime from me.

Just thought I'd get some other opinions on this practice...

dog rocket,

Buyers offer less so I guess sellers can suggest higher bids, but it would have to be open for all to see otherwise it would be problematic. Personally I wouldn't ask for more than a price that I posted nor would I engage in blind bidding.

dog rocket wrote in post #13495315
I was asked to bid up a price when I inquired about buying an item in the Sell Marketplace. The buyer said he was already bid up twice from his asking price and he asked me to up the bid. I told him I didn't get into bidding wars, thankyouverymuch.

Anyway, I thought it was classless and it left a bitter taste in my mouth. It might be acceptable practice, but people like that never get a dime from me.

Just thought I'd get some other opinions on this practice...

Bid up twice, sounds to me like he had a deal and backed out when someone offered more. Glad you moved on, I don't see a how this would end well.

That's BS. I wouldn't play that game.

I wonder if this seller is a real estate agent during the day? I wouldn't go for it.

Doesn't seem like there's a rule against it but I sure as hell wouldn't want to purchase from someone who did that.

@OP:

If the listing specifically mentions "OBO", then I don't see why the seller cannot wait for other offers!

Best offer does NOT necessarily have to be lower than asking price (although unfortunately most see it that way). Typically the case where establishing a near accurate valuation on the item for sale is not possible due to lack of comps and/or the item being rare/in-demand.

The buyer should mention the offer price and validity period of that offer after which it can be voided without obligations from either party. The seller should also set an expectation for the community as to how long will offers be entertained before closing on the transaction.

I would like to know which items buyers are bidding up. Unless seller was selling something at dirt cheap prices and lot of higher offers came up.

If he wants "bids", he should sell the item on eBay.

Bids and OBO are two different things. Even if seller got multiple offers, it should be at their discretion at what price they should let it go for.

Yes that's BS: Seller should know what he wants; there are other places to use if you don't know what it is worth and you want to have a bidding war.

It happens sort of both ways BTW - It has happened to me a few times that buyer agrees to a pay say an amount of X. When the final PMs are exchanged (which is mostly when to ship and where to - that sort of stuff) suddenly buyer realizes that he actually has X-$25 in his/her paypal! WTF!!

alpha_1976 wrote in post #13497707
buyer realizes that he actually has X-$25 in his/her paypal! WTF!!

I always have $0 in my PayPal account...the extra funds would be just transferred from an external source like a bank account.

iazybandit wrote in post #13497555
If he wants "bids", he should sell the item on eBay.

Bids and OBO are two different things. Even if seller got multiple offers, it should be at their discretion at what price they should let it go for.

I agree. I never consider "OBO" to mean potentially higher than listed price. I wonder what everyone else thinks?

Regarding the OP, if I offered to pay someone's asking price and they came back asking for more that would quickly be the end of the transaction as I would not view them as being trustworthy.

I would just move on the second someone tries to pull this. As others have said, take that crap to eBay or Craigslist. If you want more, ask for more originally.

It depends what it is. If someone's asking price was low enough to create a buzz, then sure, why not.

I wouldn't do it, but I don't think it is "unacceptable" by forum standards. It's really just an online classifieds, not a controlled market. Whatever the buyer and seller want to agree on is their biz, not mine.