I'm currently selling a Crown SZ5100SL on the bay and received a mail from some guy offering me quite a lot of cash for it. He stated quite clearly that he was so excited that he wouldn't be able to sleep that night for thinking about it.

I replied to him stating that somebody had already bid, and that I wouldn't be ending the auction for him early, though the money was really very good. Anyway, I got a mail from him this morning saying how he wasn't able to sleep a wink for all the excitement thinking about the boombox. I wrote to him again, using the exact same words from my previous reply.

He writes back saying how it's really easy for me to end the auction, and that he is willing to pay all paypal, ebay and any other costs to get that box. I again write to him saying sorry, but no.

So, I got in later today, checked my mails, and this guy is now saying that 'oh well, I'd better look somewhere else then, because I won't be at home for the end of the auction...'

I replied saying thanks for your interest, and by the way, with eBay you can lodge a bid anytime!

This guy was so persistent at first. Then insulted me by even thinking I would end the auction for him after I told him twice no, and then expects me to fall for his stupid 'oh, I'm not interested now' line.

What a knob.

Anyway

Oh crap was that you? Sorry

Just kidding. He should just put in the bid of what he would pay. He may even make out for less?
I do it all the time. With minimal success of course.

What a knob!

If he's willing to pay a high amount then he should be able to win it with his high bid. What's wrong with that? That's how ebay works.

I've been on a kind of crusade lately against eBay bidders who ask sellers to end auctions early and make deals "under the table." It cheats eBay, and it shuts out bidders who play by the rules (like me). There are lots of bidders who justify the practice by saying that "everybody does it," but, like my mother used to say, "If everybody jumped off a bridge..."

I guess it's possible to cut auctions short legitimately, like by asking the seller to add a genuine Buy-It-Now after the auction has begun. EBay gets its fees that way. However, any bidder who isn't checking the auction constantly for revisions stands no chance of winning.

A seller also has the option to "end the auction early and sell to the bidder at the current price." This is also an "above board" way to cut an auction short, but I wonder how often the item is sold to the bidder at the actual "current price." It just doesn't make sense that a seller would intentionally take less for his item than the amount he could earn by letting the auction run its course... unless maybe the bidder was an old friend who needed a favor.

No, IMHO, the only way to run a truly fair auction (one that doesn't start out with a Buy-It-Now) is to let it run to the end, no matter how much any given bidder begs the seller to end it early. I mean, if eBay becomes a forum where the most intense begging wins auctions, then I'm not sure I want to play along. I'm not a very convincing beggar!

And so, beatbox, I just want to tell you how much I admire your integrity for letting your auction run to the end, in spite of the intense pressure you've received to end it early, and the lure of a bunch of quick money. I wish all sellers had your sense of fairness.

As for the bidder, I know how frustrating it can be to realize you can't be home to snipe an auction when it ends. It's happened to me more times than I can count. I've also lost hours (weeks, probably, when you add it all up over the years) of sleep, wishin-and-hopin I'd win an eBay item that was a lifelong dream. But there's usually a "Plan B" to fall back on if I'm not going to be home (in my case, asking my daughter to bid for me). And, if that doesn't work, well, as they say, there's always "next time." These are, after all, just plastic radios, and there's no prize at the end for the person who's collected the most.

And who knows? Like Godsmacked said, maybe that high bid we put in early will actually outlast all the last-minute sniping, and we'll win the auction after all, without even being online when it ends. I'm sure it's rare, but I'm also sure it can and does happen.

He could have gotten it cheaper by putting his maxium bid in