Ebay 2nd chance offer

[bluegrassdan]

Hello
I just got a second chance offer on a new mandolin. My bid was 40% less than what it would cost new and there were a couple people who had bid higher than me besides the winning bidder. How does this work? Is it legit? thanks

[jmkatcher]

_NO!_ It is almost certainly a rip-off. I get these now every single time I don't win any auction that's over a few hundred dollars. It's a standard if not the standard eBay scam.

[bluegrassdan]

I also got no message on my "My Ebay" page which I always get with any correspondance.

[danb]

Scam.

[jim_n_virginia]

Yep it is a scam. The scammers will try and convince you that the winner backed out and do you want to buy it outright.

They way to stop them is to say that you never buy off of eBay and that all they have to do is relist it with a lower "Buy It Now" price and you will buy it.

You will never here from them again!

[stevem]

Scam. If it's too good to be true, its a scam. Play along with them and ask questions so you can see how it works, but DON"T BUY OR SEND MONEY. Pretty soon you'll be asked to Western Union money to some dude with a name like Herzogito in Romania and he'll insist you send it pretending your his uncle or some other ridiculous ####.

I remember the first time I thought I was getting a 1918 F-4 for $1000. I couldn't believe it I was so excited... Stupid me.

[Greenmando]

I have used the second chance offer on a few things I have sold. The high bidder could not complete the deal and I offered it to the other bidders. I would only do it using ebay thou. If the email was not thru ebay with the offer I would not take the chance. At least if you use ebay you are protected as little as ebay does.

I have not trusted paypal since ebay bought them. Ebay/paypal only protects the seller and not the purchaser. I use my Visa even with paypal so I can have Visa take care of it in case of dispute.

[bluegrassdan]

Thanks for the info folks. I contacted the seller and quickly was told that they didn't send me the offer. It was too good to be true. By the way it was an Eastman 815 for about $50 more than a 515.

[8ch(pl)]

I did a second offer when ttthe winner backed off the sale of a mnadolin banjo. I beleive the lady that made the offer to me was obligated to the deal but I was not. She seemed nice, as well as honest,they had positive feedback so I bought it. Had no problem.

[Links]

One in a hundred "second chance" offers may be legit, so why take a chance? Not me!

[HarmonyRexy]

Hi!

I buy a lot of things on eBay and often get 2nd chance offers that are legit. #
Almost always the 2nd chance offer is because of the 'other clause' that the seller can offer a 2nd chance, that is if they have duplicate items. #So that usually happens when you are buying a NEW item.
I have done it in that case... but only with people of good reputation or especially people with whom I'd done business before.
AND ONLY if the offer comes through the eBay system.

I've had people try to sell me things that 'they' say that they have in stock when I wasn't the highest bidder on someone else's auction. #I never do those types of 'off eBay' deals. #Too risky. #(And the strange thing about that is that it has only happened to me on accordions and accordion type accessories... go figure...lol)

So unless someone has identical, vintage mandolins out there... it's probably going to be because of the 'seller didn't perform on his commitment' clause... and I approach those with fear and loathing...

[acousticphd]

It is definitely good advice to beware of, and maybe completely avoid post-auction offers like these. I've seen some auctions I suspected or pretty much know were a scam, and gotten some good heads-up here. There are formulas and profiles people need to avoid, no question. But it's also the case that good, fair deals can get made post-auction, by decent people just like us. I've ended up buying a couple nice mandos - and quite good deals - in auctions that I had the high bid but didn't meet the reserve, or the top bidder didn't follow through, in which either I inquired about the item, or the seller offered to sell it for my bid. A good deal on ebay is NOT too good to be true; that's the way it ought to be - there should be a serious savings in return for the uncertainty.

Any time you ever have any serious interest in an ebay auction item, you should exchange AT LEAST one or two emails with the seller before the auction ends, and have a real email address, and get satisfactory answers to questions about the item. You should never send final payment without exchanging another email to confirm total price with S/H, etc, and know the seller's actual email and mailing address.

[PCypert]

I got a second chance for a Snakehead for 1800. Seems legit, but I already purchased another. Anyone want it ?
Paul

[glauber]

No, but do you have some snake oil?

[Aran]

I bought my Bean Blossom from a second chance offer after being beaten in the bidding! It arrived in Ireland a few weeks later with no problems! I must admit I was not aware of the risks! So I spose I was lucky and that there are a few people out there who are not out to rip you off!!

I'm in mid bid for another mandolin which finishes in 3 hours from now! I shall proceed with caution after reading these posts!

[Brad Weiss]

I was just offered a money order for $2500 for a $700 guitar I was selling, and all I needed to do was return the change with a wire transfer! I said, sure, but I'll take $10k in cash, and return the change in the case. #Never did hear back from those nice people....