darkSpyro

Hello--advice needed. My spouse doesn't normally buy figures on ebay--ever. He will "hunt" in retail stores with our son but he is more of the game player. Anyway--my son has been going on and on and on about wanting this new E3 toy and when he found out it was Hot dog--he was really crazy and when he saw that it wasn't all one metallic color--he hasn't been talking about anything but this figure. Anyway--I was at work & my husband logged on to our eBay acct and saw one hot dog for sale and bid-the opening bid was almost $300. Of course noone else outbid because by that time there were many listed at lower prices. Now I plan to pay for it in the morning and take the hit. Because "we" bid and commited to it--I will pay for it. I just wanted to hear others thoughts on this situation. It hurts to pay so much for this. We make a good living but we still have to be smart about our money--it's right at times, as it is with everybody.
I've sold things on eBay where people never pay-and it sucks. But I've never charged so much over retail for anything. I guess I just wanted feedback on the situation. I'll never tell my husband because it'll take the joy out of this for him. (He just had a heart attack and quadruple bypass). He is healthy now but it was a life changer for us all. I have told him that in the future he should talk to me before bidding on any Skylanders because I have a better idea of pricing-and he agreed. Any ideas?

He's gone down in price greatly, about $100-$150.

I know--that is the problem. I hate paying the hot dog that "we" won for almost $300. This seller has sold several at HIGH prices. There is part if me that doesn't want to pay for it. But I feel ethically responsible because he bid and won.

IMO, you agreed to purchase it at that price, you should honor it. Skylanders prices on eBay tend to fluctuate daily, it is a very volatile thing. So, that is the risk you take, especially for jumping right on it and not giving it a day or 2 to even out. Pay the guy/gal, make your kid happy and don't worry about it.

Yep--that's my plan--but I guess I was hoping for a miracle..lol.

You should pay for it, but wow, I'm surprised he went down a lot. Even the Toy Fair Chop Chop didn't go down that much.

I've taken a hit when bidding without looking before, never for quite this much though.

Our hearts go out to you. Have you considered just asking the seller to cancel the bid ?

Simply explain you thought you had the money but circumstances mean you don't and would he mind terribly if you both just walked away from the deal?

It never hurts to ask nicely. As a seller I have always been nice to buyers that have been nice to me, and vice-versa.

Even contacting the seller can't cancel the bid. To truely cancel it, contact eBay, tell them why, such as We've found one for a much cheaper price, and they'll usually remove it.

He WILL mind terribly. Because he can't get $300 for it now. He was obviously trying to cash in on getting it up early. Honestly, it all comes down to how much you value your feedback, because you will get negative feedback. How established is your EBay ID?

It's a little dishonest to back out now, but I cannot find any tears to shed for such an obvious scalper. $200 is a lot of money, if this were a store you wouldn't have any problem on backing out of a pre-order, would you? So he will miss out on cashing in on a parents desire to make their child happy, boo hoo.

Pyrofer--I considered it but, not sure why, but I get the feeling that there won't be much understanding. Hmmm --I'll think a little more. Thank you for suggestion

My ebay ID is from 1999--100% positive and I do care about it. I care about my reputation there. Integrity is important to me.

Didn't eBay get rid of negative feedback for buyers? That's half the reason I don't sell on there anymore. The 100% is based on the last 12 months only and for buyers it's positive feedback or nothing. Buyers basically have no risk on eBay, at all, and sellers can get screwed a million ways to Sunday. Screw it, tell them your son got on the computer and thought it said $3.00 not $300. People backing out bothers me far less than idiots who claim the wrong item was sent, as you literally have basically no way to fight that battle. If I was the seller I would be glad I didn't send it to someone who would just claim it was a regular Hot Dog and then get all the money back and have the figure.

Yeah, buyers can't get negatives anymore. You'll get an unpaid item strike more than likely.

To me, if you put up the bid, then you should honor it. Because by bidding on that item you've also made it so the seller couldn't really change his bid either. He/She might have seen everything else going down, but since you had the bid he couldn't really change it. Does it suck? Yep. Now, you might be able to contact the seller and plead your case. They know you don't 'have' to do it. So maybe you ask them to settle at $200. More than they'd get if they put it back up, but still a better deal to you.

But, it's all supply and demand. Right now the supply is big, but it'll go down over time. So, hold onto the package, keep it in really good condition, even use it. In a year or so, put it back up on ebay.

Thanks everybody. I feel so responsible. I follow through with what "I" agree to do.
(Laughing) but it just stinks!!!
Maybe I'll ask the seller if he is willing to compromise a bit. But in the end-I'll pay-it's not the end if the world it just hurts because its such a major over pay.

Personally I could never see myself paying that much for a figure, but I am also not a collector. So, that aspect is completely lost on me. Lol, my six year old said he wanted one, I told him he better learn how to mow some lawns this summer then.

I seriously wouldn't go through with it myself.

I sold a car on ebay, when the bloke turned up to collect he would only pay 75% of the final price.

In the end I took it because I needed the money more than the car.

You must be the most honest person in the world if you are willing to throw away that money for the sake of the "agreement" you made on eBay.

Seriously, contact the seller, say you mistook $300 for $3.00 and don't have the money.
What's he going to do?

We all applaud your honesty and morals, but in this case the loss far outweighs the moral gain.

You think they guy who's kid bought a real life JCB digger thinking it was a toy paid up?
Or the bloke who's toddler clicked on a yacht?

At the end of the day it's only your own morals that determine the outcome, but please contact the seller first.

As a collector, money is the most important aspect. I search high and low for errors, variants, and rare characters for reselling to raise my money supply.

I have about 20 or so extra characters to sell, with a few errors.

Once and awhile I spend some extra money to get characters that are old and rare. However, I look all over and spend time trying to find the very best price for that item. I have splurged a couple times but really i am careful with money. We have a bunch of variants to collect to complete collection. They are always for sale on eBay but I'm not going to pay $300 for one--I wait-shop around--etc.
This one just hurts! It was done with such good intentions but without knowledge. Ugh!!!!

As an eBay seller, I hate it when my buyers back-out of the price they vowed to pay because the item goes down in price. I try really hard to get an item to boost my small fund and then have to lose money because it goes to Less then retail.

Pokemonblack100---I've had that happen to 6 times. I have sold a few things to do the same as you, build up a little money to collect with. I have "mutually" cancelled sales mostly but what bothered me the most were the people that buy and NEVER have any communication at all--nothing. So, I've been on that side of things. I'm not sure if it makes it any better but I have never charged such a mark up like this person. So--that's the bummer--how crazy the price is. I will end up paying but as I've said it really hurts to do so.

Though it hurts, if it happened to me I would take the hit. On the bright side, now you have a funny story to tell at parties When my son was young I lent him my iphone to play some games. I told him he could download only free apps. Well.... I don't need to really finish this story. I'll end it with two words: password lock.

Lol--thanks CTFDad