Just can't trust eBay!!

[Timmyjoe]

Well this is a new one. Last week I bought a little 110 camera on eBay for $14.44 shipped. I know, big spender.

It arrived today and when I went to eBay to leave feedback, I noticed that the auction said the camera sold for $16.99. Thinking I must have missed something, I checked with PayPal and sure enough, I paid $14.44.

So I check "Completed Listings" on eBay and hey, they show the camera and say it sold for $16.99.

So eBay is inflating the price of items that get sold on the web site. Is this to entice more folks to list items, thinking they are going to sell for more than they actually do?

Seems real dishonest to me.

Best,
-Tim

 

[rogue_designer]

I doubt it's deliberate manipulation. Was it listed in US dollars? Your 14.99 US might have been 16.99 AUD, for instance.

 

[Timmyjoe]

I doubt it's deliberate manipulation. Was it listed in US dollars? Your 14.99 US might have been 16.99 AUD, for instance.

I believe it is definitely manipulation. I'm in the US, the seller is in the US, the item was listed in US dollars, I paid in US dollars, and the item was on the US version of eBay.com.

EBay is definitely mis-listing what the item sold for. Why they are doing it is up to speculation. I believe it is to make it look like things are selling for more than they actually are.

Here's a screen grab of my purchases page, showing the camera, note the circled in red item number:

Now here is the Completed Listings page showing what the camera sold for. Again, note the circled in red item number:

They are the same item number: 301398896186

Don't see how that could be any more manipulated.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Godfrey]

It's an error, not a conspiracy. Someone put in the wrong numberR. Just report it and don't worry about it.

G

 

[Timmyjoe]

G, you may be right but I'm not convinced. As huge as eBay is, I find it hard to believe that someone individually goes in and writes down all the sold for numbers and transcribes them to the Completed Listings page.

I'm convinced that the numbers automatically go from sold auctions to completed listing auctions, and somehow, at least on this auction, the numbers were inflated.

 

[rogue_designer]

Why they are doing it is up to speculation. I believe it is to make it look like things are selling for more than they actually are.

Assuming that it is being done on purpose is also speculation. As a rule, conspiracy is pretty far down on Occam's razor... Maybe they have a value attached to free shipping which gets thrown into the equation. Lots of other possibilities.

Report it, and see what comes of it. Then we might know more before we start asserting that they are manipulating the market.

 

[Jack Conrad]

Yeah, my guess is it's the "free shipping" cost added to the total.

 

[Timmyjoe]

I did report it to eBay customer service and got the complete run around. They basically said the item sold for $16.99 even though they also said they could see I only paid $14.44 for the item. After a good ten minutes with one of their customer service reps, she had to admit she had no idea why the two prices were different.

Maybe it's not a conspiracy, but for eBay sellers like myself who always check Completed Listings before pricing items I sell on eBay, it's more than a little disconcerting and certainly seems dishonest.

Best,
-Tim

PS: The completed listing clearly states it sold for $16.99 and included free shipping. So it's not the added cost of shipping that changed the price.

 

[Dante_Stella]

This happens all the time with Best Offer items. It seems to be an error in the software that shows the original asking price instead of the sale price.

Dante

 

[Godfrey]

This happens all the time with Best Offer items. It seems to be an error in the software that shows the original asking price instead of the sale price.

That's the most likely reason I've heard for the error.
Blame it on the programmers! ;-)

G

 

[rogue_designer]

For what it is worth, I just checked the last few items I purchased on ebay (some camera, and some not) and what I paid was reflected in what they say it sold for.

In all cases, I either paid the buy it now price, or won an auction. Did you make an offer and have it accepted? Is the 16.99 the original ask price?

 

[burancap]

The majority of the seller's items are listed with a discount. The difference in your values is 15%. The problem is that the completed listing shows the original list price and does not reflect the actual realized selling price that included the discount.

 

[Timmyjoe]

This was a Buy-It-Now item, not a Best Offer. I paid what she had it listed for, $14.44.

I think Jeff's explanation makes the most sense. Maybe the seller originally had it listed at $16.99, but when I saw it, it was listed at $14.44 and Buy-It-Now, so I bought it and paid $14.44. Maybe earlier in the week she had it listed at the $16.99.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

Odd things do happen. I've bought BIN items after putting them in my list to watch and they usually go on being shown as for sale and not "Ended" as I'd expect.

Regards, David