Second chance on ebay? a scam?

[Eric Brody]

A question for all of you more experienced ebay people? I bid on a darkroom item recently and received a "second chance" offer through ebay. The reason stated was that the original high bidder did not complete the transaction. I chose to ignore it at the time.

The item re-appeared and I bid on it again, the same amount I bid the first time, a fair price, based on previous completed items. The amount I bid is <$200. I left town for a day and returned to find a second "second chance" offer, for the same reason. The seller has over 1,000 sales with 100% positive feedback! Most of the recent items sold are for <$50 with a couple for more. When I looked at completed items just now, the item was listed as unsold with "reserve not met," as the reason.

I'd like to get the item, but does this sound fishy to any of you?


I'd appreciate any opinions.

Thanks.

Eric

[Walter Calahan]

Contact the seller directly if you can.

Most of these second chance things are scams.

So don't trust the e-mail till you contact the seller directly. If you are really concerned, call or e-mail eBay. They can spot a scam a mile away. They are very helpful.

[Richard Sanders]

In my experience if it is a genuine Second Chance Offer then the message will not only be sent to your email account but also to your messages when you sign in to the ebay site. If there is a message there then you should be fine to complete the transaction, I've done a couple of purchases through the Second Chance Offer system and not had a problem.
Obviously however if the message does not appear in your ebay messages inbox then the alarm bells start ringing and I'd probably contact the seller directly as suggested above.

[John Bowen]

I would offer him $2 more than the bidder BELOW yours on the final bid listing. If the high bidder hadn't bid, that is what you would have paid for the item. Some sellers get phantom bidders to increase the bid just so they can offer it to you on a second chance offer that will actually be higher than what you could have won the item for without the bogus bidding.....I realize that sentence is hard to follow!

I once was out of town on an auction for a Zone VI Variable Contrast head. I bid something like $763 for the head a few days before the auction ended. At the time of my bid the next highest bid was something like $200. Anyway, someone continued to bid, at the lowest possible bid increase, right up to the point where my maximum bid was revealed. You can't tell me someone that would bid $700, $710, $720, $730, $740, $750, then finally $760 would suddenly stop bidding once they saw that my bid was $763. Who would bid like that and then not bid $773 to win the item? I learned an expensive lesson that day and now use bid sniping software so that my bid isn't revealed until the final 5 seconds.....and when approached for a second chance offer, I tell the seller to relist the item and I MIGHT bid again on it.

Good Luck

[Ron Marshall]

I had one of these which requested that I contact the seller independently of Ebay.

I emailed the seller through the Ebay email connected to the listing and the seller told me that it was a scam.

If there is any mention of avoiding Ebay assume it is a scam.

[stompyq]

I would check your messages inbox at ebay (Under my ebay) first. Also just to be on the safe side TYPE the url for ebay (www.ebay.com) in your browser address bar and navigate to the ebay site. The reson for this extra precaution is that sometimes the links from the "supposed" e-mail for the second chance offer can take you to a spoof front page for ebay. Next email the seller and the highest bidder (in your case i would do both the previous and current high bidders). The high bidders might not respond but this has not been my experiance. Everytime i've gotten a second chance offer the highest bidder above me has assured me that the transaction would be legit. Most often the high bidder would have put up a incorrect price or sniped too high etc. Certainly you should contact the seller and ask clearly if the deal is legit.

[Brian Ellis]

Maybe I'm missing something here but based on what you've said this doesn't seem fishy. You got a second chance offer for a normal reason, you ignored it so the seller relisted the item, apparently the seller has placed a reserve price that you haven't met with your second bid, so now it sits there. I'd just contact the seller and see if he wants to sell it for whatever price you now wish to pay. I'm not sure about the second "second chance" offer, that may have been sent just because the seller was uncertain whether you received the first one or it could be that ebay's program just kicked another one out.

I'd feel very comfortable dealing with someone who has a 100% positive rating on that many sales unless an account has been hijacked. What period of time is covered by the 1,000 sales on which he has a positive rating? That should give you some indication of whether it's likely to be a hijacked account. I also would have thought someone who went to the trouble of hijacking an account wouldn't be messing around with $50 sales or even a $200 item since as soon as it becomes known that the account has been hijacked it will be closed (at least I think that's what happens).

[Paul Ewins]

I recently bid on a JOBO 3005 tank and was outbid by two people, yet got a "second chance" offer. It had come through eBay so I felt I had little to lose except a certain amount of hassle getting my $200 back. I paid and then started to worry when another 3005 popped up from the same seller. Then mine turned up so all was well. And the second one sold for more than the one I bought, including the airmail to Australia so I started to feel very happy. I'm starting to wonder just how many drums this guy has because I saw a third one listed. Still it was all legit as far as I can see.

I did get a second chance offer on a Schnedier Betavaron which I had ahd bid only $5 past the starting price. As there were four more being auctioned I simply bid on one of the others and got that at the starting price. Again, the "second chance" came through eBay messages so it was all legit.

[Capocheny]

In my experience if it is a genuine Second Chance Offer then the message will not only be sent to your email account but also to your messages when you sign in to the ebay site. If there is a message there then you should be fine to complete the transaction, I've done a couple of purchases through the Second Chance Offer system and not had a problem.
Obviously however if the message does not appear in your ebay messages inbox then the alarm bells start ringing and I'd probably contact the seller directly as suggested above.

Eric,

I fully concur with what Richard and Stompyq said... if the Second Chance Offer is legitimate the offer will also be in your ebay Messages box.

If it came directly through to your email address and it doesn't show up in your ebay in-box I, personally, wouldn't do the deal with the guy. IMHO, it's probably a scam.

You should also be able to contact the seller by sending him a message "through" ebay. This is what I'd probably do to try and confirm that the offer is genuine! :)

This is just my 2 cents worth!

Cheers

[Anupam]

Sometimes sellers who have multiple copies of an item try to sell them off without paying multiple listing fees using the second chance mechanism.

-A

[Brian Ellis]

"I recently bid on a JOBO 3005 tank and was outbid by two people, yet got a "second chance" offer."

I don't think that's unusual, it just means the first person declined the second chance so it moved down to you. I've done that as a seller.

[Alan Davenport]

I think a lot of these "second chance" offers are a way of scamming ebay out of their fees. By ending an auction without a sale, they only owe ebay the inital listing fees, and not a percentage of the final sale. Then they offer the item under the table and save themselves a bundle.

If you buy from someone this way, you also forfeit whatever buyers' protections ebay may offer for auction sales.

My feeling is, if the seller is unscrupulous enough to scam the company that advertised his junk, then he's probably looking to screw the buyer as well.

[Bjorn Nilsson]

I've got a couple of second chance offers too. The most obvious scam attempt was for a 110 mm lens which I had already received when the offer came.
Whenever this happens, don't hesitate to report the violation to Ebay.

[Brian Ellis]

I think a lot of these "second chance" offers are a way of scamming ebay out of their fees. By ending an auction without a sale, they only owe ebay the inital listing fees, and not a percentage of the final sale. Then they offer the item under the table and save themselves a bundle.

If you buy from someone this way, you also forfeit whatever buyers' protections ebay may offer for auction sales.

My feeling is, if the seller is unscrupulous enough to scam the company that advertised his junk, then he's probably looking to screw the buyer as well.

I must continue to be missing something. The "second chance" offer is made through ebay. It isn't an "under the table" thing and I don't see why buying through it would forgeit any ebay buyer's protection.

[Dave Parker]

If they are using the system correctly, they are still paying final fee's based on what the second chance offer is, the legitimate second chance is not a way to circumvent the fee's associated with the sale.

Dave

[Ole Tjugen]

I must continue to be missing something. The "second chance" offer is made through ebay. It isn't an "under the table" thing and I don't see why buying through it would forgeit any ebay buyer's protection.

It seems that lots of buyers have no idea how ebay really works from a seller's point of view.

Selling something on ebay is a healthy exercise - not only can one learn a bit about selling, but one can also clear some space for the next purchase. :)

Oletj - umpty-ump buys, One sale. :D

[evan clarke]

"A question for all of you more experienced ebay people? I bid on a darkroom item recently and received a "second chance" offer through ebay. The reason stated was that the original high bidder did not complete the transaction. I chose to ignore it at the time.

The item re-appeared and I bid on it again, the same amount I bid the first time, a fair price, based on previous completed items. The amount I bid is <$200. I left town for a day and returned to find a second "second chance" offer, for the same reason. The seller has over 1,000 sales with 100% positive feedback! Most of the recent items sold are for <$50 with a couple for more. When I looked at completed items just now, the item was listed as unsold with "reserve not met," as the reason."

Hi Eric,
It is a valid technique and rescues the auction for the seller when he is unsure of the proper reserve and just quite doen't make it. The only way you can get scammed ther is when they ask you to contact them outside of the ebay mail system. You can also use Paypal which offers some protection.. Is this an item I might want??HAHAHAHA..TTYL..Evan

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

Evan, Pay Pal offers no protection, the only thing they will help you with is if you dont receive the item. Other than that, for an item differently than advertised, a fake or a broke down POS you are on your own. I know because I got some fake items and when I reported it to Pay Pal they basically ignored me. Unfortunatelly for them I pay with Amex and Amex took the money from their account and gave it back to me... LOL...

[domenico Foschi]

I think a lot of these "second chance" offers are a way of scamming ebay out of their fees. By ending an auction without a sale, they only owe ebay the inital listing fees, and not a percentage of the final sale. Then they offer the item under the table and save themselves a bundle.

If you buy from someone this way, you also forfeit whatever buyers' protections ebay may offer for auction sales.

My feeling is, if the seller is unscrupulous enough to scam the company that advertised his junk, then he's probably looking to screw the buyer as well.

Sellers have no way to contact a bidder who lost the auction unless they already have his/her email address due to a prior sale, or through the second chance button, in which case you still won't be able to read the address.
I send second chances regularly, it is more convenient because I don't pay a listing fee, but I do pay the selling fee.
I don't get a 100% response, because I am sure some people think is a scam and they feel unprotected, but it can be profitable.

[evan clarke]

Evan, Pay Pal offers no protection, the only thing they will help you with is if you dont receive the item. Other than that, for an item differently than advertised, a fake or a broke down POS you are on your own. I know because I got some fake items and when I reported it to Pay Pal they basically ignored me. Unfortunatelly for them I pay with Amex and Amex took the money from their account and gave it back to me... LOL...

I didn't say much protection, but it will keep it from going to a highjacked account. HaHa, digital payment is no better than digital photography.. toungue in cheek!! How are you feeling??..Evan

[Eric Brody]

Thanks to all who replied. As many have said, this forum is a terrific resource; each of us may ask, and each may answer depending on the question.

Eric

[Jon Wilson]

A late addition, but still relevant. I agree the "Second Chance" offer through ebay is legitimate. I have used it a couple times; the most notable time was when a 9 1/4 inch f9 Red Dot Artar which had belonged to NASA and had the cells installed by Steve Grimes several years ago was offered to me due to the fact the high ebay bidder dropped out. It is an been an great buy. The lens was offered to me by the seller "mike" a fellow LFer who has articles on a couple of other LF sites. Just use common sense in examining the "Second Chance" and pay via paypal and you should be fine.. Jon