One that got away on eBay recently

[kiwipaul]

Vintage Art Deco Estate J E Caldwell Platinum Diamond Clasp Pearl Necklace

I was stalking these on eBay, pretty bad listing although he did have the words "Natural Pearls" in the listing.

They came up on one of my Art Nouveau searches, listed at $400 no reserve.

3 mins before auction end, with no bids, just as I was about to start bidding, he pulled them.

A couple of hours later he re-listed them at $650 Buy Now, and someone instantly bought them, pre-arranged no doubt.
A bargain I believe, I hope it was someone here got them!

I'm kicking myself for not putting in a token bid early on to express interest.
However like most "one that got away" stories it could have gone to a bidding war for thousands and I would have still missed out.

 

[GemGeek]

I have a friend who sells a lot on eBay and she says that buyers make overtures for behind-the-scenes deals all the time and she often does well with them. Those pearls are so lovely - it breaks the heart!

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

Sometimes it doesn't matter if you do bid. I have had auctions canceled with me as the high bidder, then they relist.

 

[FrenchPearl]

The same thing happened to me that month ! A beautiful pearl necklace was on "buy it now " at a high price, then the vendor put it for auction starting at $100 with 7 days to go. I worked late in the night doing bench mark price research and calculating what was my highest price... And then went to bed firmly decided to bid the next day.
Of course the next morning, the necklace listing had disappeared, and i found it in the completed listed as sold. I contacted the seller, but someone had made an offer and it was gone.
I kicked myself for not having bid and show my interest.... It ruined my week ! So i really feel for you...
My friends also told me that sometimes listings got cancelled even if there are bids, but still... I think it's less likely to happen.

On my side, I took the lesson, and i've now decided to be more decisive and have a better balance of doing my research and taking somme risks ... I do a bid, and then a snipe with my highest price . ( i determine it with the threshold of "how would i feel if the necklace go away for $10 more?" If i' m ok with it, then this is my ceiling price)

I just received a necklace where i applied the learnings (will post soon about it) and although it's not exactely as described, i'm very glad i got it and consider it as part of my education in pearls ;-)

Looking forward what will be your next purchase with whatever learning you got from your experience. (In the mean time, it sucks !)

Warm Regards

Sophie

 

[mausketeer]

Does it show my na?vet? that I am shocked at some of these practices? Lol. It has honestly never occurred to me to make an offer on an auction that didn't already HAVE a best offer option. I DO snipe though, wouldn't win anything if I didn't - good to know about putting in a token bid first though!