Another one got away

[1glove2many]

Anyone see the 1920's split finger with box.It started in regular auction format,had a couple of bids and inquiries but alas someone got to the seller and convinced them to change the listing to buy it now.This was a beautiful glove. A rather obscure manufacturer. VIM I believe.Probably made by Rawlings under a private label.Aggravating to say the least especially when there are already bids on an item and the seller obviously had no idea of the gloves worth. Check it out. Ebay item # 140301533496.

[vintagebrett]

It came up as buy it now on Saturday for $250 - I happened to be on the computer at the time so I purchased it. No, I didn't ask them to end it early, I was just in the right place at the right time. The seller contacted me and told me it would be mailed Tuesday. I just received a notice from them saying they decided not to sell and refunded my money.

What I think happened is that someone asked the person to end the auction for $250. They put the buy it now price on and before the person who wanted it could get it, I happened along and bought it. When I received the note today from the seller they said that they had changed their mind and would not be selling. I'm thinking the person who originally tried to end the auction did some behind the scenes dealing to get it. If that's the case then I hope that person is not a member of our community.

[Bravosin99]

We too were very upset about this auction. We have been after VIM gloves for some time now. Just one of those weird brands we took to early on.

I was so mad when I came home from a great day of finding things at my favorite antique malls to find this glove gone. I saw that Brett won the auction but knew that he had not asked to end the auction early. He, like we have in the past, found the glove before the person who asked for the Buy it Now could get to it. I was actually relieved when I found out he got the glove instead of the person who asked for the Buy it Now.

Brett I am sorry to hear about your situation but to be honest it does not surprise me. When we won the Mantle a few months ago the seller made us send him an extra $100 for the glove or he was going to refuse to send it. He explained to us that people from our forum had emailed him and told him we did not deserve the glove for that amount and they would pay him much more then we did. This was quite upsetting that people from our community went behind our backs but we decided to be the bigger people.

Oh well, I guess alls we can do it hope that maybe it will resurface.

[Old_Gloves_New]

Seriously, that is wrong on so many different levels. Why would anyone, especially a forum member, feel the need to stick their nose in someone else's business transaction???!! The only reason(s) would be for spite or jealousy and neither of those are acceptable excuses for boorishly bad, sneaky and unethical behavior. If someone had done that to me, I too would be pissed off beyond measure, I mean off the charts mad crazy. This kind of s**t really makes me sick. For as much time as I spend looking at gloves, hours and hours looking for deals on eBay, estate sales, yard sales etc., it's unthinkable for me to believe that someone else would blow up the sale on a whim by emailing the seller. And a fellow forum member to boot. What the heck ever happened to personal integrity and common courtesy? Did that also go out the window when taking responsibility for one's own actions became a foreign concept? Unbelievable!

O_G_N

[vintagebrett]

Just for the record, I didn't say it was a forum member - I said I hope that person is not a member of our community. Plus, it all speculation at this point anyway.

I did write a note making my displeasure known to the seller and did not hear back. If I hear anything further I will share with the community

[Old_Gloves_New]

Brett,
Okay mea culpa, I misunderstood your original post. I too hope that the person in question is/was not a forum member. Still, I stand by my original point that an uninvited third party should avoid intervening and/or blowing up a sale by sticking his (or her) nose into the business of another. I still don't know what would motivate a person to do that. As far as the rest of my fellow VBGF members, I humbly apologize for my failure to fully understand the original post and I'm truly sorry if I offended anyone with my response.

Very best regards to all, O_G_N

[fuzzydogg22]

O_G_N, i thought you were referring to the forum member who emailed the seller of Bravosin's Mantle on ebay. if so i agree with you 100%. It is wrong for someone to become involved in another person's business; maybe the only solution to problems like these is not discussing our great buys or finds until we actually receive the gloves! Bravosin, its a shame you were extorted like that, you did still end up getting the glove, right?

[Bravosin99]

Fuzzy-

Yes we still ended up with the glove, but it wasn't as enjoyable getting it as it would have been if we wouldn't have had to deal with all the crap we did to get it. Turns out a few select modern guys didn't like the fact that this rare of a glove landed in the hands of a vintage guy for such a good deal. I guess only certain people are entitled to good deals on rare gloves

[GloveCrazy]

Brett, I think you should file a dispute with ebay. Neither party are supposed to be able to back out of a BIN. I do appreciate that you weren't the one who tried to get them to end it early, but the seller can't change their mind once the auction ends.

I had heard about Josh's situation at the time and it really bothered/bothers me. The person -- on their own -- issued a BIN, Josh mentioned it on the forum, and at least two forum members contacted them and offered them more money. All I can say is I hope they get Karma'd.

[vintagebrett]

I can't file a dispute because not enough time has lapsed but I did speak with someone at eBay via live chat and they told me this is against eBay policy (selling and then not following through) and told me to contact the Trust Department to report the seller. I have done this and will let you know what happens.

[ebbets55]

This whole thing pisses me off so much on so many different levels. I have been very vocal about hating the fact that people get sellers to end auctions early. I feel like I'm the only guy on the team not using steroids. I feel so disadvantaged sometimes. I watch a ton of gloves because I want/need to be in tune to what gloves go for. I also place the majority of my bids by snipe so I don't have to watch the end of the auction. Can't be around the computer 24/7.

I was watching this one because it's one of two known Vims in the box and four overall. Turns out someone got the seller to end it early and Brett was in the right place at the right time. I so wish this would happen to me one time. I would have done exactly what Brett did and snatched it up quickly. Then, as if it wasn't bad enough that someone got the guy to end it early, someone else got to the seller and apparently told him not to sell it. Who knows exactly what happened. What that second guy did was way worse - as if two wrongs make a right. That's pretty petty.

I admit, I did place a parting shot one time but won't do it again. I had a snipe placed on an off-brand 20's 3-finger (what I collect) and the seller ended it early. I was so mad that I e-mailed the seller and said, "Was there an error in the listing and were you going to relist it? If not, I hope you didn't sell it for under $1,000 because that's what my snipe was placed for." Never heard anything about any fallout. I just wanted to nail the guy who got him to end it early but I was wrong for doing so.

One last thing. Forum sellers, I would encourage you to "out" the person who asks you to end an auction early. Post his name, question and your response right down in your listing so we can all see it. I watch a ton of gloves. If I keep seeing this happen, I have half a mind to enlist every friend and family member to contact any seller with a decent glove to see if he'll end it early. Maybe then the playing field will be leveled and that guy can see how it feels. Then who cares if two wrongs don't make a right. I sure hope it doesn't come to this. No glove is worth selling your soul.

JD

[ebbets55]

After calming down from my fit of rage (sorry guys). I went to check the stuff I was watching on eBay. What do you know.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0374003170

By the way, I forgot to mention that I'm sorry that happened to you Brett. That really stinks. You finally catch a break and then Bam! Somebody blows it for you.

JD

[Centerfield]

I make it a point to contact the seller immediately when seeing a glove of interest and explaining to them the likelihood of potential interest and that it would be a mistake of monumental proportions to end the auction early. This seems to have helped with the listings continuing to fruition. Perhaps if a seller gets multiple notes like this from various people, they would be less inclined to end their auction and sell to these “bottom feeders”.

On a separate note, I’ve truly become disgusted with eBay in general, forcing us to use Pay Pal is the last straw with me. I understand that new finds will likely materialize there, but we all should begin to use the buy/sell portion of this forum for the majority of collector-to-collector transactions. The only problem I see with that is that the random person who happens to be online when something is listed for sale, gets it. An auction feature on this site would be great, but probably not feasible. So, this is the idea I came up with…

What are your thoughts about a separate section of the forum for closed bid auctions? It would work something like this; a seller would post a photo, description, email address and auction end time and interested buyers send one email with their highest bid. After the set time has expired, say five or seven days, the seller sells the glove to the highest bidder or decides to retain it (if there is a serious lack of interest).

Besides not having to deal with eBay any longer for gloves moving within the hobby, we’ll all save on the transaction fees. As for a feedback system, simply post any problems that arise and let the group determine the outcome (or the moderator). If something goes seriously wrong with a transaction, the person causing the problem will be known to the community for all to be aware for future dealings. The only negative, I see, is that since it is a blind format, the auction game changes. You are forced to think about your bid instead of sniping and paying a minimal amount over the next highest bidder. Furthermore, it would be left up to the two involved in the transaction whether to reveal the ending price to the rest of us.

Any thoughts?

[BigD-Moonlight]

This subject is definitely one of the most frustrating elements of buying on Ebay. It seems that every time something special shows up there is an e-mail asking the seller for a BIN price. I was watching the VIM glove with box also, and was very disappointed to see it ended early.
The good news is that most sellers now will not end early. I think Centerfield's suggestion of alerting the seller of the mistake that ending the sale early would be. A diligent effort by us buyers would probably take care of the large majority of the accepting a BIN in the middle of a normal auction problem.
As to having an auction type sale from this forum, I would be in favor only if it was very simple and fair. I personally like the ebay auction process with just a few problems such as a seller ending an auction early or the occasional (rare in my opinion) unprofessional seller.

Very positives in our niche hobby - this foum administered by Brett, JD's site and Joe's diligence with all of the informational stuff. Here is a tip of the hat to you guys.

[vintagebrett]

Here is the latest message I have received from the seller:

"My husband was mad because we got a bunch of offers up up to $500 and couldn't catch the buy it now offer to end the auction in time. Again, sorry for your inconvience."

Yeah, you add a buy it now even though it was an auction, I buy it and pay, you say it's shipping, you print the shipping label (I got the receipt from paypal) and you say you didn't have time to end it. Sure.

I have filed a complaint with eBay and they have actually been helpful so far. I'll update as I find out more.