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Subject: 
Re: When is "Not an Auction" really an auction?
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.market.theory
Date: 
Thu, 2 Dec 1999 13:40:57 GMT
Viewed: 
319 times
  
In lugnet.market.theory, Steve Martin writes:
In lugnet.market.theory, Derick Bulkley writes:
Be warned: serious ranting below.

I'm awfully tired of notices posted to marketplace.buy-sell-trade, stating
something like:


"big Lego for sale..  ...this is NOT an auction...  ...highest offer received
after..." etc.


This isn't an auction? It sure is the heck isn't a sale for pete's sake!

In fact, the American Heritage Dictionary defines an auction as follows:

auc·tion (ôkshn) n.
A public sale in which property or items of merchandise are sold to the
highest bidder.



Actually, I just had a even screwier variation on this.  I had an email
solicitation that follows (minus identifying details):

My name is Chris. I have set 4555 Frieght Loading Station and 4537 Twin Tank
Transporter, due to finances I have to sell them. If you are interested, the
sets is sealed in the box and I can send you a picture if you would like.  I
have an ebay account, if you want to look at it, to give you a glance at my
character,  <email address deleted to protect the guilty> it is the same as my
email address.  I would like $80.00 for the 4555 and $70.00 for the 4537 and I
will pay for shipping in the US.  If interested in ether set please email
back, if not just delete this message and look for my other lego auctions that
I will be having soon on ebay. Or if interested I have other lego sets for
sale.

Thank you for your time Chris

After replying that I was interested and receiving confirmation and where to
send the check, but before I could actually send the check, I then got this
email:


------Original Message------
From: "Chris" <email address deleted to protect the guilty>
To: Steve Martin<martinsa@mail.com>
Sent: December 2, 1999 12:09:05 AM GMT
Subject: Re: Lego 4555 and 4537


Steve

I have had four other offers for the set, so I'm going to sell it to the
highest bidder.

If you are interested for maybe $95  I will probably  sell it to the first
email.

Thanks for your time,  Chris


To which I then replied:


Chris,
This is a pretty crappy way to behave.  If you are going to run an auction,
run it as an auction.  Don't send out individual emails to people saying that
you will sell them a certain set for a given price then backout.  Feels a lot
like a store doing a bait and switch.

Steve


So, was I over reacting or is this really bad manners on his part?  I must
admit I'm pretty pissed about the whole thing.

Steve Martin

I think your reaction was entirely justified. But being one of only a few
Chris' active on LUGNET and eBay I resent the potential bad publicity you have
given to anyone named Chris and any doubts you may have put in the mind of
anyone dealing with a Chris. I want to make it VERY clear that this was nothing
to do with me, and as I hope everybody who has had dealings with me will verify
- this is not the way I behave. I think my eBay feedback (cwdee) supports this.

Chris Dee



Message has 4 Replies:
  Re: When is "Not an Auction" really an auction?
 
(...) nothing (...) verify (...) this. (...) I just wanted to back up Chris Dee's assertion that it wasn't him. I just used the person's first name so he would know (actually, I guess it could be a she) that it was him when he read it. But I didn't (...) (25 years ago, 2-Dec-99, to lugnet.market.theory)
  Re: When is "Not an Auction" really an auction?
 
(...) Agreed: Newbies take note, Chris is one of the good guys. If there were any tendency to not stick to deals, I would tend to say it shades in the "well I can't charge you that much after all, so let me do some discounting" direction... (25 years ago, 2-Dec-99, to lugnet.market.theory)
  Re: When is "Not an Auction" really an auction?
 
(...) nothing (...) verify (...) this. (...) I will vouch for Chris. We had a deal completely outside of any sanctioned forum and he not only sent the items, he actually waited until I could afford the piece. That is class and a fine example of how (...) (25 years ago, 2-Dec-99, to lugnet.market.theory)
  Re: When is "Not an Auction" really an auction?
 
(...) nothing (...) verify (...) this. (...) It wasn't me either! Chris L. (25 years ago, 2-Dec-99, to lugnet.market.theory)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: When is "Not an Auction" really an auction?
 
(...) Actually, I just had a even screwier variation on this. I had an email solicitation that follows (minus identifying details): My name is Chris. I have set 4555 Frieght Loading Station and 4537 Twin Tank Transporter, due to finances I have to (...) (25 years ago, 2-Dec-99, to lugnet.market.theory)

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