Coin Dealer Ethics - Auction Prices Follow-up

Last week, we took a look at an ethical scenario where a coin dealer was faced with a situation where an eBay auction closed at a very low price because of an Internet outage. The dealer received a higher offer after the auction closed, from someone who had intended to bid but couldn't reach the auction site. Should the dealer sell to the high bidder, cancel all bids and start over, or take the highest offer he got following the auction? (The original scenario is explained in detail on this page about ethics and coin auction prices.)

The readers who responded were pretty much in agreement that the coin dealer was bound to sell the coin to the highest bidder at the closing price, even if it was less than the coin was worth. This opinion more or less summed up the majority view:

The dealer was attempting to have his cake and eat it too. He wanted to avoid higher listing fees by not placing a reserve or starting the bidding at a level commensurate with the value of the coin, and count on bidders’ recognition of the variety, resulting in a high closing bid. He knew what he had and was careless in his listing choices. Since the auction was valid and all played by the rules, the seller needs to do likewise. --Carl Hodges

Another viewpoint added the legal considerations to the mix:

As a long time eBay buyer and seller, I have to agree with [a previous comment]. The seller chose to have a no reserve auction and he should honor his commitment. I would like to add that it is not just a moral issue. Both parties are legally bound as well. The seller should be glad it was not a $1000 coin. --Ted

One person expressed a strong anti-eBay view that I believe is referring to the eBay marketplace as a whole, rather than eBay itself...

We all know what a bunch of scammers and cut-throat liars E-Bay is………..so why even use them. They will [rip you off] you sooner or later. --George

Spencer brought up the very good point that many eBay sellers don't just rely on the auction closing prices alone for their income:

Speaking of ‘not mentioned’ — no one brought up the fact that many sellers (and I DO mean ‘MANY’), cushion their low starting bids with hefty shipping fees.

How many ways have I seen sellers set their auction’s opening bid at 99-cents and then pair it with a $20 S+H fee? …..let me count the ways… --Spencer

Charging higher than necessary shipping and handling fees is a violation of eBay's listing policies, and although eBay doesn't make it easy to do, you can (and should) report excessive shipping fees. There is a link at the bottom of every auction page that says, "Report this item." It will take you three or four more clicks to make the report, so don't give up until you get the message that says your report has been emailed to eBay. But what is excessive shipping? I remember not buying a lot from an online coin dealer once because I was put off by the $35 shipping charge. However, the charge turned out to be perfectly legitimate because it included insurance and Priority shipping for a box of old rolls of coins valued at $2,000. The insurance alone was $22.60 plus the coins were heavy. Just because a shipping charge seems high doesn't mean it isn't fair, but I do agree with Spencer that a lot of sellers are charging abusively high shipping fees.