e-bay auction

[bigmacc]

I won an auction on e-bay an NAD tuner for $31 a very low price l actually put in a bid didn't think l would win. The purpose of the tuner would be to match it up with the NAD 3020 l have perhaps a bedroom system.

The reserve price was not meet so the seller of course dosen't have to sell or l quess l buy. Question do l assume the auction is over with no result because the reserve wasn't reached;do l contact the seller to see if they are still interested, do they contact me what happens now?

[angela]

You can always ask. You never know. What's the worst that can happen? They say "no". Go for it and ask.

[grumpy]

Mac

Most Likely Its over. When My reserves are not met I usually never contact the bidder unless they were very close to the reserve. Still wouldnt it be cool if you could pick it up dirt cheap :D

[ckelly]

I'd email the guy, there's nothing to lose - you guys might settle for a price outside ebay that could make you both happy.

Chris

[angela]

I have done what Chris suggests before (make a deal outside of the auction) but ONLY with a seller that I can trust. If you do the deal "outside" of eBay, you have no recourse if they hose you. Sometimes COD is useful if the seller does not have a lot of feedback yet.

[Don]

I think on many ebay auctions that don't meet the reserve there is an icon and link near the top of the auction page that says something to the effect of "email bidder and make a private offer" I'd try it! Many times I'd rather sell something for a few dollars below my reserve than relist it again.

[Barry Rogoff]

Making a private offer is against eBay rules and can land you in deep sneakers if the seller reports it. In similar situations, I make an offer asking the seller to relist the item with a specific buy-it-now price and to give me the item number as soon as the auction starts. It works well and doesn't violate any rules.

However, you don't want to waste the seller's time by making an insulting offer. Try searching for NAD tuner in completed items and get an idea of what the item is actually worth. If that doesn't work, try Andale (http://www.andale.com). You get one free lookup, which may be all that you need.

[Fisherdude]

I always email the seller if I was the high bidder and the reserve wasn't met. I simply ask what he'll take for it. The fact that I was the high bidder shows that at least I'm really interested, and not just bottom fishing. The usual reply is something like "The reserve was XXX, you can have it for that", or else he'll give me a slightly lower price.

I've also emailed sellers if a reserve wasn't met on an auction I was watching but didn't bid on. I usually get a reply.

It's always worth a try if you're interested in the item.