So I've been following a UK based guitar builder on Instagram for a while. I've liked his stuff for a while now but not wanting to waste anyones time, I've admired from afar, just like posts etc. So last night, a photo is posted of a rather nice guitar that turns out this guy is eBaying, so I follow the link and low and behold, it's up for £250 with a few bids and less than 24 hours to go. Fast forward today and near the auction end time, I slam in my max bid and wait for the minutes to tick by and result, I win with my £352 bid. Less than 10 mins later, the auction is cancelled and said item is relisted with a starting bid of £600 followed by a message saying:
"Hi,
Sorry to have cancelled the transaction for the (guitar) I was expecting to get more for it and simply cannot take so little for it when it cost me almost double that to make it.
The guitar has been relisted at a higher price - reflecting the minimum I can take for it - if you're still interested at all?
Kind regards,
Guitar makers name here."
What grips me the most is there was no reserve or buy it now to stopping me bidding ? The original Instagram post has now been removed and he's saying it back up for sale even though it sold.
Comments
If the vendor put a guitar that cost him over six hundred quid to construct on sale for half that figure, he is a tit.
Worth complaining to ebay about though - the seller is not allowed to do that.
R.
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
Not immediately. In any event, that might not bring the desired result.
Option 1 - Polite message to vendor, inviting him to play by the rules and advising him of your intention to open a dispute.
Option 2 - Just go straight to eBay and open a dispute.
I'm gutted because his guitars look amazing..
And I have unfollowed them on Instagram now heh
The whole auction thing on Ebay adds this weird gamification element so you're left feeling he's "cheated you" out of something you "won".
Obviously if he carries on in this fashion repeatedly he'll earn a reputation for it.
600 still seems fairly decent for a handbuilt in the UK instrument though I can't actually speak to the quality of these having never seen one in person.