Double-listing on eBay - is it permitted?

Posts

24,613

Likes

54,656

Dan S

·Oct 3, 2019

Something I'm seeing fairly often on eBay is the same watch in more than one listing. Most frequently I see it with watches from Japan. Obviously, it seems like it could be evidence of a scam, but I wonder if there is some other explanation.

Here is an example:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Seiko-Dive...680641&hash=item341507886f:g:j-EAAOSwsFJdlbgD
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SEIKO-6105...327754?hash=item4b6bfd93ca:g:OLoAAOSw3nNdkzrX

 

This website may earn commission from Ebay sales.

Posts

1,542

Likes

3,354

Engee

·Oct 3, 2019

Two different sellers. In one of the listings the condition is described as good, the other fair, with a warning about it being not working or slightly damaged.

I wonder if the owner has given it to two separate dealers for commission sale?

 

Posts

24,613

Likes

54,656

Dan S

·Oct 3, 2019

I noticed that it was being sold from two different accounts, but the photos are the same, and I suspected that it was either a scam, or the same seller might have multiple accounts. Just seems sketchy to me. I reported it, but it actually didn't fit into a standard category. To report a duplicate listing, the item numbers are required to correspond to the same seller.

Edited: Oct 3, 2019

 

Posts

13,298

Likes

23,104

Davidt

·Oct 3, 2019

This seems to happen fairly frequently. I assumed it was incompetent sellers listing twice by mistake but maybe I’m being naive.

 

Posts

2,260

Likes

11,390

Lonestar

·Oct 3, 2019

Or someone selling the exact same watch and too lazy to snap his/her own pics...

Edit: hardly applicable to vintage watches, actually. Silly me.

 

Posts

24,613

Likes

54,656

Dan S

·Oct 3, 2019

Lonestar

Or someone selling the exact same watch and too lazy to snap his/her own pics...

That would be really bad, since it's a vintage watch with condition issues.

 

Posts

2,260

Likes

11,390

Lonestar

·Oct 3, 2019

Yes, absolutely, didn't edit quick enough.

 

Posts

1,171

Likes

6,083

impalla62ss

·Oct 3, 2019

I have seen it quite often. I get a feeling that some unscrupulous sellers do it to pick the highest auction price, and cancel the sale on the lower one.

 

Posts

24,613

Likes

54,656

Dan S

·Oct 3, 2019

impalla62ss

I have seen it quite often. I get a feeling that some unscrupulous sellers do it to pick the highest auction price, and cancel the sale on the lower one.

That would also be REALLY bad. In the case I posted, they are BIN listings.

 

Posts

2,260

Likes

11,390

Lonestar

·Oct 3, 2019

Dan S

That would also be REALLY bad. In the case I posted, they are BIN listings.

I think there's only one way to know what's happening: BIN both and let us know😁

 

Posts

5,076

Likes

15,700

DaveK

·Oct 3, 2019

There is another thread here (I can’t find it) talking about this. I think the prevailing theory was that (1) scammers and (2) eBay sellers are better able to cancel transactions now so some are running two auctions for the same item, one as an auction, and one as auction with a BIN option. The goal being to test what the market will bear. Something like that...

 

Posts

24,613

Likes

54,656

Dan S

·Oct 3, 2019

DaveK

There is another thread here (I can’t find it) talking about this. I think the prevailing theory was that (1) scammers and (2) eBay sellers are better able to cancel transactions now so some are running two auctions for the same item, one as an auction, and one as auction with a BIN option. The goal being to test what the market will bear. Something like that...

I have definitely noticed that practice as well. Although now there are also ways to run an auction that can be ended by a BIN. In fact, I think I have been given a “make an offer” option when messaging with a potential buyer during an auction.

 

Posts

390

Likes

677

DeepBlue

·Oct 3, 2019

No it is not allowed.

I understand why sellers do it though. Stuff you put on ebay.co.uk for example will not always show up on ebay.com and vice versa.

So you have a wider audience if you put it on multiple ebay sites. If that is the case here ofcourse. I do not know where the sellers originally listed it.

 

Posts

148

Likes

160

mrs_LA

·Oct 4, 2019

Lonestar

Or someone selling the exact same watch and too lazy to snap his/her own pics...

Edit: hardly applicable to vintage watches, actually. Silly me.

I know eBay has an option that allows you to "copy" a listing... everything down to the description and the details of the listing. This might be the case, but I don't know how or why it would apply to watches that have different conditions.

 

Posts

580

Likes

1,829

TDBK

·Oct 5, 2019

I believe that what's going on here is arbitrage. I while ago I found a Seiko 6138 Kakume on Yahoo Japan. Noticing that the same watch, same photos, was listed on eBay US with a somewhat higher buy it now price, I submitted an offer to the eBay seller saying that I would be willing to buy from them and avoid Buyee's fees (the bidding intermediary for Yahoo Japan) if they came closer on the price, with no reply. I ended up buying the watch from YJ via Buyee and later realized the eBay seller doesn't actually have the watch: they just copy listings from Japan to US eBay with a mark-up and only buy the watch on YJ if it sells on eBay. Actually a service for buyers who don't know about YJ or how to shop there.

I'm guessing your multiple listings may be something like this, just with more players.

 

Posts

148

Likes

160

mrs_LA

·Oct 6, 2019

TDBK

I believe that what's going on here is arbitrage. I while ago I found a Seiko 6138 Kakume on Yahoo Japan. Noticing that the same watch, same photos, was listed on eBay US with a somewhat higher buy it now price, I submitted an offer to the eBay seller saying that I would be willing to buy from them and avoid Buyee's fees (the bidding intermediary for Yahoo Japan) if they came closer on the price, with no reply. I ended up buying the watch from YJ via Buyee and later realized the eBay seller doesn't actually have the watch: they just copy listings from Japan to US eBay with a mark-up and only buy the watch on YJ if it sells on eBay. Actually a service for buyers who don't know about YJ or how to shop there.

I'm guessing your multiple listings may be something like this, just with more players.

Good insight to add and this is pretty common on marketplaces like amazon. It’s called drop shipping.