More info, questions answered
steve antonucci
>First- thanks for all the advice, consolation, and such in this time of grief.
More info about the auction- When I first came across it, I saw a very high ticket item with a very short description (about 8 words). I contacted the seller before bidding, to make sure that it wasn't a scam. Since the bidder had no Ebay history (and a rating of 0), I doubt that they even care about the "rules" or rating system Ebay employs.
Her claim of being a novice is most likely true. She set an open price of 50% of what she wanted, and no buy it now or reserve. Both of those things would have overcome the predicament she found herself in (a winning bid 40% lower than what she wanted it for).
I had planned on going to see the lathe with my truck to put a "down payment", and understand how to disassemble it to be moved. I would have probably done this over two days, and within a week. From a few pictures, it appeared to be "not impossible".
My main issue lies in the "ethics" of how she conducted herself after the auction had ended. I was certainly willing to go higher (and I had a bid that covered me for proxy bidding, since she ended the auction at 2AM EST). Instead of explaining to me that she had made a mistake with the listing, and give me another opportunity to buy it, she lied to me about what happened.
My only hope for her is that she is actually so stupid that she actually did donate it for a tax write-off. She will find out in April that a $6K write-off is not the same thing as $6000 (more like $1250-1500)
That's my story-
Steve
