Competitor just purchased from me!!

[vokonta]

Any advise on this please...
Something strange just happened.
On one of my stealth account..barely 4 wks ago, a competitor who clearly sells same item has just purchased from me.
So, what exactly is their intention? Receive item and then make a complaint that it is f*ke etc.?
I am worried cos i see no valid reason why they should buy from me.
Competitor sells for £15 while i sell for £14, obviously so as to build up feedback and capture more sales.
Just wondering what action i should take. e.g. contact them nicely to enquire as to their motive; send item as normal cos it is legit and okay; or tell them item no longer available and do a refund

[rcdrivertim]

This is a slippery slope that I'm sure many on here will have different opinions...Since he now has the ability to leave feedback or file a complaint, I would just treat it as a normal sale...Be overly nice and maybe send a thank you card...If you kill him with kindness maybe he will act differently if he had bad intentions...Do not contact him and ask his intentions...If you say out of stock you risk poor feedback ALTHOUGH that kind of feedback is not to bad...Since he already has your info, you tell him out of stock and he waits until it is back in and buys again IF he has bad intentions...

Just an opinion...

[pod]

Scumbag sellers do this all the time. I guarantee he is up to no good.

Sadly with the way ebay is so elegantly setup, there is nothing you can do if he pulls negative feedback BS.

What I would do.
Ship it and wait it out. Its not a huge amount.
Maybe, but not likely, they are curious only and will do no harm. But I seriously doubt it

Keep us posted.

[forummember]

I've just encountered this problem to.

Weird thing is they bought if from the account they sell with. I was offering the items really cheap, so maybe they bought it to make a profit on.

Also, last night an eBayer bought an item off one of my accounts, then a few hours later, from another. Both items are the same, although the listing, picture, price and description are different. Really strange, I'm going be really annoyed if he leaves a negative or anything.

[vokonta]

Well, i shall ship and see what happens.
I really dont know what they are up.
There is a slight possibility they could be genuine..maybe low in stock and looking to beef up so as to ship to their own customers in the waiting cos this item comes from china and they could be expecting their consigment; maybe , maybe, maybe....oh dear me.
I really wish no nasty intentions in the pot

[oompaloompa]

the refund scenario could still result in a neg, if thats what he always intended

they may be wanting your return details or to say its f ake, like you say.....

I cant see any good coming of this purchase, sorry to say.

but on balance, the out of stock and block bids, is better way

although you make good point about dropshipper in a hurry - maybe you could ask him, say you noticed he sells same goods, so he knows you are on to him if he trys anything

You nor us have a crystal ball! but hope it works out....update us

[slapped]

What I Have done in Similar Situations in the Past was to Go Out and get THE LEGIT article, Document EVERYTHING, PHoto's that Include the Bill of Sale as well as a Newspaper to Verify the Date, Tracking, The Whole thing, Then ship them the Real Thing, There is NOT Much that they can Do About it, And even thought it will cost a bit, Your peace of mind Has to Be worth it, as well as your account.

[pod]

haha slapped, that's awesome.

[rcdrivertim]

Originally Posted by slapped

What I Have done in Similar Situations in the Past was to Go Out and get THE LEGIT article, Document EVERYTHING, PHoto's that Include the Bill of Sale as well as a Newspaper to Verify the Date, Tracking, The Whole thing, Then ship them the Real Thing, There is NOT Much that they can Do About it, And even thought it will cost a bit, Your peace of mind Has to Be worth it, as well as your account.

Sounds like a good idea from slapped...You can also call him, as mentioned by oompa, and ask him if he is low in inventory AND if you could buy from him in a pinch...Heck, maybe you make a friend/ally...Maybe wishful thinking but, ya never know...

[forummember]

I sent a message to a competitor who bought from me saying that I noticed they sell similar goods and if they want I can offer wholesale. No reply though.

[coremaster]

I know this sounds crazy but some of the sellers on there will buy something from you and have you dropship it. I have had this happen 3 times from other sellers that sell for the most part some of the same things I do but some times they get a higher price and will buy from you cheaper and resell. It does work and you can make money this way not that I am saying I am doing this or anything.

[vokonta]

To update all:
I have had a good exchange of mail with this competitor and i am convinced that their original intention was not genuine after reading between lines. Our exchange was good and nice. I enquired as to why buy from me when you have listed same item in bulk, though i stated i am pleased and honoured by their custom. I said it was strange and that i was confused. They replied, after guess what? they suddenly removed all their listing for this particular item!! (6 listings in total of varied quantity). They replied that they were simply checking out other sellers to ensure product is same as theirs so they might consider buying in future. They stated that mine was 'so cheap' (£14 compared to £15...not so cheap in my opinion) hence they wanted to check if it was real. They went on to say they were checking other sellers as well for the same purpose!!! (who gave this seller the right to do this if not pure envy, spite and bitterness over others).
This possibly explains why they quickly ended their listing so anyother similar seller they buy from wouldnt raise suspicion.
The item is a private listing, hence people can't easily tell that this seller has being selling same item if he/she no longer displays any active listing cos existing feedback wont show item but simply state 'private item

[forummember]

Sound pretty strange. Have they left you feedback? Watch what they do on all known accounts for the new month.

[slapped]

Originally Posted by vokonta

To update all:
I have had a good exchange of mail with this competitor and i am convinced that their original intention was not genuine after reading between lines. Our exchange was good and nice. I enquired as to why buy from me when you have listed same item in bulk, though i stated i am pleased and honoured by their custom. I said it was strange and that i was confused. They replied, after guess what? they suddenly removed all their listing for this particular item!! (6 listings in total of varied quantity). They replied that they were simply checking out other sellers to ensure product is same as theirs so they might consider buying in future. They stated that mine was 'so cheap' (£14 compared to £15...not so cheap in my opinion) hence they wanted to check if it was real. They went on to say they were checking other sellers as well for the same purpose!!! (who gave this seller the right to do this if not pure envy, spite and bitterness over others).
This possibly explains why they quickly ended their listing so anyother similar seller they buy from wouldnt raise suspicion.
The item is a private listing, hence people can't easily tell that this seller is same item if he/she no longer displays it

Now that you KNOW this, Do EXACTLY as I suggested in Post #7 above, and send them the REAL Article, and Get them OUT of your Life..

[pod]

Originally Posted by vokonta

they wanted to check if it was real.

Well there is one shining light here to your benefit. The guy is an idiot. To do this, from his seller account, while selling same item, also buying from other sellers and admitting it all, tells me you are not dealing with an evil genius mastermind here....

[rsot]

Don't forget to consider blocking bidder option too for protection sake so he doesn't keep up 'pestering'