Ebay question- urgent

[EbayNovicing]

Can you help? I've had a higher offer on ebay which I want to accept before the listing ends. I've only had one bid and the buyer wants me to accept their higher offer if I close the sale. I can't change it to buy it now though as their bid is already there.

As it's an item that needs collecting and I want cash for it, what can I do? Do I ask them to bid at the agreed price and then take the item off the site?

I've ebayed for ages but never had this scenario.

Just to clarify- the bid that is in and the higher offer are the same person. It would suit us both to end the listing early so the item can be collected.

if your happy with their offer what i have done in this situation is message them say your happy with their offer and if they come to collect and pay cash you will end the listing while they are there, and end the listing as item not available that way you get the money you want and they get their item, and by leaving the listing live till they come you cut out someone who is not going to turn up

TBH, if the buyer came and paid a mutually agreeable amount of cash well before the end of the auction, I'd just end the auction and say the item is no longer available for sale.

As long as you don't make a habit of it, I wouldn't lose sleep over diddling eBay out of their FVFs as they've royally screwed over small sellers and make enough profit anyway.

thanks. That's helpful.

what happens though if I leave it live as Barbara says and there is another offer before they arrive to collect it?

I assume I can still end it even with a bid from someone else on there? (And my reasoning would be a neighbour not on ebay bought it...)

If the bid on it is the same person putting the offer in then I would end the listing. No harm done.

yes you can still,end with another persons bid and if that happens and they contact you just say your neighbour came round and bought it off you so its not available now

I am under impression that once listed on Ebay, Ebay officially doesn't let you sell elsewhere, but they almost never have evidence to pursue for damages on that.

Difficult to end listings in the last 12 hours before formal finish, I think, maybe can cancel all bids and then finish, though?
See link: www.ebay.co.uk/pages/help/sell/end_early.html

From that page, OP can choose 'Sell to highest bidder' to do everything above board:

"You can't end a listing less than 12 hours before the end of the listing if the item has a winning bid:

You may cancel bids, but not end the item unless you are selling the item to the high bidder . To do this, go to the End My Listing Early form and select "Sell to the high bidder".

You can't add to or change the item description.

If the item becomes unavailable during the last 12 hours of the auction (for example, you break it) you must contact the high bidder or buyer and explain what happened. You can get a Final Value Fee Credit if you and the buyer [both] confirm you mutually agreed to withdraw from the purchase."