Why You Don't Get Into A Bidding War - Episode 36,859

[bonanzadriver]

Out of curiosity I looked at the tin of penzance for sale there, 1 bid @ $55
Anyway, when reading the description I noticed this....
This is being offered under the rules of Ebay and by biding on this item the buyer acknowledges the following:

1. The value of the item is in the collectible packaging, not in the tobacco itself.

2. The tobacco within is not for consumption or use.

3. This collectible tobacco packaging is not be available at any retail outlet and the packaging has a a value that substantially exceeds the current retail price of that tobacco product in the package.

4. Buyer must be at least 21 years of age.

5. Both the buyer and the seller are following all applicable laws and shipping regulations for this transaction
Having never bought tobacco from them I'd often wondered how they got around any ATF rules.

 

[ssjones]

@bonanza - thats the tin I listed. I just copied the listing of the 8 oz bag. Reportedly, ads with this info aren't pulled. Of course the rules are a farce and Ebay seems to have no consistent idea of which tins are old and which are new.

 

[jmatt]

a got em right where ya wantem jmatt...

Rats!!! Cramped up in my sniping finger!
I'm sitting on 5 bags and 3 tins of Penzance in my cellar. I'm not in either the love it or bash it camps. It's a nice English tobacco. But I'm more of a Va/VaPer guy so I almost never touch it.
My 9 bags of Stonehaven on the other hand, I wouldn't sell at any reasonable price.

 

[bonanzadriver]

Thanks for the response SS.
jmatt, sorry for your loss. :wink:

 

[uncleblackie]

I can easily imagine the high bidder being a person to whom money isn't of much concern, had little interest in the tobacco itself, and was actually just enjoying the idea of keeping it out of the hands of the others.
But I take a grim view sometimes. I've also got Tiny Tim's "Tip Toe Thru' the Tulips With Me" in my head.

 

[toobfreak]

He is buying it up to hoard until the day he can sell it for $405.00 a bag.
No. Wait. That is what they are already paying in Europe now.

 

[mso489]

Some days I'm just happy to be a cheap old coot. Whatever my troubles may be, I won't be bidding on that.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Too- Since you are good at playing with PS, why not put in real water and waves, and play with the opacity?? Please!

 

[Snow Hill]

Ok

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Same seller has empty bag of Penzance.

 

[pipeman7]

the funniest part is...does anyone actually think these bidders are not members here haha

 

[brian64]

How about $86 for an empty foil bag? The description reads:
"Auctioning empty Collectible bag of Esoterica Stonehaven."

3 current bids at $86...unf*ckingbelievable. It's certainly proof that pipe smoking is entirely unrelated to IQ (imho).

 

[brian64]

Maybe someone plans to stuff it with RYO and re-auction it.

 

[wyfbane]

Bidding on an empty bag of current production tobacco is ludicrous...

 

[ashdigger]

Maybe it's just advertised as "empty" so the eBay censors don't spin up.

 

[Snow Hill]

Ok

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

An empty bag of Esoterica, but is it an empty bag of Stonehaven? Notice also $10 shipping charge. And it is a private auction.
I know the email I would send the winner if I were the seller:. "You won an empty bag of Stonehaven. Do you want to empty it yourself or let me do it?"

 

[balkisobrains]

My take on the empty bags is that it is probably a shill with multiple accounts, or a shill crew, attempting to establish a market for empty tins & bags.
Or perhaps the buyers know that they are receiving full items (through Reddit or something like that) and he is hiding that from Ebay. He's sold full bags and tins before as such, and is complaining that they pulled his auctions in the descriptions.
The private bidder status always stinks of shade and makes me think that someone is shilling in any case whenever I see that.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Since eBay no longer shows bidders ID's, only their feedback number, I can't think of any legit reason to run a private auction

 

[sablebrush52]

The eBay rules that are always quoted in these listings are not the same as they once were. A seller is required to show a photo of the empty interior of the tin because only empty tins can be legally sold on eBay. The whole "the value is in the packaging and not the contents" is immaterial because eBay USA now requires that there be NO contents.
Of course this "rules" business is, and has long been, bullshit. eBay USA doesn't allow the selling of tobacco from listings originating in the US. International sellers can sell tobacco on eBay as long as it isn't prohibited by the eBay marketplace that services the country form which the listing originates. And given that these are illegal sales in eBay's eyes, the buyer has zero recourse if they get scammed. eBay does a completely inept job of policing these listings, so people continue to sell vintage tobacco on eBay.