Interesting Seller Commentary Part 2

Nancy Drew Number 1-54 FIRST EDITION Collection

The starting bid was $50, and the Buy It Now price was $450. 

Question:  Hi im a owner of a major retail store i wanted to save you some lose in money those books you have in the condition there in are well worth a few $100 right around $2000 to be exact all you need is the right buyer if i were you i wouldnt sell them on ebay, lol sorry, but to take them some where else.

Answer:  wow i had no idea im not sure where i would sell it to i mean right now im willing to take my buy it now price and let some one else make some money to i guess unless you could hook me up

My first reaction...  How would anyone look at those particular books and think some of them are worth $2,000?  I spotted some original text books, but unless they are first picture covers, they are worth no more than $10 each.  I also noticed one of the books with all black print on the back cover in the second photo, but that book is also worth no more than around $10.

My second reaction...  I realized that the writing style of the person who asked the question and the writing style of the seller are identical.  Perhaps the seller used another ID to act as the informant and then posted the question and answer in his description. I favor this explanation.

The seller also wrote this in the description.

there is no reserve but remember i have the right not to sell but as long as the price is good im good im looking to get a few hundred which it what they are worth these are and can be very collect-able and to the right person are very valuable these book separately are sold  between 10-30 buck per book times that by 55 cuz i have two extra books thats 550 at the low and 1650 at the high so its your deal thanks and please feel free to look at my store and the other items i have  thanks

Did you follow that?  My concern is that the seller did not place a reserve on the lot and outright stated that the winning bid would not be honored if not high enough. 

Furthermore, the seller left a loophole so that he could charge whatever he wanted for postage.

shipping as is posted rates will be added as they are from your location it shouldnt be more that $25 but im not saying it is or is not going to be less than $25

The auction had a stated postage of $53.60.  The seller might be suggesting that approximately $25 will be added to that amount, but honestly, I don't know how to interpret the statement about postage.

All I know is that this particular lot sounded like trouble. I would have bid on the lot just because sometimes I get special printings when I buy lots like this one. I decided not to bother because I don't need any additional stress. I had a feeling this one would not have been an easy transaction. If the seller had just had a straightforward description, the lot would likely have closed at a higher amount than the opening bid price.