Friends have told me  eBay's "Last One." "Last Item Available." "Almost Gone." Lie?  To sell more? I've been told "Old sellers trick"

I'm not much of an internet shopper but my wife will get something if I want it. I have seen that a lot. I'd bet the farm that 99% of the time it's a trick. 

On 3/2/2025 at 7:39 AM, Skipper Duke said:

Friends have told me  eBay's "Last One." "Last Item Available." "Almost Gone." Lie?  To sell more? I've been told "Old sellers trick"

Of course. That's been a sales trick forever. But it depends on the product. If a seller is a dealer selling inventory of currently manufactured product, they might use that tactic. But if a seller is selling antiques, old collectables, thrift store items, etc, then 'last one" probably means last one.

For example, I had two identical Rickard Petty floor mats in my collection for many years. They were still brand new, I decided to sell them. I listed them as a single item but I had two available. Once the first one sold, eBay marked "last one" on the listing because I only had one left.

When I'm shopping on eBay, I ignore the "last one" tag, I don't let that persuade me to purchase anything.

I once had the opposite happen. I bid on a CD boxset and I don't remember there being any more listed by the seller. When the auction finished, I'd been outbid, but then the seller messaged me to say he had another copy and would I be interested in buying it at my highest bid. Of course, I said yes, and ended up paying less than the person who won the auction.

Wow, not bad HossC, not bad.

On 3/14/2025 at 3:09 PM, HossC said:

I once had the opposite happen. I bid on a CD boxset and I don't remember there being any more listed by the seller. When the auction finished, I'd been outbid, but then the seller messaged me to say he had another copy and would I be interested in buying it at my highest bid. Of course, I said yes, and ended up paying less than the person who won the auction.

You're a savvy shopper HossC!