[TR] ebay question: off topic, sort-of

[Randall]

> I often see ebay listings that say "no second chance offers". 
> Not knowing  
> what a "second chance offer" is all about, I got the 
> impression this might 
> be  some sort of scam. Can anyone enlighten me?

eBay does offer a "second chance" mechanism, where the seller can agree to
sell to someone who was not high bidder (generally if the high bidder backed
out for some reason).  This costs them less than relisting the item for
another auction.

But when I got a "second chance" offer, it did come from eBay's mail
address, not the seller's.  It sounds like what you got was, at least, an
offer to do business outside of eBay (which is strictly forbidden).  Might
be a legit offer (the seller just trying to avoid paying eBay their fees),
but could just as easily be a scam.

Randall