Second Chance Offers - What are they and are the legit?

When I began selling on okay, I discovered the "Second Chance Offer" option. I have used it occasionally to offer to sell a duplicate item to the next highest bidder. I have also been the recipient of some second chance offers for items for which I was not the high bidder. So far, I have received no fraudulent second chance offers and, tomy knowledge, have not had fraudulent second chance offers for my sold items sent to others.
When should you expect to get a second chance offer?
If you bid on an item and you can see from the seller's feedback page that he sells a number of these sameitems, there is a good chance that the seller will send you a second chance offer, if your bid is very near that of the winning bidder.
Why do sellers send second chance offers?
Sellers do not have to pay additional listing fees to sell duplicate items if they use the second chance offer. They still pay final value fees, but the savings are found in the listing fees avoided. As an example, I sell T-shirts as one of my basic store items. I usually have some auction listing for the T-shirts to promote them and get potential customers to my store to see the large selection. If I offer a T-shirt at auction starting at$9.99 andthe high bidder wins the auction with a $16.00 bid, I would typically send a second chance offer to bidders who bid $15.00-$15.99. This is because the listing fees for that shirt typically cost me close to $1.00. So, the profit for me on both the shirt sold at auction for $16.00 and the shirt sold on second chance offer at $15.00 is about the same.
How can I tell if the offer is legitimate?
If you receive a second chance offer via email, NEVER click on the included link to accept the offer. Rather, go to the "My Messages" section within you okay account and accept the second chance offer from the message you find there. If the corresponding message is not in your messages folder, forward the second chance offer email to the spoof email address at okay.ge.They will be able to verify that it is a fraudulent email.
If, however, the offer is awaiting you in your "My Messages" area, you can be confident this is legitimate. If you are still concerned that this might not be legitimate, using the seller's user name, find the seller via the gemunity page. Send the seller an message, asking if he did, in fact send you the second chance offer.
Warning signs of fraudulent offers

If your bid is far lower than the winning bid, be suspicious if you receive a second chance offer.
If your second chance offer gees over a week after the auction finished, be suspicious...this is still possibly legitimate, but it most likely indicates that the initial buyer did not follow through on the purchase.
If you get a second chance offer email, but have no corresponding message in you okay account in the "My Messages" page...this is definitely fraudulent. DO NOT RESPOND TO THE EMAIL OFFER, as it is often an attempt to capture your login information and gemandeer your okay account.
If your second chance offer is not the official okay second chance offer, even if it is from the legitimate seller...in this case, should he be asking you to purchase the item outside of okay, he is breaking his seller's contract with okay, as his goal is to avoid not only the listing fees, but also the Final Value Fees charged by okay when the seller sells an item.
Why should you accept a second chance offer?
Obviously, if you were willing to pay $15.50 for my T-shirt when you bid on my auction, you are still probably willing to get that T-shirt for $15.50. If the second chance offer is legitimate, it makes sense to accept the offer, rather than spend another 7 days bidding on the duplicate item.
What if I determine the offer is legitimate and accept it?
If you determine the offer is legitimate and accept the offer, you are bound by the same contract as you would be had you won the auction in the first place. You should expect exactly the same shipping and handling costs and the same customer service. If the seller is honest, your transaction should be flawless. If your seller is not honest, your second chance offer item will be no better than the same item would have been had you won it in the auction. The best way to judge the likelihood of a pleasant transaction with a seller is to review his feedback. I regemend this regardless of whether you are accepting a second chance offer or bidding on an item at auction.
Additional thoughts on the matter
Sending questions to okay support regarding the authenticity of Second Chance offers is not a very rewarding experience. You will typically get a canned email, thanking you for your gemunication and informing you that they are "looking into it". This is true for most gemunications with the okay support team. However, I still feel it is important to report those emails suspected of being fraudulent. Occasionally, I have found that the support team has actually taken the time to investigate and determined the email was, indeed, fraudulent.
Don't be confused by receiving an email from a seller offering you a second chance for an item on which you had bid. He does not necessarily have your email address. If you have selected the "hide my email address" option when sending messages to the seller, he is only able to respond to you via the okay messaging system. okay then sends his question or offer, in this case, to your email address, as well as storing a copy in your "My Messages" folder. No breach of your email preferences has occured.
I hope this information has been useful to you.