Advice on a eBay transaction gone bad.

[My Dream]

I purchased this item, paid for it and the seller is refusing to ship unless I give them approximately $500.00 more. I've offered double what I paid and they still refused to ship and have offered a refund. I've told the seller that I've acted in good faith and want the item shipped rather than a refund since I won the listing and paid and they still won't ship.

They've since re-listed the item with the exact same details and starting bid with again no reserve.

How can a seller put an item up for sale again that has already been sold, refused to ship even though they received the money with no refund? Also what are my options as I can’t seem to navigate through eBay’s complicated system to inform them of a seller reselling an items that has been sold and paid for.


Details of the item:

It’s an audio system that is part of steam shower that interconnects between the generator and the control touch pad, therefore it’s not a standalone system and is specific to a certain manufacture.

Starting bid was $117.00 with no reserve and a buy it now price of $700.00.

 

[Silver]

There is an E-Bay Resolution Center that may be able to help. Go under the "My Account"
tab and you should see it at the end of the list. What happens is that you open a case and E-Bay will investigate. You can also attempt to leave them negative feedback, and I believe the Resolution Center does a query to see if they can help.

They perhaps have more than one of the same item so the one you are seeing for sale now is actually another of the same.

In the sellers feedback are there any indications that this may have happened before?

 

[My Dream]

Thanks for the reply Silver,

Since the seller hasn't sold anything in the last year the feedback I noticed was below.

Recent Feedback ratings (last 12 months)

1 month 6 months 12 months
Positive feedback rating Positive 0 0 0
Neutral feedback rating Neutral 0 0 0
Negative feedback rating Negative 0 0 0

I guess I should have looked deeper and I would have noticed. "Again,I won & paid. They wouldn't send item. They asked about refund. I said NO."


I tried filing a claim but it states "The estimated delivery date for this item is Nov 13, 2014.If you haven't received your item by then, contact the seller through the Resolution Center.". By that time the new listing will be over and someone else could be in the same situation as me.

What is a red flag to me is the seller told me they bought the wrong item and wants to recoup what they paid for it which is approximately $550.00 and they made an error in not placing a reserve bid. So they go ahead and make the same mistake again but listing it in the same fashion with a $117.00 starting bid?

I'd say there isn't a good chance the seller bought the same item twice and made two identical mistakes in purchasing the wrong item, then listed it again in error.

 

[Lakewood90712]

The E-Bay dispute resolution system is close to worthless , unless it starts to hurt them ( They still own paypal). Take the refund. Jusy my 2 cents worth.

 

[travelover]

I ordered some Velcro and the shipped amount was about 10% of the advertised amount. I demanded that they honor the agreement. Got eBay involved and all I got was a refund. I guess the seller always has that out.


Sent from my BNTV600 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I've had a couple sellers renege when an item didn't sell for as much as they'd hoped. I basically wrote both auctions off as unenforceable. It's one thing if a seller commits fraud by collecting money and failing to deliver the goods, but if they back out of a sale, about all you can do is leave negative feedback and get black-marked in response. Don't expect eBay to do much for you.

 

[SteveNU]

Take the refund and move on. That's the best you will get. They can't force the seller to send you the item.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Take the refund and move on. That's the best you will get. They can't force the seller to send you the item.

True , they can't force the seller to perform, however , they can ban the seller. They will not do that because the seller is the source of revenue, and therefore the "Customer" of E-Bay , not the buyer.

 

[heeyy_joe]

Oh I would so bid $118.00. I would really want to win the item! Not sure I would pay for it if I won it, what's good for the goose...

 

[My Dream]

Thanks everyone for your reply,

The last communication I received was a couple hours ago stating how much more expensive it was at Home Depot and they couldn't sell it to me for $117.00. I haven't told them that I noticed they've resisted the item and I don't know how to let eBay know that someone else may end up in the same situation as me.

Everyone is correct, I can't force the seller to ship even though I've paid, but I don't know why the seller would re list the item when our transaction is not complete and I've still paid for the item that has not been shipped.

I can't file a claim yet since it's too soon and in the meantime the item may resell again and the seller may receive two payments for the same item


EDIT;

I just noticed the seller edited the listing and raised the starting bid at $450.00

 

[pb4uski]

Take the refund and move on. T....

+1 You're pushing a rope trying to get the seller to perform. Take the refund and then provide negative feedback on them.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Here is the phone # for E-Bay H.Q. (408) 376-7400. If you got some time on your hands , with some effort , I think you can get this vendor tossed from E-Bay for violating E-Bay terms of service.

That being said, what do you think the true wholesale value of the item is ? I personally not pursue this if your winning bid was much below the vendor cost. Some vendors on E-Bay , are just dumb-asses , and as this vendor appears to be new at selling , it doesn't surprise me he made mistakes, like not having a reserve price at cost.

 

[Texas Proud]

I agree with others... pursue the problem with E-Bay... but in the end I bet all you get back is your money...


I doubt E-Bay will ban them... not something that they want to do...

 

[gauss]

I could swear that some times when I bid at ebay, it said something to the effect that you are entering into a legally binding contract.

I would read the ebay TOS in order to further understand this. I suspect that it is written so that ebay is not responsible for anything, but they can hold you responsible for everything. The interesting question is whether or not you are entering into a legally binding contract with the seller. If you don't know their identity, then legally how is this possible?

Interesting theoretical questions here, but moving on as others suggest is probably the best practical advice.

-gauss (NOT an attorney)

 

[braumeister]

I've been in this situation, and the advice here is right.
1. Take the refund.
2. Consider it a lesson learned.
3. Provide detailed negative feedback to the "seller."
4. In future, always check the feedback rating on a seller before bidding.

 

[Silver]

With zero feedback this seller may be a scammer or just stupid. I buy and sell on E-Bay alot and never deal with anyone with zero feedback. It states in all of my posted items for sale that a minimum 30 feedback rating is required to bid, 100% positive.

I have had to use the Resolution Center 3 times, two as a buyer and once as a seller. I felt they were very responsive and fair.

Knowing how the seller's listings work, I do not know how they would be able to relist something "SOLD" within the E-Bay system. I don't think it's possible. They must have created another identical listing and listed it as if it were another item.

I would work with the Resolution Center to get the refund. E-Bay will refund it even if the sellers do not. Then leave them negative feedback for sure.

 

[38Chevy454]

Agree, most you can do is get the seller banned from ebay. You will get a refund of your money, no problem there as seller can't produce evidence of shipment. However, there is no way to force the seller to honor the contract (ebay does consider the auction once completed to be a contract). While ebay may or may not penalize the seller, you have little recourse.

File dispute and paypal will take the money from the seller and hold until dispute is settled. Most likely this means seller will ignore the dispute and most you can do is get your money and leave negative feedback.

 

[My Dream]

I've been in this situation, and the advice here is right.
1. Take the refund.
2. Consider it a lesson learned.
3. Provide detailed negative feedback to the "seller."
4. In future, always check the feedback rating on a seller before bidding.

Thanks everyone for your reply,

So far the seller hasn't had any offers on the new listing and I have to wait until the 13th to file a claim as that's when it states the item should be received. I don't know how Ebay calculated that date as the seller refuses to ship the item.

As it stands now I will take the refund and chock it up to lesson learned. All I can hope is that I do indeed get the full refund of $117.00 plus shipping.

 

[NW-Bound]

I remember now one time I bought from eBay an item that nobody else bid on. The shipping cost on the free-shipping item turned out to be 1 or 2 dollars more than what the seller got! The guy sent me a message after the auction, and said that I got a good deal. Of course, I noted in my feedback that this was a honest seller, and highly recommended.

Then, I once bid on a motorhome that was listed by a local RV dealer. I wanted it, because I could drive across town to take delivery. I waited until the last minute, then pounced. What do you know, some guy came out of nowhere in that last minute, and beat me by a few hundred dollars.

Well, that auction winner was nobody other than the seller, as he then contacted me to say I could have it for a few more $K. I declined as it would no longer be a good deal.

 

[Sunset]

Take the refund, and be glad you are posting a problem of winning the bid and getting a broken item delivered.
At least you will get your money back.

 

[My Dream]

I asked the seller to give me a full refund and they did.

They took down the auction and relisted it at an even higher price but no bids yet.

Question:

What type of feedback would you give to a seller that refused to ship an item you won even when you offered a couple hundred more?

 

[easysurfer]

Sounds like the person didn't have a reserve amount set up to his satisfaction.

I once bidding for something that no one else was bidding. The seller didn't have a reserve and the auction was about to close. He asked if I would retract the bid. Though I could have pressed things, I went ahead and retracted my bid and then told him next time, put a proper reserve amount. No harm, no foul. I didn't leave him any feedback.

 

[travelover]

..........
Question:

What type of feedback would you give to a seller that refused to ship an item you won even when you offered a couple hundred more?

Just tell the truth. It is damning enough.

 

[Silver]

I asked the seller to give me a full refund and they did.

They took down the auction and relisted it at an even higher price but no bids yet.

Question:

What type of feedback would you give to a seller that refused to ship an item you won even when you offered a couple hundred more?

As I am sure you know, they can leave feedback for you as well, and theirs may not be truthful.

I hope you opened a case with E-Bay against this seller prior to getting the refund. If you do leave them negative feedback, and they retaliate in kind, you can contest it and E-Bay can remove it based on the reported issue.

 

[Texas Proud]

Can you put a reserve on anything I listed something before and I do not remember there being a reserve available.... the only thing that I could do was put in the minimum bid....

I bet that they thought the bidding would go up and it did not.... probably the first time they listed and learned a lesson...