Ebay help, please! Friend bought a buy it now item!

[Gillian]

A friend of mine just purchased something on ebay without meaning to. This auction wasn't really an auction because it only had the Buy it Now option & no way to place a bid. It wasn't in an Ebay store, just out there with the regular stuff, and she didn't understand the difference. She had already bid on another of the seller's auctions for the same item and got confused.

Any advice on what she should do? She knows it was dumb. There is no way she can afford the amt (several hundred dollars). Is it common to just see Buy it Now with no bidding?

She has never bought or sold anything before, so she won't be upset about getting negative feedback. Her ID is too close to her name anyway, so she'd want to change it if she got into Ebaying.

Thank you!

 

[swilphil]

According to ebay, "A bid may be retracted (cancelled) by the buyer in some cases, if it meets the requirements of our Bid Retraction policy.Note: There is no equivalent for bid retraction in Buy It Now listings. Once you've confirmed your purchase, you are obligated to pay the seller."

Hopefully she has not confirmed her purchase. Isn't that done via e-mail? If she has, she can contact the seller and explain the mistake. If she is wanting to buy something else from that seller, maybe they can work it out.

 

[imsayin]

Actually, for the seller, this is quite annoying and can be potentially costly. Two people did this to me last week. Depending on the seller, they can let her out nicely or not let her out of her "contract". Obviously, if she has no intent to pay them, their only recourse is to leave a negative feedback. She should contact the seller immediately and let them know of her situation. Anyway, just my two cents.

 

[my3kids]

How do you accidentially bid on something? Even when I'm signed in, once I place a bid it requires that I sign in again, along with a warning that I am bidding and obligated. I can't see how it was an accident.

 

[Gillian]

I'm sure this is very annoying for the seller. And because it doesn't look like there are many other buyers in the market for this item (the seller has many listed), I'm sure he/she will be particularly upset.

As far as it being an accident, I wasn't there, so I don't know exactly what happened. I believe that my friend thought she would be asked to enter a $$ amount at some point. Another auction for the same item by the same seller was still under $50. She bid on that one, but was outbid. The one she clicked on (they all look exactly the same) did not have an option to bid, just the "Buy it Now" for over $400.

I can understand her confusion, because the seller has 9 identical auctions up in a limited category. Some have bidding, some are buy it now only, but they all look the same.

 

[DizneyDogs]

I would offer to pay the seller's fees for the mistake. That way the seller isn't out anything. Since it will at least cost the seller $20 and a lost sale.

 

[nuke]

This is the most annoying thing to happen to a seller. I had a buyer do this last week. She accidentally won an auction of mine. I'm out the final value fee but the kicker is that it sold for $71 when she "accidentally" won it and now it's only selling for $40. So I'm out $30 because someone didn't read before hitting submit.

 

[Gillian]

I do think this particular situation was confusing. I shop a fair amount on ebay (try not to buy too often!) and it confused me.

I'll tell her about offering to pay the seller's fees. That certainly seems fair, but it's up to her.

 

[DianeV]

FYI: You do get another screen asking you if you really want to buy the item..its pretty hard to do it accidentally unless you are not reading the screens

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

FYI: You do get another screen asking you if you really want to buy the item..its pretty hard to do it accidentally unless you are not reading the screens

I agree. And this is especially annoying (and costly) to the seller right before Christmas. Your friend ought to pay the seller fees and make a New Years resolution not to bid recklessly in the future.

Tink

 

[vjc715]

Yes...this is very annoying when it happens. However, if the buyer would agree to compensate me for my listing and final value fee.... I would agree not to leave negative feedback. If they were paying by paypal, I would also include that amount/percentage of what Paypal would take out of the amount they would pay. I know some buyers may seem this petty, but if you have alot of people saying OOPS, it really adds up and becomes costly to the seller to absorb the feels. It's frustrating enough to deal with non-paying bidders! errrrr~!

 

[Gillian]

She is waiting to hear back from the seller.

Anyone here sell strollers? Do a search on triple stroller.

 

[Magickndm]

I did...clearly states Buy it Now right on the button you click.
I agree she should pay the listing/final value fee.

 

[Julia M]

I also did the search for triple strollers, and this seller does what I hate (and I never buy from sellers like this)

They have a buy it now price, but there is also something in the listing saying that the initial price/bid is $9.95. You think you should be able to bid, but you can't...it's only buy it now. It's not like an individual selling one item....this is obviously a business. IMO, this is a situation where the seller hopes it might be a bit confusing, if you don't read it through.

On the other hand, it is "let the buyer beware". Your friend should offer to pay the expenses with the ad.

Julia

 

[summerrluvv]

I also did the search for triple strollers, and this seller does what I hate (and I never buy from sellers like this)

They have a buy it now price, but there is also something in the listing saying that the initial price/bid is $9.95. You think you should be able to bid, but you can't...it's only buy it now. It's not like an individual selling one item....this is obviously a business. IMO, this is a situation where the seller hopes it might be a bit confusing, if you don't read it through.



Julia

I don't think that is the case. Afterall, if I'm selling something as a buy it now, the last thing I would want is people "buying it now" and then not paying me because I was trying to "trick" them. I mean, there is a HUGE difference between 9.95 and over $400.00. I think the seller's at one point had the auction starting at 9.95 but forgot to change the wording when relisting the auction with the fixed price (buy it now only) auction.

 

[diznygirl]

I know it's a hassle to the seller, but I think it's an honest mistake on the buyer's fault. Ebay goes both ways - and it looks like the seller may have made a mistake (?) with the 9.95 starting price...... the seller can relist and sell the item. It's not a loss of mega-proportions, just a little more work.....

 

[tarmand]

I personally think the buyer should pay for the listing fees, but not the Final Value Fees. The seller can request a credit for those fees so the buyer will not lose that money.

 

[Gillian]

My friend emailed the seller and has not heard back yet. It's been several days, so I guess the seller just gave up on getting paid anything.

While I agree that this is my friend's fault, I think that sellers should be more careful with their listings. When you list the same item 8 times (at the same time!) it makes things confusing for the buyers. If Ebay is to keep growing (something sellers want), it should stay friendly to newbies.

All my friends are under strict orders to call me BEFORE placing bids!

 

[DMRick]

If they were paying by paypal, I would also include that amount/percentage of what Paypal would take out of the amount they would pay.
**************************
I don't understand this. What amount of Paypal would have been paid? It's not like she paid and it has to be refunded (but even if it did have to be, the fees are returned when it's refunded). IMO, she should offer to pay back the listing fee. The end of auction fee will be covered when the seller clicks on the "ended by mutual aggreement" when she asks for her fees back. I'm sure the seller will be tic'd...I would be as a seller, since now it has to be relisted and maybe the ending time won't be as convenient. It would be nice if the seller didn't give a neg, but if she does, your friend should not retaliate, since she is the one who did the seller wrong. It's pretty hard to do a buy it now by accident..it takes a couple of screens to get through it.

 

[DMRick]

While I agree that this is my friend's fault, I think that sellers should be more careful with their listings. When you list the same item 8 times (at the same time!) it makes things confusing for the buyers.
************

I don't care if the seller listed it 100 times (except ebay will only let them list it 10 times for exact items..otherwise it has to be a Dutch Auction). The seller was in no way at fault. The seller doesn't have to be more careful with her listings. The seller's listing conformed to what eBay allowed. Your friend needs to be more careful, and perhaps go through the buying tutorial again. It's the buyers responsibility to know when they are bidding and for what. If the seller had something wrong in the listing that was misleading, that would be one thing. But there was nothing wrong and it's very clear this was a buy it now.