Ebay: What do do with a non-selling seller?

[mitushib]

I won an auction on ebay. Since there was no shipping and handling mentioned I had asked the seller beforehand for a cost which he had sent to me. After the auction ended I sent a request total mail tot he sller and this is what he answered

I am terribly sorry for this inconvenience but I regret to inform you that item ****** is being pulled because I did not get what I was hoping, so therefore I am going to purchase the cd, manual and a new power cable and then repost the item on here. I hope that you can understand. I will send you an email when i repost it if you would like. I hope that you can understand. I am very sorry for the inconvenience


Now this beats the whole meaning of Ebay!!!! This seller has a feedback of 1 so my neg may not hurt him at all. He may switch user ids! But I am angry!!
What can I do?

 

[simpilotswife]

Pretty much nothing.

 

[JKJK]

Have you posted this ? on the community section over at the ebay site? Someone there may have some advice for you. Just a thought. That really does stink!!!!!

 

[irishbosoxfan]

I believe ebay has a rule against this--I had a problem last month so I was reading the disput forum and I'm pretty sure I read something to the effect that they cant do this ----check your help section of ebay and you should find instructions on what to do---If you really want the item send the seller an email telling him you found this info and want your item and if not you will have to open a dispute---Good Luck

 

[cami89]

UGH - doesn't this person realize that is the whole concept of an auction!?!? High bid gets the item. If they didn't want to take such a "paltry" amount, they should have started the minimum bid higher or set a reserve. They are obligated to sell you the item at the price you won. I don't know exactly where on eBay to find info pertaining to your specific situation, but like the other poster suggested, the community boards will be able to help you. Just wanted to let you know the seller is in the wrong and I hope you will report him/her. Best of luck to you in resolving this

 

[justcruisin]

The seller should have put a reserve price on the item if there was a minimum bid necessary to sell. Maybe it's a new seller? Regardless, report the seller to ebay.

 

[wendyl]

It's called "Seller Non-Performance" and it is very much against Ebay policy. This is copied from Ebay's Help info on the subject:

Seller Non-Performance


When a seller lists an item on eBay, and a buyer bids for and wins that item, the seller and buyer have entered into a contract. Both members are expected to honor that contract. In accordance with that contract, the seller may not:

Fail to deliver an item for which payment was accepted.

Significantly misrepresent an item by not meeting the terms and item description outlined in the listing.

Refuse to accept payment for an item at the end of a successful sale.

Refuse to accept a buyer’s PayPal payment using a credit card if the seller included the PayPal logo in the listing which signifies the seller will accept PayPal payments. Sellers are not permitted to state in their listings that PayPal payments made via credit card will not be accepted.

Violations of this policy by a Seller may result in a range of actions, including:

Listing cancellation

Limits on account privileges

Account suspension

Forfeit of eBay fees on cancelled listings

Loss of PowerSeller status

Referral to Law Enforcement

A buyer who believes that a seller has not honored a contract should read the Additional Information section below to understand what remedies are available to the buyer.

Some Examples Show


Additional Information Hide

If a seller has refused to complete a sale, and payment has not been sent or payment has been refunded, report the seller. Make sure to include a copy of the email documenting the seller's refusal to complete the sale with the full message text and complete email headers when making your report.

If a buyer has paid for an item and has been unable to receive the item or a refund, or believes the item was significantly misrepresented, they should refer to the eBay Item Not Received process. Buyers will also find instructions that will allow them to contact eBay to report the seller on this page.

After receiving a report, eBay will consider the circumstances of the alleged offense. If a complaint cannot be proven with certainty, it is possible that no action will be taken. Due to privacy issues, eBay will be unable to discuss the result of the investigation.

If a seller is no longer able to complete the transaction because the item is no longer available for trade, the seller may consider contacting the buyer, explain the situation, and attempt to reach an amicable resolution. While eBay encourages the buyer to be open to a reasonable resolution proposed by the seller, the buyer is not obligated to agree to any such proposal.

 

[jessica52877]

Ugh, things like this I am afraid are going to start taking a toll on my business! He cannot do this and it is against ebay policy, but I don't think ebay does much! What is wrong with people today?

 

[KristinU]

Report him to e-Bay for non-performance. This happened to me a few months ago, I first kindly sent the link to the seller to the page that lists the policy that is listed in wendyl's post - I asked her to fulfill her end of the transaction and when she didn't (she replied with another sorry, but...e-mail) I reported the transaction to e-Bay. From there I'm not sure what happened.

Aside from that there's not much you can do...start shopping and bidding again

Good Luck!

 

[Laurajean1014]

I've had this happen to me (although I have gotten some really colorful excuses) - Sorry, I can no longer sell it to you. We had a bad rainfall and your item was sitting in water for 3 days and is no longer sellable. Sorry again.....

Try to let it go.

 

[ericamanda01]

This is the one thing about ebay I will never understand. Why can't a seller just start the bidding at the lowest price they are willing to take?!

 

[square pond]

Make sure to keep a copy of his reply to send to ebay. It is your proof that he is refusing to sell the item and he can't say that it has been stolen , lost or damaged somehow!! I hope your situation works out!

 

[bicker]

Why can't a seller just start the bidding at the lowest price they are willing to take?!

There is a good bit of deception implicit in many aspects of the auction process, such as the whole concept of a reserve, which is what this seller should have used. My posting the item with an artificially low starting price, the seller hopes to trick some folks into watching the auction, in the hope that one of them will bid higher for the item than they would have otherwise.