Ebay seller won't sell

[TheThaiger]

I've just bought something from a private seller on ebay - I bid, won and paid by PP within seconds. The amount was around $400 - a price I was more than happy with

The item was two cues and a case. I contacted the seller to arrange collection and he's emailed me back saying the case has already been sold and the two cues are now $150 more than my winning bid, asking me if I still wanted to go ahead and buy what I thought I'd already bought and paid for in the first place! He says he amended the page a few days ago to say the case had been sold separately, which is utter rubbish. He says there's been a "misunderstanding", which is also nonsense.

I emailed him a few days before the auction ended to ask what he'd take as a buy it now price. He said $800, which is not that unreasonable an amount given the value of the goods. He clearly thought he'd get more than he eventually did in the auction and is trying to wriggle out of the sale.

So, what are my rights? Do we have a legally enforceable contract, given I won the bid and have already paid? Does he HAVE to sell to me, or is he free not to sell to me? Surely there's greater buyer protection from ebay than just giving him bad feedback - which he won't give a toss about, no doubt.

Also, I've already paid via PP - whatever the outcome, what if he refuses to refund? Am I covered by either ebay or PP?

anyone got any advice? I very much want these items and am pissed that the seller has chosen to do this.

 

[hang-the-9]

I've just bought something from a private seller on ebay - I bid, won and paid by PP within seconds. The amount was around $400 - a price I was more than happy with

The item was two cues and a case. I contacted the seller to arrange collection and he's emailed me back saying the case has already been sold and the two cues are now $150 more than my winning bid, asking me if I still wanted to go ahead and buy what I thought I'd already bought and paid for in the first place! He says he amended the page a few days ago to say the case had been sold separately, which is utter rubbish. He says there's been a "misunderstanding", which is also nonsense.

I emailed him a few days before the auction ended to ask what he'd take as a buy it now price. He said $800, which is not that unreasonable an amount given the value of the goods. He clearly thought he'd get more than he eventually did in the auction and is trying to wriggle out of the sale.

So, what are my rights? Do we have a legally enforceable contract, given I won the bid and have already paid? Does he HAVE to sell to me, or is he free not to sell to me? Surely there's greater buyer protection from ebay than just giving him bad feedback - which he won't give a toss about, no doubt.

Also, I've already paid via PP - whatever the outcome, what if he refuses to refund? Am I covered by either ebay or PP?

anyone got any advice? I very much want these items and am pissed that the seller has chosen to do this.

Ebay should have all the details on their site. Agreement to sell/buy once finished is a contract, but the only way to force him to send to you at the price you won it as is to drive over there and pack it for him.

 

[quadrary]

ebay

file a dispute with paypal immediately stating the exact circumstances and include copies of his email renegging on the deal. Then give him a negative feedback and include the copy of his email there also. Paypal will get your money back for you.

 

[kvinbrwr]

I've just bought something from a private seller on ebay - I bid, won and paid by PP within seconds. The amount was around $400 - a price I was more than happy with

The item was two cues and a case. I contacted the seller to arrange collection and he's emailed me back saying the case has already been sold and the two cues are now $150 more than my winning bid, asking me if I still wanted to go ahead and buy what I thought I'd already bought and paid for in the first place! He says he amended the page a few days ago to say the case had been sold separately, which is utter rubbish. He says there's been a "misunderstanding", which is also nonsense.

I emailed him a few days before the auction ended to ask what he'd take as a buy it now price. He said $800, which is not that unreasonable an amount given the value of the goods. He clearly thought he'd get more than he eventually did in the auction and is trying to wriggle out of the sale.

So, what are my rights? Do we have a legally enforceable contract, given I won the bid and have already paid? Does he HAVE to sell to me, or is he free not to sell to me? Surely there's greater buyer protection from ebay than just giving him bad feedback - which he won't give a toss about, no doubt.

Also, I've already paid via PP - whatever the outcome, what if he refuses to refund? Am I covered by either ebay or PP?

anyone got any advice? I very much want these items and am pissed that the seller has chosen to do this.

You have a legally enforceable contract now all you have to do to enforce it is spend thousands to take him to court. When you win, if he claims he no longer has the goods you paid for, the court will instruct him to give you your money back.

You have a case you can file with eBay or PayPal, either one, the solution will be that he refund you the money or send you the goods. If he doesn't send you the goods you will win your dispute and get all your money back.

Really, the solution here, is to post him the feedback you feel is appropriate, get your money back and move on. If the threat of your negative feedback doesn't convince the seller to follow through on the sale, you are really going to just end up with your money back.

File a dispute with eBay, there will be a place where you list your solution, which will be you still want the goods, and eBay will hold your money in suspense in his PayPal account until it is resolved.

What's the auction number?

Kevin

 

[floppybear]

eBay

eBay's resolution center is totally useless. As a seller you have no recourse but to report a violation, which they only give them a slap on the wrist. As for the buyer you can leave a negative feedback....why can sellers leave a negative feedback as well? In the past we (sellers) were able to leave negative feedbacks...they recently (3 years ago???) changed it to only buyers can leave negative feedbacks, which is a disadvantage to sellers. I wish you luck, but IMO your only recourse is to leave negative feedback and use their resolution center. If possible I prefer using craigslist, since you don't have to pay fees (paypal, ebay, & shipping). I wished there was something comparible to eBay, but it's something like a oligopoly where they dominate.

 

[WoodyJ]

The seller is a jerk. Just get your money back and leave crappy feedback.

He said he sold the case so (if he's telling the truth) he can't honor his contract to you even if he wanted. And, if he did send you the cues, he might just be the kinda person to whack a bunch of minor irritating dings in the shafts before he sends them off (and then say it was as described -- say with normal wear and tear).

Hard to say without you giving a link to the e-bay auction listing.

 

[JE54]

File a dispute with paypal right away. And if you paid your paypal charge with a credit card, file a complaint with them also. I'm not sure if you can file the complaint with both or just one. Good luck............

 

[kvinbrwr]

File a dispute with paypal right away. And if you paid your paypal charge with a credit card, file a complaint with them also. I'm not sure if you can file the complaint with both or just one. Good luck............

The problem with disputing the PayPal payment is that once the payment has been reversed, the buyer no longer has a claim on the goods.

The best way to go is file a grievance with eBay listing "I still want the goods" under suggested solutions and see if the seller will respond by shipping. If he doesn't (and the seller has already indicated he doesn't even have the package anymore) then the buyer will for sure get his money back.

Thanks

Kevin

 

[JE54]

Good info Kevin...........

 

[Cues R Fun]

File a claim with Ebay

eBay's resolution center is totally useless. As a seller you have no recourse but to report a violation, which they only give them a slap on the wrist. As for the buyer you can leave a negative feedback....why can sellers leave a negative feedback as well? In the past we (sellers) were able to leave negative feedbacks...they recently (3 years ago???) changed it to only buyers can leave negative feedbacks, which is a disadvantage to sellers. I wish you luck, but IMO your only recourse is to leave negative feedback and use their resolution center. If possible I prefer using craigslist, since you don't have to pay fees (paypal, ebay, & shipping). I wished there was something comparible to eBay, but it's something like a oligopoly where they dominate.

Ebay has copies of all messages between all sellers and buyers, and a record of editing activities to listed items by sellers in their data base. The will look at all that information in their investigation and if your story lays out the truth in comparison to the data they retrieve from their servers, you will be awarded a refund by Ebay. However, they will attempt to work with the seller on your behalf to deliver the goods first. If the case is gone, and he can't deliver what the auction included for sale, they will ask that you accept a refund. But, if the seller refuses to deliver the goods and refuses to refund your money, they will refund your money to you on his behalf and then bill him to recover their funds paid to you. If he ends up not paying, he will lose his selling rights to his account. Of course, he may end up getting so irritated over the situation he may just close his account altogether.

In any event, you need to file a claim immediately to have any hope of resolution. It is your option to post negative feedback or not. Sometimes cooperation of a seller is better if you give them a chance to resolve by refunding before you post the feedback in hopes you post positive due to the refunding.

BTW - How many feedbacks did the seller have? Is he a novice?

Good luck.

 

[Itsnotme]

EBay buyer protection program! Document everything you have, and forward it to eBay and they'll take care of you! A similar situation happened to me when I got a rare buckethead item for cheap and the idiot seller forgot to put a reserve on it... Long story short, I sent all of the messages he sent me to eBay and I had my money back in a few days ;-)

 

[TheThaiger]

EBay buyer protection program! Document everything you have, and forward it to eBay and they'll take care of you! A similar situation happened to me when I got a rare buckethead item for cheap and the idiot seller forgot to put a reserve on it... Long story short, I sent all of the messages he sent me to eBay and I had my money back in a few days ;-)

Yeah, that's pretty much the scenario. I really, really want the cues though!

 

[TheThaiger]

Ebay has copies of all messages between all sellers and buyers, and a record of editing activities to listed items by sellers in their data base. The will look at all that information in their investigation and if your story lays out the truth in comparison to the data they retrieve from their servers, you will be awarded a refund by Ebay. However, they will attempt to work with the seller on your behalf to deliver the goods first. If the case is gone, and he can't deliver what the auction included for sale, they will ask that you accept a refund. But, if the seller refuses to deliver the goods and refuses to refund your money, they will refund your money to you on his behalf and then bill him to recover their funds paid to you. If he ends up not paying, he will lose his selling rights to his account. Of course, he may end up getting so irritated over the situation he may just close his account altogether.

In any event, you need to file a claim immediately to have any hope of resolution. It is your option to post negative feedback or not. Sometimes cooperation of a seller is better if you give them a chance to resolve by refunding before you post the feedback in hopes you post positive due to the refunding.

BTW - How many feedbacks did the seller have? Is he a novice?

Good luck.

Thanks. He's only sold two items on ebay, so I doubt he'll care less about bad feedback.

What's annoyed me about this - and why I'm digging my heals in - is he's clearly treating me like I'm an idiot, by citing "missunderstanding" (sic). He's reasonably well known over here, and I've managed to track him down to other websites etc, so it's disappointing to hear a proper player could do this. I hear he has health problems, so has had to quit playing - I would have cut him some slack had he not tried to BS me.

 

[TheThaiger]

The problem with disputing the PayPal payment is that once the payment has been reversed, the buyer no longer has a claim on the goods.

The best way to go is file a grievance with eBay listing "I still want the goods" under suggested solutions and see if the seller will respond by shipping. If he doesn't (and the seller has already indicated he doesn't even have the package anymore) then the buyer will for sure get his money back.

Thanks

Kevin

Thanks Kevin - good to know.

 

[TheThaiger]

The buyer is a jerk.

Hey, that's me!!

 

[TheThaiger]

You have a legally enforceable contract now all you have to do to enforce it is spend thousands to take him to court. When you win, if he claims he no longer has the goods you paid for, the court will instruct him to give you your money back.

You gotta love the legal system...

 

[OnTheMF]

Short story: You can definitely make the seller give you a full refund. You cannot force the seller to send the items. With the e-mails you have, you may be able to file a complaint with eBay. They will investigate independently and potentially ban him from the service. Usually this goes pretty quick.

One of the rules in eBay's user agreement is that a user may not "fail to deliver items purchased from you, unless the buyer fails to meet the posted terms, or you cannot authenticate the buyer's identity."

However, eBay may not deem this as a significant breach, so who knows what the punishment will be. In the past, I have had people permanently banned for fraudulent activity.

 

[TheThaiger]

Just thinking out loud, but at what stage do the goods legally become mine? The seller offered them as an open auction, I won the bid, and I paid instantly - doesn't that mean ownership of the goods transfers instantly to me?

 

[kvinbrwr]

Just thinking out loud, but at what stage do the goods legally become mine? The seller offered them as an open auction, I won the bid, and I paid instantly - doesn't that mean ownership of the goods transfers instantly to me?

Some would say that old possession is 9/10 thing.

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

anyone got any advice? I very much want these items and am pissed that the seller has chosen to do this.

I bet you are PI**ED, but Kiss it off to life experience, and notify your credit card company in writing after you contact then via phone of the detail of the transaction, and not getting what you paid for.

Also print out copies of the seller correspondence to you were they reneged on the deal. Send this to your Credit Card Company.

Than notify e-bay of the situation, and ask that the the seller e-bay account be closed ASAP.

If you think of all the deals on e-bay that go good as per the norm, these Flake Seller are a minority. Hopefully in the big picture you lots no money, as you transaction was by CREDIT CARD!