Advice needed - i think i may be in trouble here

Azari

Having looked at the auction I would strongly suggest that the seller is NOT trying to confuse people.

The photograph is of a single laptop and the note saying you are bidding on one is the same font size as the rest of the description and in italic for emphasis.

Of course, that does not absolve him from responsibility for not putting the correct title on his listing.

I've remembered where I've seen this a lot - it was on crockery listing where it was common for it to be completely unclear how many items you were bidding on. And I'm pretty sure that none of the sellers were intending to confuse the buyers. It's just that to them is seemed perfectly obvious which they meant.

soolin

Azari wrote: »

Having looked at the auction I would strongly suggest that the seller is NOT trying to confuse people.

The photograph is of a single laptop and the note saying you are bidding on one is the same font size as the rest of the description and in italic for emphasis.

Of course, that does not absolve him from responsibility for not putting the correct title on his listing.

I've remembered where I've seen this a lot - it was on crockery listing where it was common for it to be completely unclear how many items you were bidding on. And I'm pretty sure that none of the sellers were intending to confuse the buyers. It's just that to them is seemed perfectly obvious which they meant.

Misleading or not it is against ebay rules so well worth persuing ebay to get the auction removed and a warning on the sellers dashboard.

Some categories, like crockery, do attract chancers as well, all of whom 'accidentally' list 6 cups and then tell you later you are bidding for only one. As that is a category I often sell in I can assure you that quite a lot of those misleading auctions are routinely removed.

If you have more than one identical item to sell then it is possible but it must be done as a BIN auction with the quantity clearly shown. It can no longer be done on a standard auction.

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/multiple.html#selling

Azari

soolin wrote: »

Misleading or not it is against ebay rules so well worth persuing ebay to get the auction removed and a warning on the sellers dashboard.

Indeed. I'd want the problem resolved but I'd prefer not to label someone a scam artist if that was not the case.

Some categories, like crockery, do attract chancers as well, all of whom 'accidentally' list 6 cups and then tell you later you are bidding for only one. As that is a category I often sell in I can assure you that quite a lot of those misleading auctions are routinely removed.

That's interesting.

Maybe I was being too trusting assuming they were a genuine errors.

In a lot of these cases the sellers actually had photographs of the multiple items.

Of course, for all I know, they may have been selling them all in one lot. It was (IIRC) when the descriptions contained phrases such as: "I have two xxx for sale" rather than "a pair of xxx" that alarm bells started ringing. These people did not have buried 'small type' text telling you you were bidding on one item.

Danny_Lee

well iv called ebay (30 min call in total!)

they had a look and agreed it was misleading - they have told me to sit tight and see if 2 turn up, if they dont i can file a SNAD and win - thay also

may be a bit longwinded but looks like it will get sorted in the end

thank you for your help folks!

soolin

Azari wrote: »

Indeed. I'd want the problem resolved but I'd prefer not to label someone a scam artist if that was not the case.



That's interesting.

Maybe I was being too trusting assuming they were a genuine errors.

In a lot of these cases the sellers actually had photographs of the multiple items.

Of course, for all I know, they may have been selling them all in one lot. It was (IIRC) when the descriptions contained phrases such as: "I have two xxx for sale" rather than "a pair of xxx" that alarm bells started ringing. These people did not have buried 'small type' text telling you you were bidding on one item.

As I mentioned previously the china categories are one that I use on occasions. Sellers often get their listings pulled and then relist straight away with some comment about 'ebay please note that I am selling 4 of these and this auction is for only 1 as it won't let me sell in any other quantity'. That to me suggests that if seller is not deliberately being misleading they are at best not the sort of seller who has enough common sense to work out what they are doing wrong.

If you wish to sell individual lots then you need BIN auctions, it cannot be done using a standard auction format and sellers run real risks if they try and work round the system.

To be fair to this seller from this instance I would suggest to OP that they send an email saying that seller has obviously made a mistake in the listing and that they as the buyer are happy to agree to a mutual. If seller agrees, then no harm done and buyer can leave good feedback. If seller argues or tries to force the issue then we have our answer about whether this was deliberate or not and buyer can then act on the suggestions above.

soolin

Danny_Lee wrote: »

well iv called ebay (30 min call in total!)

they had a look and agreed it was misleading - they have told me to sit tight and see if 2 turn up, if they dont i can file a SNAD and win - thay also

may be a bit longwinded but looks like it will get sorted in the end

thank you for your help folks!

Well done, I think we already know how many are going to turn up. Do come back for advice to talk you through the SNAD dispute so you don't lose out.

Danny_Lee

the whole issue is a real forhead slapper!

i just wish the seller has accepted my offer to cover his fees etc, would have avoided a lot of hassle

(then again, so would reading things in full, lol)

mobile48

Is it possible to reject the sale and just not to accept delivery of the goods? OP would need to take very careful advise before doing this as I do not know ebay rules in this area myself.

chancesare_2

Yes, if the buyer choses to refuse the parcel, they will win an INR claim. However, if it is delivered and accepted whilst they are out for instance, it will be deemed delivered.

fred7777

Whether or not the seller was intending to mislead the listing breaks ebays listing policies in at least three ways:

1.It is misleading. Ebay say "You can't include conflicting or misleading product information in a listing"

2. It describes more then the item for sale. Ebays rule is "Describe only the item you're selling in the listing and the terms of the sale" so if two items are for sale then the buyer should get two items otherwise if only one item is for sale the listing shouldn't refer to 2.

3.The listing is advertising a sale outside of ebay. The seller wants buyers to contact them for the other laptop.

Because of this the buyer should have enough to cause the seller problems and get ebay to cancel the auction and remove the listing. If it were me I would contact the seller first asking for a cancellation and refund based on the fact the auction broke ebay's rules in several ways and then contact ebay and paypal if the seller wouldn't cooperate.