Ebay: Item sold to someone else after paid for

smash7

Looking for some advice... Sorry it's a bit long winded.......!!!

On Sunday, I bought an antique sofa on ebay, listing ended at 10pm, only offered payment method was paypal so, naturally I paid for the item as soon as I won it.

The next morning, I sent an email to the seller saying thank you, etc, is it possible to collect the item on Saturday. I gave my contact info and awaited a response.

The seller contacted me immediately and said I would have to collect before Thursday as they had a delivery and couldn't store the sofa. I said I would see what transport I could arrange and get back to her within the hour. Within 5 minutes, she called again and said she wanted paying by cash. She wanted me to cancel the paypal payment and bring cash. I refused on the basis that the payment had been made and would have gone through and she proceeded to tell me that she would not receive the money for 21 days because of bad feedback she had received on a different ebay account..........

Once again, I refused a cash payment and told her I would confirm collection arrangements within the hour. As I was arranging a van, she called my mobile constantly (I am not exaggerating) on redial for the next half an hour. I passed her onto my partner who explained we would collect the sofa the next day.

She then called back and left a voicemail saying she was going to have to cancel the transaction because we couldn't collect it that day (she never asked this nor was it on the item description). My partner called her and confirmed that we had agreed to collect it the next day. An hour later, she called and said she had made a mistake and we couldn't have the sofa. She then proceeded to tell me that someone had contacted her who wanted it and was collecting it that afternoon and therefore we couldn't have it.

I do not understand how such a simple transaction went so terribly wrong. We 'bowed down' to all of her demands, arranging collecting within 48 hours, immediate payment, etc, etc; she continuously changed the goalposts and then, sold it to someone else after we had already paid for it. At one point, my partner spoke to her husband who apologised and said she had history with bad feedback/transactions so clearly this is one crazy lady..... (IMO)

My question is, how do I go about reporting her to ebay? I have tried online but because she has refunded the payment, it won't allow me to open a case. I've tried to report innappropriate selling but that has to do with the item description and not post-sale.

Please can anyone help? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Crowqueen

Report as a non-performing seller and neg.

Certain sellers don't like Paypal on collection for other reasons, she has to accept it - otherwise she should have sold elsewhere. It's not your fault that she has problems on another account and Paypal is holding her money.

I think it says a lot that her husband is apologising for her behaviour. I would reckon her attitude is such that her current account is also going to go down the tubes.

Leave a factual neg 'Seller refused to sell because of Paypal hold, was difficult about collection and kept rearranging' - that will hurt her particularly if she is trying to sell the sofa on what is perhaps not a very suitable venue for her anyway. I've just advised someone not to sell his furniture on eBay - not that I don't think you're totally in the right here, but because of the small percentage of scams done on collection items. It's a difficult thing to judge, but if more sellers refused to use eBay for collection only items, then not so many would get scammed - sometimes, it's up to you and you alone to protect yourself properly, I certainly wouldn't sell face-to-face through eBay.

This is no reflection on your transaction as I doubt you were going to scam them, it just has to be said as a bit of an explanation, to get this issue out of the way without causing you to feel that people are getting at you about it.

StuC75

Would have sided with the seller in wanting a cash payment -- too much risk of buyer collecting then claiming not received (even Ebay are slowly becoming wise to this discrepancy in there conditions - and no longer the insistance that sellers must accept) - whereas cash on collection affectively allows the buyer to give a final once over before parting with there money (to check for damage, smoke smells etc)..

smash7

Hi Crowqueen,
Thanks for your message. Scamming anyone is the last thing on my mind, I just wanted to buy the sofa...! I would have paid by cash if I knew that's what she wanted, it wouldn't have bothered me! I think she sold it for less than she was expecting for it, and was trying any way to get me to say - forget it, I won't buy it, IYSWIM.

How do I report as non-performing seller? I have tried different avenues through ebay but can't find the right 'description' etc...

Should I be worried that she will leave me negative feedback in retaliation?!?

Thanks again!

smash7

StuC75 wrote: »

Would have sided with the seller in wanting a cash payment -- too much risk of buyer collecting then claiming not received (even Ebay are slowly becoming wise to this discrepancy in there conditions - and no longer the insistance that sellers must accept) - whereas cash on collection affectively allows the buyer to give a final once over before parting with there money (to check for damage, smoke smells etc)..

Cash payment would not have been a problem. She clearly stated that paypal was her ONLY accepted means of payment (including in the item description!) so, I followed her instruction! And this was not her initial issue; she was trying every excuse under the sun to get us to not collect it. She changed her requirements constantly and we, like idiots, kept agreeing, only to find out she sold it to someone else. Surely she can't do that! That's something I've paid for, in line with HER terms and conditions!!!

smash7

I had even agreed with her that I would give her positive feedback from my iPad, before we took the sofa away! She kept confirming our agreements and then changing what she wanted....!

Crowqueen

No, she can't leave you a neg. eBay stopped that malarkey a number of years ago; I wish they'd go the whole hog and abolish buyer feedback entirely as it gives out the wrong impression of what matters to both buyers and sellers and is now causing more harm than good.

Crowqueen

smash7 wrote: »

I had even agreed with her that I would give her positive feedback from my iPad, before we took the sofa away! She kept confirming our agreements and then changing what she wanted....!

Never do that. Seller feedback is often your one recourse against someone like this. It's your chance to tell people who might otherwise think of giving people like this their money what they are like.

As for PPoC - no, eBay haven't relaxed their position on this. I spoke to James the Community Manager about a month ago and he said the difficulties to getting a fix are that Paypal and eBay are separately run (it is possible even if separately owned) and neither will budge on the issue, Paypal with their insistence on tracked delivery and eBay on their insistence that a seller offers Paypal.

The only solution to this scam is not to sell collection-only items on eBay. The strange thing is the number of people who willingly do so despite the scam. Either that means the scam is not as prevalent as we all think - and I have no experience of selling collection only items on eBay and as it stands would not recommend paying out for only a relatively local market, when an ad in the paper or in a shop window is much cheaper - or there are people out there who think they can buck the trend.

Or they haven't thought things through.

The worst thing anyone can do, though, is tell a prospective buyer they are a scammer and insist on refunding - you need to protect yourself before the event, not after it.

sham63

If the seller had come to this board for advice saying "i've just sold a sofa collection only and insisted on PayPal", the majority of respondents would have told her to ask the buyer to cancel and pay cash.

soolin

sham63 wrote: »

If the seller had come to this board for advice saying "i've just sold a sofa collection only and insisted on PayPal", the majority of respondents would have told her to ask the buyer to cancel and pay cash.

Yes, but we would also have said that as she had insisted in PayPal only she had already really given up the possibility of amicably arranging for cash with the buyer.

We would also have advised that as she could not have insisted on cash anyway, if she choose to refund the payment she should expect a big fat neg and low stars and possibly a non performing seller complaint as well.

If seller already has issues with their account the neg, low stars and complaint could well be the final straw. Also of course seller still has the final value fees to pay.

Sellers like that are probably best sticking to the small ads

We must always remember that whilst cash on collection is recommended for collection only items it CANNOT be insisted on.

Crowqueen

But the seller is not asking for advice (sounds like she should have done). It's the buyer asking.

Give advice based on who is asking, not on who you think should be asking for it.