I Win Item, Seller Unhappy With Selling Price, Cancels Purchase!

samsmoot

I won an auction on ebay - electric blanket, 1p.


Seller said he made a mistake by 'bidding' at such a low price and refused to send it. I opened ebay case, then told him he still needs to send my item, now he has refunded me.


I did not know this was possible - seems open to abuse. What's to stop any seller who doesn't like the final selling price from simply cancelling the purchase and making a refund?


The seller waited until I queried where my item was and then said he didn't want to send it - that was 10 days after paying. So obviously I was a bit unhappy.


I won't make a big deal over this - probably. But for future reference how does this work? I understand how the seller can easily refund me via PayPal, but for ebay to allow a refund within the Open Case when unilaterally requested by the seller, and against what I stated in the Case Details - doesn't seem right or fair. Would the seller need to have given ebay a good excuse for not sending the item? Could I make a complaint to ebay about this? (I probably won't - but would still like to know).


On a broader level, is it correct that once I pay for goods and payment is accepted, then those goods then belong to me? And therefore does it not follow that I could force those goods to be sent, as per the contract? And if not seek the cost of a replacement item? Or do I agree to different T&Cs within ebay which negate some consumer rights (if it is one of them)?


As I say, I probably won't make much fuss over this. It's a private seller who has never sold a thing, with about 75 Feedbacks @ 100%. I am tempted to leave a poor review, but am reluctant to do so. I like to be reasonable, and if it's a genuine mistake then fair enough. It's just the bad attitude I didn't like - waiting until I complained then refusing to send the item was pretty poor. Were this a business seller I'd likely be quite strict, but perhaps I should be lenient in this instance.

soolin

No one can force a seller to sell, however that is what feedback is for.

Flyonthewall

As above, no one can force a seller to sell and private sellers do not have to go by the same rules as business sellers, although you still can't force someone to sell to you.

The seller didn't tell ebay a thing. You opened a case and they refunded, that's it. If you'd escalated the case then the decision would have gone to ebay but if the seller never marked it as dispatched ebay would have seen that and just refunded. They wouldn't bother asking the seller why, they don't care.

Feedback is to give your experience. It doesn't matter whether they've sold before, got 100% positive feedback or whatever; if you're unhappy then leave feedback that reflects it. Just give the facts. Warn other potential buyers as they could do the same to someone else.

samsmoot

Thanks - left a negative feedback after all.

Bromley86

Perfectly within your rights, but that's a bit harsh. 1p (inc. free postage) for something worth ~£10 and the first item that seller has ever tried to sell. You said "if it's a genuine mistake, then fair enough" - well, clearly it was.

pulliptears

With 75 feedback the guy should know by now how eBay works and if he's going to sell then he needs to take responsibility as a seller for his own auctions.
Ignorance isn't much of an excuse I'm afraid and if he was in any way clued up he'd realise the effect a neg and lots of 1 stars are going to have on his future sales.

RHemmings

It is possible to sue for loss of bargain: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3136478

But fundamentally almost nobody ever does. And when they do it will be for something more valuable than an electric blanket.

Stoke

pulliptears wrote: »

With 75 feedback the guy should know by now how eBay works and if he's going to sell then he needs to take responsibility as a seller for his own auctions.
Ignorance isn't much of an excuse I'm afraid and if he was in any way clued up he'd realise the effect a neg and lots of 1 stars are going to have on his future sales.

Agreed.

Harsh or not, the seller knew the rules. I've sold things at a loss before, I've also won things at a very good price. I've also sold things at a gain before, I reckon it evens out a lot of the time.

samsmoot

RHemmings wrote: »

It is possible to sue for loss of bargain: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3136478

But fundamentally almost nobody ever does. And when they do it will be for something more valuable than an electric blanket.

Thanks for the link. Satisfies my curiosity.

bartelbe

Bromley86 wrote: »

Perfectly within your rights, but that's a bit harsh. 1p (inc. free postage) for something worth ~£10 and the first item that seller has ever tried to sell. You said "if it's a genuine mistake, then fair enough" - well, clearly it was.

Then the seller made an expensive mistake. Now the seller could have asked for understanding, but the buyer didn't have to give it to them.

The risk you take when starting an auction low, is one bid and it going for nothing. That is why I only start high. I would rather list 20 things and sell one at £20, than sell all of them for 99p.

soolin

Bromley86 wrote: »

Perfectly within your rights, but that's a bit harsh. 1p (inc. free postage) for something worth ~£10 and the first item that seller has ever tried to sell. You said "if it's a genuine mistake, then fair enough" - well, clearly it was.

I fail to see how this was a genuine mistake- you list something at 1p by accident? how?

The only mistake here is a seller who thinks they are being clever with a low start price and completely failing to understand how supply and demand works.