I won auction and seller wants more money for item- what to do

[lsst]

I just won an auction that had a buy it now of $190 with an opening bid of $100.

The item had been listed two times prior with no bids. ( A total of 3 listings)

I bid the only bid of $100 and won the auction. I paid immediately with PayPal.

I just received this  message from the seller:

I did see your bid, until late this afternoon. 100.00 is just not enough for the Tea chest. It is in beautiful condition inside and out. If you are still interested I will let you have it for 180.00. I have researched the value of the Tea caddie. We purchased it in England in 1982.

I based my price on the fact there were no photos of the inside and also the price at which similar plain boxes are selling. I e-mailed the seller before the auction ended and asked questions.

Why would a seller list an item twice starting at $100 with no reserve if he/she had no intention of selling the item at that price?

What would be the best course of action?

I have been a buyer since 1999 and I guess I am lucky this is the first time I have had this happen.

I have not responded to his message yet.

[buildersstuff]

I would pay the winning bid of $100.00. Then if he does not ship it , open a case. He has to deceide then if it is worth a neg feedback or ship the item.  If he does not ship give him a Neg feedback and ebay will refund your $100.00. This process make take a couple weeks so the $100.00 will be tied up for a while. You will either get the item or your money back and the seller will learn something that if you auction, you auction. He should have put a reserve on it. 

[lsst]

Thanks for the reply. I paid within 5 minutes of winning using PayPa. I am a little bummed. The seller has only about 20 something feedback but all positive.

How or should I respond to his message?

[lintbrush*]

I would tell them that they set the opening price for the auction, you bid and won, and that you expect them to honor the terms of their listing/price.

[lsst]

If the seller refuses and cancels the transaction- can I still leave negative feedback or report it to Ebay?
I do want the seller to be accountable and I would want to give neg feedback to warn other potential buyers.
The more I think about it the more disappointed I am.

[knode89]

You won and you paid.  Let the seller know that you won at the listed price and listed shipping and that you have paid for the item and that you expect shipment soon.  Be cordial and be calm and only talk with the seller via Ebay Messages.  If he does not ship the item in the next few days.  Go to the resolution center and file a claim for item not received.  If you receive any sort of cancellation notice from the seller, DO NOT ACCEPT IT.  Let ebay handle the claim and refund your money.  That way the seller will get a big Negative on their selling account.  It is a big hit for a seller, especially if they are a small time seller to not honor a sold item and it will hurt them.  That is your best bet.  I would also suggest you mention in your Not Received item post that the seller has messaged you demanding more money for the item.  Again a big No No for a seller and let Ebay handle them.  

[lsst]

Thanks Everyone!

[lsst]

I just checked my feedback and he left a positive stating he needed $180 for the box. Apparently this was done before I responded to his e-mail.
I responded to his message that I was disappointed and that I had won and paid and expected shipment. I mentioned the Ebay rules and stated I hope he will honor the contract.
All messages are through EBAY.

[lintbrush*]

@knode89

There is no approval needed from the buyer for a cancellation.  It's a done deal if the seller does it.   The buyer cannot deny it.

@lsst

You will have the option to leave feedback even if they cancel and refund.  You might have to find it through the feedback forum.  If the seller does not cancel and refund, you will have to open an Item Not Received claim.  You cannot do that until the day after the last day of estimated delivery.  It's Sunday night.  The seller may not be online.   See how it plays out over the next few days.

[lsst]

Thanks Lintbrush, I will take your advice. Maybe the seller will honor his contract. I will keep you guys updated. Everyone has been so helpful!

[deep-garnet-red]

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@lsst wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I paid within 5 minutes of winning using PayPa. I am a little bummed. The seller has only about 20 something feedback but all positive.

How or should I respond to his message?

---

"Please ship my item."

Nothing more, nothing less.

Do not agree to cancel. Do not get in a long drawn out message war.

If they refund you and cancel, neg them...."did not follow through with sale"

[gabbycockatiel]

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@deep-garnet-red wrote:

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@lsst wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I paid within 5 minutes of winning using PayPa. I am a little bummed. The seller has only about 20 something feedback but all positive.

How or should I respond to his message?

---

"Please ship my item."

Nothing more, nothing less.

Do not agree to cancel. Do not get in a long drawn out message war.

If they refund you and cancel, neg them...."did not follow through with sale"

---

I would be more specific: "Seller demanded more money than my winning bid." Whatever you do, don't mention anything about an Ebay case - for some reason that's not allowed and can get your feedback removed.

Regarding cancellation, to my knowledge the seller can cancel with a false reason such as "out of stock" without buyer consent, but cancelling for that reason will still put a defect on their account. The only cancellation that doesn't hurt them is "buyer requested cancellation," which does require the buyer to accept it. So, if you get a request to accept that, don't.

If you want to, you can also call Ebay and have them remove the seller's feedback comment. Sellers are only allowed to leave truly positive comments for buyers.

[gabbycockatiel]

Also, wow, check out the seller's feedback left for others. That person really has no idea what feedback is for.

Oh, and btw: "I based my price on the fact there were no photos of the inside and also the price at which similar plain boxes are selling." - It wouldn't have mattered if you had entered a higher bid, as you were the only bidder, so it would have sold to you for the starting bid price of $100 regardless of your max bid amount.

[deep-garnet-red]

Buyers no longer have the option to approve or deny a cancellation.

[currencyoftime]

Wow.  That individual appears clueless.   Like was already mentioned, their Feedback as Seller reads like an excuse "Better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission."  Strip all of the potential "just didn't do any research regarding policies before opening an Ebay seller account" out of it and look only at the fact they aren't prepared to honor opening bid on an auction without reserves, and it tells you all you need to know about this seller.  I sincerely hope Ebay's algorithms picks out this Ebay "bad apple" because plenty of well-intentioned Sellers lost abililty to sell that weren't dishonest, just caught up on a catch-22.  THIS type of seller should be their target.  Geesh OP, I hope you bring their eyes towards this one and receive your fairly "won" tea chest!