eBay charging me fee for item never sold

[earlybebe]

someone emailed me about one of my listings. in their email they included their phone #.  i didn't respond to their email or phone #.  ebay sent me a warning. a warning as if i asked the person for their phone #.  i did not.  someone else wanted one of my high priced items.  they wanted to lay it away(3 people have asked for this).  i tried to alter the invoice to show a deposit with balance due.  i couldn't. i did this in the earlier days of eBay with no problem.  i told the buyer i had the item on anoother site, and they should go there because i can do a layaway. 

i get another WARNING from eBay.  the buyer never followed thru and never went to the other site. out of frustration, i took the item off of all the sites.  next thing i know eBay is charging me a selling fee of $700+, because i removed the item.

problem for me is that eBay zooms in on one email. if thy looked at any other emails that may have been sent by a buyer or seller, they would see what the deal is, and not just assume.  the eBay person i spoke to about the buyer sending me their phone # said he would have the warning removed. he never did.  i take full responsibility for my indiscretions, however, i resent being accused of something i had nothing to do with, and i resent someone making judgement without knowing all the facts.

[partial*eclipse]

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@earlybebe wrote:

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 ...  i told the buyer i had the item on anoother site, and they should go there because i can do a layaway. ...

I can see why eBay reached the conclusion that you had sold the item offsite.

[d-k_treasures]

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@partial*eclipse wrote:

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@earlybebe wrote:

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 ...  i told the buyer i had the item on anoother site, and they should go there because i can do a layaway. ...

I can see why eBay reached the conclusion that you had sold the item offsite.

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Especially coupled with:

out of frustration, i took the item off of all the sites.

[ersatz_sobriquet]

The only hope you may have is if the item was unique. Then perhaps you can relist it on ebay and see if by calling in you can prove it wasn't sold because it is relisted. Shot in the dark and I don't think it will fly, but it's the only idea I can think of at all. 

We've been warned this was going to happen to sellers. I think of all the sellers that never read this board, we are going to be reading more and more of these threads. 

The legality of it is another thing entirely, problem is I don't think most sellers will do anything about it besides pay the fees even when innocent. 

[luckythewinner]

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@earlybebe wrote:

  i told the buyer i had the item on anoother site, and they should go there

{snip}

the buyer never followed thru and never went to the other site.

{snip}

next thing i know eBay is charging me a selling fee  

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It does not matter whether the buyer visted that site, or whether the sale happened. 

According ebay policy, you are liable for final value fee if you offer contact information in the context of buying or selling outside of eBay - even if the item does not sell.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/rfe-spam-non-ebay-sale.html

When you directed the buyer to another site and told him to buy it there, you offered him a way to contact you in order to buy the item off site. This violates eBay policy and made you liable for the fees. 

[fern*wood]

Per ebay:

"In addition, we don't allow our members to use eBay to contact each other to make offers to buy or sell items outside of eBay. Violations of this policy can result in a range of actions, including your messages being blocked, limits of your buying and selling privileges and suspension of your account. Sellers are liable for final value fees if they offer or reference their contact information, or ask for a buyer's contact information, in the context of buying or selling outside of eBay, even if the item does not sell."

[chipper01work]

Just curious OP. Was the item $700 or did eBay charge you $700?

[tinlebarro-0]

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@earlybebe wrote:

someone emailed me about one of my listings. in their email they included their phone #.  i didn't respond to their email or phone #.  ebay sent me a warning. a warning as if i asked the person for their phone #.  i did not.  someone else wanted one of my high priced items.  they wanted to lay it away(3 people have asked for this).  i tried to alter the invoice to show a deposit with balance due.  i couldn't. i did this in the earlier days of eBay with no problem.  i told the buyer i had the item on anoother site, and they should go there because i can do a layaway. 

i get another WARNING from eBay.  the buyer never followed thru and never went to the other site. out of frustration, i took the item off of all the sites.  next thing i know eBay is charging me a selling fee of $700+, because i removed the item.

problem for me is that eBay zooms in on one email. if thy looked at any other emails that may have been sent by a buyer or seller, they would see what the deal is, and not just assume.  the eBay person i spoke to about the buyer sending me their phone # said he would have the warning removed. he never did.  i take full responsibility for my indiscretions, however, i resent being accused of something i had nothing to do with, and i resent someone making judgement without knowing all the facts.

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So the short version is, you took the sale off ebay AND you still dont take responsibility because youre complaining about the fees

[mistwomandancing]

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partial*eclipse wrote:

earlybebe wrote:

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 ...  i told the buyer i had the item on another site, and they should go there because i can do a layaway....

I can see why eBay reached the conclusion that you had sold the item offsite.

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Oh, for heaven's sake!!!   Luckily, this drives me to drink, so I'm going in to pour myself some wine... 

[siayan]

I reach the same conclusion as eBay.

[chrysylys]

I don't.

No way this should be allowed to happen if the sale isn't recorded here.

[coolections]

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@chrysylys wrote:

I don't.

No way this should be allowed to happen if the sale isn't recorded here. 

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So Ebay should allow users to find buyers here, then sell the items elsewhere once the buyer is found ? I suppose that would work if they set up a selling choice someone could use that they would pay Ebay say $10 to list an item. Once payment is made, the seller can then sell the item wherever they choose using Ebay's platform to find those buyers.

[partial*eclipse]

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@chrysylys wrote:

I don't.

No way this should be allowed to happen if the sale isn't recorded here.

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Then your argument is really against the basic policy, not against whether the policy should be applied in this case.

[ted_200]

So the short version is, you took the sale off ebay AND you still dont take responsibility because youre complaining about the fees

Well, of course he's complaining, it's utterly ridiculous.

It might be one thing, if it sold on another site, and eBay could somehow prove the buyer who did the contact here was the buyer there.  But to assess FVF when a) eBay cannot prove the item even sold, or b) they cannot determine who actually bought it, is beyond ridiculous.

So... let's say some buyer Messages you asking for (or providing) a phone #.  You ignore it, nothing more happens with the buyer.  Are you now obligated to leave the item listed on eBay FOREVER (until it sells), or pay the FVF? 

I fully understand that's what the UA says, but that doesn't make it right, and it doesn't make anyone who thinks it's ridiculous wrong. 

I fully expect eBay to encounter legal issues over this, sooner rather than later.  Not only because it's wrong, but because many of their sellers (the big toy seller, for example) are clearly making sales after someone sees something on eBay and then finds it on their own site cheaper, and I can assure you eBay is not charging that seller FVF on every single Ninja Turtle they sold anywhere because someone sent an eBay Message.

eBay is going to claim this is to prevent sellers from taking sales off-eBay to avoid eBay fees after eBay provided an "introduction" to the buyer.   That's just a bald-faced lie though, because eBay makes zero effort (and frankly has zero capability) to determine if the sale occurred with that buyer, or even if a sale occurred at all. 

[ted_200]

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@partial*eclipse wrote:

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@chrysylys wrote:

I don't.

No way this should be allowed to happen if the sale isn't recorded here.

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Then your argument is really against the basic policy, not against whether the policy should be applied in this case.

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Applying the policy in a case like this is going to alienate their sellers, and get them sued.   The basic policy is SO FAR beyond what is reasonable, they may well get their "no class action / arbitration" UA proviso tossed out in the process.  The courts are not going to be very willing to entertain a mass theft hiding behind arbitration clauses, eBay would be expected to operate with some modicum of good faith to make that stick.