Item not received

[jorfa.jorfa]

My partner purchased a bracelet from a seller as a gift for my birthday last month. The seller accepted an offer that he expected to be countered but to his delight it was accepted.  The seller messaged asking for payment the day she accepted the offer, the item was paid and she then provided tracking that showed that the item never shipped.  She claimed to have sent it and stopped responding entirely.

My partner went through the steps after 2 weeks to report the item as not delivered, she didn't reply within the window of time allowed and 

eBay took care of it via an automated system that refunded him. 

Our question is, are there any repercussions when a 5 star seller accepts an offer and decides to keep the item instead? We've shopped frequently with eBay and had similar issues in recent months, we will be very  hesitant to make purchases here in the future.  The ratings seem wildly inaccurate, is there a better way to spot sketchy sellers or should we simply steer clear of ebay altogether?

[gkyn29]

First off, happy belated birthday.

Other than the monetary hit of a refund, there are tools which affect a seller's rating so actions like that do not go without repurcussions. There are many explanations for the seller's actions, none of which are acceptable...perhaps the seller was unintentionally out of stock on the item (most likely) or maybe they really needed the money temporarily so were willing to accept a low offer (this is unacceptable) knowing they would end up paying it back.

As you've already experienced, although there are unfortunate circumstances, there are very strong buyer protection measures that you can't always get elsewhere. As both a buyer and seller on ebay for over 17 years I can say it's a fun place to be...you take the bad with the good.

For finding obscure, or htf stuff, ebay has no equal, but it doesn't come without risks, no community marketplace does.

[ed8108]

I don't know of anywhere where you can absolutely insure that a purchase will be a problem free transaction.

Great that ebay has a money back guarantee program in place.

[garmentvarmint2004]

JORF

This kind of thing CAN happen here---but it is NOT COMMON.

What do  you mean by  saying the ratings are wildly inaccurate?   I   always found them to  be  quite dependable.   Do you know that what would be a  good Score on other Sites---is sometimes  a weak Score on  bay?     l always look  for an  Overall  Score of AT LEAST 99.6%.     Scores in the  95%  to 98%  ---ARE NOT GOOD. 

On  THE other hand---Buying from any  Chinese seller  is frequently risky.  Personally, I avoid them altogether.