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Seller backed out after I won.
The seller (vtgcaliforniaglam) backed out, and refunded my money, after I won the bid, and already paid!
vtgcaliforniaglam said it wasn't worth it to them to ship it to me, refunded my money in the middle of night, then told Ebay it was because the item was 'no longer available or out of stock'. After sending me 3 separate nasty emails, stating clearly that they weren't happy with the money, I don't see how they can then lie about why they're backing out.
Now, I can't get them to send me the item, or Ebay to do anything about the seller. I also can't give negative feedback, because the seller refunded the money in the middle of the night, and I didn't know they did it, so the system acts as if the sale never occurred, and feedback is off the table for me.
Ebay says they can't do much, because the seller refunded my money - as if that makes it right!
It Does NOT make it right! I'd like very much to do more than lick my wounds while vtgcaliforniaglam gets off Scott free, or with a stern warning! Clearly, they have Zero regard for the rules, so unless someone does something that makes them think twice, they're not only going to screw me, they'll do it again, the next time someone wins a bid where they were hoping for more.
Of course, vtgcaliforniaglam was an absolute jerk when I objected, and sent multiple unpleasant emails to me, cuz of course, they feel THEY are perfectly free to treat buyers badly, knowing Ebay will never touch them, and I can't leave a bad review.
How can I prove them wrong?
This is not the first time this has happened to me, and soon, I'll have to wonder if it's worth bidding, if the seller is allowed to just refund my money and tell me tough luck, if they don't get what they want.
How often is this happening to others - and we're not allowed to know, because Ebay protects them from bad reviews? vtgcaliforniaglam is the most vitriolic seller I've ever dealt with, and has no issue whatsoever in talking rudely to me - when THEY were the ones who backed out - but their rating remains high, due to the rules Ebay puts in place to protect them. I defy anyone to leave negative feedback. It's nearly impossible.
karmal924
OP3 years agoHi,
Thank you for taking the time to respond, but I already knew "Not enough money" wasn't an option - because it's stated clearly in the rules that it's not allowed - which is precisely why I was so upset at being cheated.
vtgcaliforniaglam set their minimum bid, not me, and their trail of nasty emails to me complaining about how they didn't get enough to make it worth their time to ship it to me, made it pretty clear that is precisely the reason they refunded my money.
As I originally stated, this is not the first time this has happened to me, and because the option to leave a negative review is removed once the refund goes through, it's little solace to the buyer to know that they've been cheated, but the seller has received a completely hidden/toothless Demerit from eBay.
If that's the worst punishment handed out, they have zero reason to care, and buyers have zero ability to know how many other people they've jerked around. I can assure you, vtgcaliforniaglam made it abundantly clear to me that they did not care what eBay had to say about it, and told me to go ahead and tell eBay all about it.
That certainly indicates a lack of consequences in their eyes - Right or wrong, a hidden demerit is not a deterrent to bad sellers.
Fortunately, the first responder to this issue gave me the info I needed to be able to leave feedback, which I did. I can't force vtgcaliforniaglam to send me the item I won, but I can at least tell other buyers to beware.
Thank you,
Karen : )
evry1nositswindy
Mentor3 years agoThere are only a couple of reasons to choose from when cancelling. Not getting enough money is not one of them! Out of stock, buyer requested, buyer hasn't paid, item was damaged (I think this is still one--I haven't ever cancelled a paid order) are the options. Unless it is buyer related, the seller incurred a defect on their seller account that lasts for a year. Too many of these and they will be further sanctioned plus have fee increases.
woodland_gnome
·3 years agoThe seller already got a "defect" when s/he cancelled the transaction (unless the reason given blamed you for requesting the cancellation or giving a bad address in which case come back for instructions). That is the primary tool eBay uses to weed out bad sellers, downgrading the selling status of those who get too many relative to their sales volume (as opposed to having to pay employees to actually investigate to see how likely it was that the seller had a legitimate reason to cancel vs. deliberate policy violations).
You may leave appropriate (calm, factual--if the seller said that x was the reason say "seller said x. . ." so people don't think you are just jumping to conclusions) feedback to warn future buyers/bidders. If the usual links have vanished, go to anyone's Feedback Profile (doesn't matter who, click on the feedback score in parentheses behind the username) then scroll down to below the last comment on that page to find a "Leave feedback" link that doesn't vanish (it brings you to a list of items you can leave feedback for), but be aware eBay has been messing with the format and from most pages on the main website you have to click several links to get to the full Feedback Profile (e.g. "Show all feedback" link at the bottom of the one that only gives you a short list); the ones here on the forums still go directly there so click mine.
Theoretically you could sue the seller for breach of the contract of sale (for the difference between the auction price and what you ended up having to pay for a replacement), but that is almost never practical.
karmal924
OP3 years agoOh, Thank you for telling me about how to leave feedback.
Just an FYI - They selected "Out of Stock" as the reason to cancel, but since it was a one of a kind item, there was never any stock to run out of. They had one item, I bid on it, won, paid for it, then they backed out because they were so sure it would be bid up by the throngs of buyers that would surely bid. When that didn't happen, they refunded my money in the middle of the night, and refused to sell it to me.
Since they also felt compelled to berate me in the process, they also left a trail of several email rants, about how it wasn't worth it to them to pay to ship it to me for the meager profits they would net from the sale at the auction price that they set.
I sincerely thank you for your help. I've had that happen to me before, and while it's all well and good that Ebay will give them some sort of internal demerit, that doesn't warn others, or do any real damage to the reputation of sellers who cheat buyers.
Thank you,
Karen : )