Seller is adding hidden fee and trying to force me to pay - EBay wil not help
I submitted a bid on an auction for a Celestite stone and lost the auction. The winner apparently subtracted their bid, and somehow it made me the winner. The shipping was listed as free on the item. The issue is, the seller sent me an invoice for an additional $15 (for shipping) above what my bid was. eBay makes you autopay within 3 days, so he is essentially trying to force me to pay whatever he wanted for the item. ($85 instead of $70)
I have called eBay twice and they told me they cannot do anything about it and I do not have the option to cancel it.
I have asked the seller to cancel it multiple times as he is trying to scam me but has only responded once saying “I will†and is just waiting for the auto pay to go in 1 day.
This is blatant violation of eBay’s policies why is this loophole being allowed? What can I do?
the-jewelry-box
·2 years agoPut in a request to "cancel the auction". The seller will have a limited number of days to respond to this. I have never heard of an "auto-pay" taking up to 3 days to initiate; usually it is automatic and happens right after you win the auction. But, if that doesn't work, and you are still forced to pay for this item; when it comes to you, give the seller a big, fat negative feedback and request to send the item right back to them (and make them pay the returning shipping)!
reallynicestamps
·2 years ago@devon@ebay @ kyle@ebay @elizabeth@ebay
piggypowerllc
OP2 years agoFinal update to all: the seller canceled the order last minute 🙂
I believe I will atleast get the chance to leave a negative which is good.
Thank you all for this nice discussion lol.
Many lessons have been learned.
piggypowerllc
OP2 years agoAnd eBay I pray you read the entirety of this thread!!!!! Urgently needs to be fixed!!!
doc-holmes
·2 years agoJust my take, but I wouldn't leave a negative. Others will see it and unfairly hold it against you, and it will peeve off the seller. Just be happy it worked out and forget the whole thing.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoI think you are a much nicer person than I am.
I think the seller's pants are on fire.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoYeah, I wouldn't trust anything a phone rep told me about removing penalties.
Yet another reason why AutoPay is going to drive away buyers, all to appease a few whining auction sellers, who, after making their bidders wait for a week to learn if they won or had to start all over again, won't give them the courtesy of 96 hours grace to pay.
ittybitnot
·2 years ago, won't give them the courtesy of 96 hours grace to pay.
@reallynicestamps
Actually, with the latest "enhancement", sellers who retain the Buyer Requirements eBay put on their accounts set to YES will be granting 72 hours to pay with the new 3 day delay for auctions.
For buyer who make an offer, that is changing too. If a seller accepts, the name of the transaction is changed from "accepted" to YOU SENT AN OFFER or YOU RECEIVED AN OFFER, neither of which are true. The buyer is no longer auto-billed when their offer is accepted. No instant payment for the seller with this either even when they accept an offer and their preferences remain in the default to YES. The seller can accept plenty of offers for the same item, but they can't send an invoice. So they either get paid or not, basically like the old method, but they cannot award non-payment strikes. Though some buyers may think if their offer is accepted, the seller has agreed to sell to them.....Nope. First person that pays gets the product, and that may or may not be to a buyer that made an offer that was accepted.
Really, not much sense in running off paying bidders that won't bid when the advantage of getting paid FAST is indeed removed. Getting paid ONE day faster is not really an incentive to limit your buyer pool for auctions, but apparently there are presently other means to increase one's revenue with auctions....Send an Invoice!!!. ?????
This thread has been quite enlightening.
worldcoinauctions
·2 years agoI see there is a note on the item saying that it could be assessed duties/customs fees. Not sure if that is the case here but it seems like a possibility. It does list free standard shipping.
kalyoth
·2 years agoI did not see this part resolved but - you legit won the auction. The bid retraction/cancellation occurred 2 minutes prior to close of the auction.
The rest, in terms of payment & invoicing changes, others have mentioned that.
house*of*paws
·2 years agoThere's no question that the bid was removed by the seller because of the following:
It doesn't seem that the OP is complaining about how they won the auction ... but rather that the seller is violating eBay policy by adding on an additional charge.
Hi @piggypowerllc
The listing is still showing that the item Sold for $70 with Free Shipping. Make sure you take a screen shot of that screen ... as well as the Bid History ... just in case something changes once Autopay does its thing. [With eBay, you never know for sure when something might change.]
As already stated by others, you're under no obligation to pay more than $70 for the item. The only question is how many hoops you'll have to go through to get refunded if you're automatically charged more than $70.
Please continue to let us know how this situation progresses. Good luck and Happy New Year! 😊
ed8108
·2 years agoWhat can I do ?
You could file a complaint on the Better Business Bureau site to receive a reply from a highly knowledgeable ebay spokesperson.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoYou could file a complaint on the Better Business Bureau site to receive a reply from a highly knowledgeable ebay spokesperson.
The BBB is a private franchise originally set up by businesses to improve the image of local businesses.
While it is likely eBay is a member, the BBB at best can mediate customer problems.
Their decisions have no legal force.
BBB members pay an annual fee to belong. We did this for most of the 35 years we were in business because it gave our customers some confidence and because their website was an excellent place to advertise our services.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoWas shipping free to YOUR country?
Did you somehow agree to an upgraded service (from Free/economy/regular parcel to $15/swifter/ Priority)?
Was the higher fee part of the Second Chance Offer?
I don't know if that is possible, even, but sellers cannot change the cost of shipping after the auction ends.
Is this a separate invoice from the auction invoice?
Is this invoice for shipping from Paypal or from eBay?
I have called eBay twice and they told me...
The phone reps have a terrible reputation for getting you off the phone as soon as possible even if that means giving you the advice you want to hear instead of the advice you need to have.

https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/ — Message button in upper right on landing page.
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/How-do-I-contact-Customer-Support/m-p/32016431#M1783851 -> Automated Assistant, type AGENT -> enter. You will then get more options.


The social media Chat accounts are covered by trained eBay employees with some authority.
And you get a transcript so you can compare what you heard with what you were told.
lacemaker3
·2 years ago@reallynicestamps
No, no and no.
There was no second chance offer. OP misunderstood and jumped on this apparent (but incorrect) explanation.
The seller cancelled the high-bidder's bid (it was probably a shill bidder) with about 2 minutes left in the auction, so OP won the auction. Then the seller sent a fraudulent invoice with increased shipping costs as soon as the auction ended.
buyselljack2016
·2 years ago@piggypowerllc
It would seem that the amount that you won the item for (including listed shipping) would be the amount that would "autopay" . You should be able to ignore the "revised seller invoice".
A winner cannot subtract their bid. They can "retract" before the listing ends making you the winner.
piggypowerllc
OP2 years agoOn my end, it shows that in 1 day I will be charged $90. I removed my payment options in hopes I will not be charged but I’d rather not have to jump through return hoops and all.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoThat is very disturbing.
When a listing has bids a seller is not be able change the shipping terms. Autopay should be based upon only what was there.
eBay should not allow a seller invoice to override the "end of auction" total.
Listing # ??
piggypowerllc
OP2 years agoItem number: 285614257767
piggypowerllc
OP2 years agoAnd i see a negative review on their page showing they did it to someone else 😞
stephenmorgan
·2 years agoThe Invoice can override the shipping fees. Its purpose is to adjust Shipping for combined orders or to offer additional shipping options that may have been requested prior to payment. The purpose is not to increase shipping fees (unless agreed to) because the seller decided to ask for more shipping, nor is it meant to be a cleaver way to hide the shipping fees from your listings. But people have figured out that you can use it on a whim to increase shipping cost. Buyers should ignore the invoice if changes are made that are not agreeable to them.
buyselljack2016
·2 years ago@stephenmorgan
There was a thread along these lines just a while back. It did not involve autopay. As I remember it, the buyer just was not paying attention, and just paid for their item not noting the added shipping.
The shipping amount was substantial, and buyer/seller messaging included attempted justification from the seller that because the item sold for little, that the substantial added shipping was justified.
Why I am reminded of this is because it was also a sale for such an item. These "whatever" mineral formations.
In that other instance, if I remember correctly the seller did finally give in, cancel and refund the buyer.
The scary part here is that the OP indicates that "autopay" is going to charge that altered amount.
Holiday today with payment due. No time to tag a "blue" for clarification as to what "autopay" will actually do.
stephenmorgan
·2 years agoI cannot post an example without a Sale pending.
But,
I played with an invoice the other day just to see how far I could take it. For a single item with a $4.20 shipping fee if I wanted to offer a discount the most I could discount was $4.20. Offering more of a discount than what is being offered would not be accepted and I would receive an error message. I could add an additional fee of $250, no problem.
piggypowerllc
OP2 years agoThat’s crazy!!
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoYup, the no invoice "below the cost of the item total" is the way it has been forever (as far as I know)
the-jewelry-box
·2 years agoSounds like the seller added more shipping fees in the invoice he sent this person..
lacemaker3
·2 years agoRemoving your payment options will probably be effective to prevent the automatic payment. Please let us know what happens, because auto payment is very new and we don't have a lot of experience with this yet.
However, you will still have to get this transaction cancelled because of the seller's actions, so you still need to contact eBay CS on Facebook, and get them to investigate.
The seller should not be allowed to get away with this.
ittybitnot
·2 years agoRemoving your payment options will probably be effective to prevent the automatic payment.
@lacemaker3
I am not so sure about that since the OP is also a seller on this ID. One cannot get rid of all your "payment options" and still be a seller. ?????? eBay may just hit the OP's bank account or c.card on file for "selling" as happened to me once.
It must have been when eBay was playing around with this new auto pay thing. I won an auction one night, went to pay and hit checkout. Within ONE SECOND, it was over??? I did not get to choose how I wanted to pay, never selected PayPal, had any sort of ONE-CLICK set up or had any choices presented as an option...all I got was a "thank you for your payment" (or something to that effect). So I start wondering how in the world I paid for this?
It seem I had a still active one c.card associated with my account from the days I used to sell. My bank account was closed, all my other cards were closed or expired and PayPal not linked. It was that one card left over that still worked and it paid for my listing while I blinked once.
So if the OP removed the Payment choice for bidding, I would not be surprised if eBay used another handy one if the first selection fails.
@piggypowerllc
Apparently, your auto-billing is supposed to happen this evening. Please let us know the amount they charge you, and what payment source was hit. I was thinking since the seller SENT an invoice, I wonder if perhaps you get 'three extra days'???? LOL.
Good luck!
piggypowerllc
OP2 years agoI will certainly keep you all updated, I have the same concern about being a seller as well.
Everything is removed minus the payout account which it would not let me take off, and as a test I tried to place a bid on something else and was not allowed without adding a new method so it’s a 50/50 at this point.
If it doesn’t charge it, I am then concerned if it will once I add a method back on my account again. I hope for an eBay rep to read this entire thread for all of the info.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoReason # 6,482 to not use the same account to buy and sell.
piggypowerllc
OP2 years agoGood point. Will open another thank you.
monica-sells
·2 years agoNot sure how you called ebay, but that's for another thread....
What this seller did does not sound above board.....apparently, you are saying the 'winning' bidder did not pay, so the seller offered the item to you as a second chance offer?
I was unaware that the seller could alter an invoice and 'add' shipping to a completed item.
piggypowerllc
OP2 years agoYes that’s exactly what they did, it made me the winner for $70 and immediately after the seller sent me an updated invoice including the additional $15 charge!
lacemaker3
·2 years ago@piggypowerllc:
No, that is not what happened. You have misunderstood, and the true explanation is important. With a second chance offer, you cannot become the winner without accepting the offer. The seller cannot force you to pay for an SCO.
The seller cancelled the high-bidder's bid about 2 minutes before the auction ended, and THAT is what made you the winning bidder. Then the seller immediately sent an invoice with additional shipping cost, which is against eBay policy unless the winning bidder asks for more expensive shipping.
The high bidder did not retract, so this strongly indicates that this was a shill-bidding situation, since the seller cancelled the bid and then immediately took advantage of the situation to charge extra.
@piggypowerllc, in this situation you should contact eBay on facebook to reach customer service agents based in the USA who can help with unusual situations like this.
https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/
Send a private message, explaining that the seller is trying to charge extra and is exploiting automatic payment to do so.
piggypowerllc
OP2 years agoI appreciate that I will attempt that
the-jewelry-box
·2 years agoI'd like to know how you were able to chat with someone from eBay. Seems like they don't have a phone number, whereas you can talk to a "human" anymore.
reallynicestamps
·2 years ago@the-jewelry-box
The phone reps have a terrible reputation for getting you off the phone as soon as possible even if that means giving you the advice you want to hear instead of the advice you need to have.

https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/ — Message button in upper right on landing page.
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/How-do-I-contact-Customer-Support/m-p/32016431#M1783851 -> Automated Assistant, type AGENT -> enter. You will then get more options.


The social media Chat accounts are covered by trained eBay employees with some authority.
And you get a transcript so you can compare what you heard with what you were told.
stephenmorgan
·2 years agoThe purpose of the Invoice is to remind Buyer to pay and or to alter Shipping Costs and Options.
The Invoice is where you would Combine Shipping and offer additional Shipping Options that were not in the Listings. If someone asked for a specific way to package something that would increase the Shipping Cost this is where you may add and request the additional cost.
The Invoice is not meant to gouge shipping cost after a sale but sometimes it is used this way.
The buyer needs to make sure the Invoice is correct before they pay it.
krazzykats
·2 years agoYou may have to open a return case after the allotted time if the seller does not cancel before it auto-pays.
piggypowerllc
OP2 years agoSo you can just charge people what ever you’d like and they can’t do anything about it? That’s absurd
stephenmorgan
·2 years agoSound like you uncovered a Flaw with the Auto Pay function. If you pay with the Invoice then you will have to pay based on the choices offered. If you wait and let the Auto Pay take the payment I would think the program is onlying going to allow charges as specificed in the Auction Listing. Basicall let the AutoPay Function charge you as per the Auction stated amount. If the Auto Pay charges you more than the Auction statd then call eBay back because now they have some to contest.
Also if you no longer want item after you were out bid, this is another flaw in the Auto Pay function that allowed you to become highest bidder and required you to pay.
piggypowerllc
OP2 years agoI believe this is something the sellers in China are exploiting. Is there any way to raise this issue to eBay? You have summarized it well.
And to recap, if the autopay engages, it should charge just the $70?
So is the seller basically hoping the buyer just pays the invoice without noticing or eats the extra money etc?
stephenmorgan
·2 years agoYes, I believe you are exactly right, the seller is hoping you do not notice and will just pay.
It is difficult to raise any issue with eBay. You can chat with their system and sometimes have them call you. A good way is when a Survey pops up, fill out the Survey and express what you have encountered. If there is a question such as "may we contact you" and it is allowed for a comment, give them your email address.
This would be a good section to read to see if there is a section to allow you to report what is going on. I would think maybe Policy Violation.
Report an issue with a seller
https://www.ebay.com/help/action?topicid=4022
https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/resolving-issues-sellers/report-issue-seller?id=4022&st=3&pos=1&query=Report%20an%20issue%20with%20a%20seller&intent=report%20seller&lucenceai=lucenceai&docId=HELP1299
1786davycrockett
·2 years ago@piggypowerllc
"I believe this is something the sellers in China are exploiting."
Are you telling us that the seller is in China?
That could open up an entirely BIGGER can of worms, in case you try to do a return.
So where is the seller located?
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoPer the item # provided. China
piggypowerllc
OP2 years agoYep. China
1786davycrockett
·2 years ago@piggypowerllc
Many, many, many eBay buyers have reported ENORMOUS problems with items ordered from sellers in China -- and MANY of those items bear NO resemblance to what buyers THOUGHT that they were ordering.
The item which you had thought that you had won for $70.00 may turn out to be a piece of worthless junk.
And many NAD cases against Chinese sellers have become IMPOSSIBLE to resolve for eBay buyers.
My crystal ball is telling me not to expect any good news coming from China.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoThe penalty for an Unpaid Item is a Strike on your buying account.
With only one ever of those, you can ask eBay to remove it.
This is a once in a lifetime offer.
Or you can live with it for 12 months when it disappears.
If you get two UID Strikes in 12 months many Sellers have an automatic Block against your bids.
You probably can do Buy It Now/ Immediate Payment Required purchases. I'm not sure.
If you get "too many" Strikes in a short period , probably less than 12 months, eBay will step in and close your Buying account. They are cagey about what "too many" means, for obvious reasons.
This may give you an idea of how to proceed.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoHow do we know the buyer is going to receive the item since he doesn't plan on paying that extra charge?
Cannot open a return case if/when there's nothing to return.