Seller lost the item They asked me to initiate the refund and not to give a negative review
I’m newer to eBay and I have a problem. I won an auction. The seller contacted me and said they couldn’t find the item in their warehouse. I told them I was fine with them taking a day or two to look for it. I contacted them again when we got to a week. They still can’t find it and they asked me to initiate the refund request. They also asked me not to give a negative review, but the experience was negative. eBay will not get involved for another 3 weeks. Any advice?
21 comments
ryry-jj
·9 months agoFollow the protocol....you won and paid and are expecting the product. When it doesn't arrive within the time allotted time frame, file an "item not received" claim. You can leave neutral or negative feedback, whatever you want but state the facts, "seller lost the item, never shipped, and wanted me to cancel the transaction. I wish they were able to ship the item I won, because that is what I paid for"
oregon_bins
·9 months agoKeep in mind that when you leave a negative it's not just a negative for them it's a negative for you as well. Many people will look at the feedback you leave for others when deciding whether to do business with you and accept an offer etc.
At least they attempted to communicate with you about what was going on. People are human and sometimes they lose inventory.
If you really feel like you need to punish him then request that he cancels and uses the correct reason that he's out of stock and they can take the huge derogatory mark that would put on his account. If he makes you file an item not received case to get your money back then that would probably justify a neutral feedback "Seller told me they no longer had the item that I bought in auction but instead of refunding me I had to file an item not received case to get my money back".
I don't think anyone would not want to do business with you if they saw you left a neutral like that
simba6
·9 months agoIf it sold at a low price, it could be a lie. I would not cancel the sale. Let them handle it. You just have to wait it out and file an item not received case if it does not arrive. Until then, don't replay. Let them squirm.
christworks
·9 months ago@tvhd5_80 Sellers, including myself, sometime misplace things. I have almost made it a year without an out of stock and I am sure trying to get through 2025 without one. I don't think negative feedback is warranted simply for being out of stock.
I do think negative feedback is warranted because the seller is attempting to avoid responsibility by having you cancel. Sellers are able to prevent buyers from buying from them if they have too many cancellations within a certain period of time. If you cancel the order, it may hurt your buying ability with some sellers if you have cancelled other orders recently. The seller knows (or should know) this. I find that part of the seller's behavior unethical and for that reason I would, at a minimum, leave a neutral feedback. I would totally not fault you for leaving a negative though. Whatever feedback you leave, state the facts, be rational, and leave the emotion out of it.
gosimus
·9 months ago@christworks
< the seller is attempting to avoid responsibility by having you cancel >
A buyer is physically unable to cancel a transaction. The seller wants the buyer to request a cancellation, so he can legitimately choose "Buyer request" as the reason for his cancelling the transaction. Less honorable sellers have just gone ahead and chosen that reason from the get-go.
christworks
·9 months agoExactly...not sure the point of your post unless you are nitpicking that I did not explicitly state the buyer requests a cancellation. I do know the difference. The point of my post is that the buyer should not make any attempt to cancel. You are right, the seller could still select buyer's request as the reason, and if they do that then they should be reported and negative feedback should be left IMHO.
gosimus
·9 months agoIt isn't nitpicking. It is called exactitude. Okay, so you do know the difference . . . if you'd use correct terminology in the first place these little corrections wouldn't be necessary.
roccotacodad54
·9 months agoDid the item sell for cheap? That would be a deciding factor on my deciding what feedback to leave.
If it sold for a good amount I'd just wait and file "Item not received" at the appropriate time and leave a neutral. Either way I wouldn't initiate the refund request seller is asking for at this time.
If it sold for cheap right or wrong I'd probably assume the seller didn't want to ship so they could re-list and get more money for it. Negative probably earned.
Either way I wouldn't further contact seller on this matter and file "item not received" when the time comes.
iamalwaysright
·9 months agoI wouldn't even bother communicating with the seller any more. Just file the "item not received" claim when ebay allows you to. Usually this is after the estimated delivery date passes. You'll get your money back one way or another (Money Back Guarantee protection).
How you handle your feedback is up to you. If you end up not leaving any feedback, ebay will eventually leave positive feedback on your behalf to the seller that says something like "Order delivered on time with no issues". It's a new program called automated feedback.
gosimus
·9 months agoEven if there's no tracking that indicates delivery? I admit, I don't know much about the automated feedback other than I don't like the concept, if it eliminates "no feedback" as an option.
jonathanbrightlight
·9 months agoNo, in fact the order must have tracking showing successful delivery within the estimated time of arrival shown when making the purchase. If there’s no tracking, or if it’s late, or if the buyer raises any issue formally with eBay (item not received case, not as described, etc), the automated feedback will never be left.
gosimus
·9 months ago@jonathanbrightlight
Thank you for explaining that.
iamalwaysright
·9 months agoHm actually I don’t know. I’m not really familiar with the policy neither. Now that I think about it, it would make sense for the automated feedback to only kick in for ones that have successful tracking delivery.
tobaccocardyahoo
·9 months agoI have over 5k individual slow selling items in stock at any time.
Sometimes I cannot find an item. My handling time is long enough to find it if I misplaced it. I do not ask my buyers to cancel, I cancel for out of stock if necessary.
I usually do not get negative FB because the buyers believe I am more upset than they are about the transaction, and potential loss of the item.
A negative FB is meaningless to me, the cancellation puts my business at risk because it can affect my seller level.
albertabrightalberta
·9 months agoDoes the seller already have negs for being unable to follow through on their sales? Is there a pattern?
gosimus
·9 months ago@tvhd5_80
< but the experience was negative >
Yes, but there are degrees of negativism. I wouldn't leave a negative feedback. I reserve the use of negative feedback for egregious actions, such as a "seller" deliberately trying to steal from me, or maybe lying to me if the lie was serious enough. IMHO, the inability to find an item would deserve either a neutral feedback, or no feedback at all. The seller committed no violation by asking you to request the cancellation, he can't be faulted for not wanting to incur a Defect . . . and you could always refuse to accede to his asking.
jameshen1
·9 months agoI disagree with gosimus a bit even though I feel she is usually spot on. The seller is at fault for listing something they don't have or can't find. Should have it in hand before listing. Asking you to cancel so they don't get a defect is wrong. How you handle feedback is up to you, but the seller should cancel for out of stock. Do not ask them to cancel.
toomuchstuffagain35
·9 months agoI'm more likely to 'forgive' a small seller losing an item in inventory, someone with a 'warehouse' not so much.
bonanza125
·9 months agoYou need to tell this seller to cancel this transaction with "out of stock." They are responsible to know what items they have up for sale. If they can't find it fine they need to do the right thing and cancel it with the correct reason. Now will that happen after this request probably not. They will cancel but with the excuse that you the buyer wanted to cancel in order to not get dinged/mark on record. If it gets to this point which I highly doubt it will is you should is once it's one day past the estimated delivery date just file an item not received and then have Ebay step in.
mudshark61369
·9 months agosoh.maryl
·9 months agoThey asked you to cancel so they won't get dinged. What was the last estimated delivery date? Asking because you can open an item not received case one day after that date. Why will eBay not get involved for another 3 weeks. The only reason for that would be if the delivery date is that far out.
Have you ever read the Money Back Guarantee for buyers? Now would be a good time.