Winning an auction. Is the seller obligated to sell it?
If someone wins an auction that a seller doesn't have a reserve price, and it sells for the min. of what the seller started the auction at, isn't that seller obligated to sell it at that price? I know if a reserve price is met, that the seller has to sell it without a doubt. I won an auction at a low price, and now the seller doesn't seem to want to sell it or send it to me for the price I won it for. The seller had free shipping on it also and a low starting price...and I won it for that low price. So my question is, is the particular seller obligated to sell it to me for what I won it for?
11 comments
josephb555
·3 years agoIf there is no reserve price the seller is obligated to sell to the highest bidder. Your bid represents a contract between you and the seller. You should definitely report the seller to eBay. Log onto the contact page of eBay and click contact by phone. eBay will call you in about 5 minutes using the number you have on file.
sapphire_studio
·3 years agoYou can also leave him feedback even if he cancels (as long as you paid). He is probably trying to message you to get what he interprets as permission from you to cancel so he can select that you asked to cancel so he can avoid the serious defect that occurs on his account for choosing "out of stock". Sellers can get suspended for being out of stock only a handful of times. If he selects that you asked to cancel or that there was a problem with your address than report him.
scuby109
OP3 years agoIf the seller won't sell it for what I bought it for, or cancels the sale, he'll be reported to Ebay.
itscalledapostingid
·3 years agoWhat you described is a policy violation but ebay has no power to force the seller to ship the item.
Ebay can take action to punish violators though.
You can report a seller who violates ebay policies here:
report seller form
"Seller doesn’t want to complete the sale" is one of the violations that can be reported.
kathiec
·3 years agoThere's a two-part answer to your question. According to eBay rules, yes, the seller is obligated to complete the sale. But there's no way eBay can force the seller to ship the package. If this was a newer seller I honestly blame eBay more than I blame the seller. Ebay recommends that sellers start their listings at $.99, under the theory that it attracts more bids. What eBay fails to remind these new sellers is if that their item may sell for $.99.
12345jamesstamps
·3 years agoI had won an auction with a very low bid with other auctions. I got excited and then days later seller could not find one lot but mailed all the other lots to me. And he refunded me even before I said anything. I just let it go. Never gave feedback and he never did either. I know he didn't want to give it to me. It happens. I call it walking away and never to buy from them again.
scuby109
OP3 years agoWhat I do is leave neg. feedback for a seller that doesn't or won't complete the sale. The seller I got the item from is a new seller with only 1 feedback...it's my fault in taking the chance on a newbie seller. As the saying goes : Once burnt, lesson learnt. This will be the last time I take a chance on buying anything from a new seller with zero feedback or a seller with too many negative feedbacks.
sapphire_studio
·3 years agohttps://www.ebay.com/fdbk/leave_feedback
12345jamesstamps
·3 years agoI prefer not to leave negative feedback. Buyers and sellers can see what type of feedback is left. It doesn't look good if there is negative feedback from a buyer or seller that reads it. It means the buyer or seller can be very picky. I prefer to work with the buyer or seller. If no solution I will just move on. Might block them of course.
klhmdg
·3 years agoThe seller can not be MADE to sell it to anyone.
Did you pay?
If you paid then the seller either ships it or cancels.
IF the seller cancels for "buyer requested" notify eBay that you did not request to cancel. By the way, at no time via message or anyway else tell the seller to cancel.
scuby109
OP3 years agoI'm not worried...If the seller doesn't send the item won, I'll let Ebay handle the situation. Ebay is good at getting a buyers money back if they have to. Time will tell though.