Offering Different Replacement Where Sold Good Is Stolen???
Hey good folks. I had a regrettable circumstance where the video games that were part of an auctioned bundle were stolen from my vehicle in the process of transporting them. I alerted eBay ahead of the close of the auction, and they basically told me i should let the sale proceed and then try to work out an accommodation with the buyer.
Initially, i figured I’d offer equal value, but different games. But then i got to think of a recent situation where i was ripped off from a buyer who claimed damaged console. I sent her an even better replacmenent, and then she refused ro send the initial one back even though i sent her a prepaid shipping label. Given this, i decided the best course was to cancel the deal, regretfully.
To that end, i informed the buyer, who acted like he didnt understand and went ahead and paid, including shipping, thus increasing my transactional costs — maybe i should have ignored eBay and just cancelled the auction.
i just called ebay, and they said ideally i get the buyer to agree to cancel, and if not i can appeal to get the negative remark removed.
Fwiw, i can understand the buyer’s intransigence — it so happens he got a very good deal. But that wouldnt have been an issue if i had just canceled the auction!
Do folks agree about not offering a different replacement? And should i have just canceled the auction — if thats possible?
Thanks for reading and any guidance, its much appreciated!
dhbookds
·2 years agoPerhaps too late...........but I would have offered a big coupon discount to the buyer, 40% or more, on another purchase at the same time the original transaction was canceled........along with many apologies..........to forestall a neg.
jinxie-tj
OP2 years agoAppreciate it, but that’s a bit rich for my blood. It’s my first neg and they said it would be removed as a matter of course if I appealed. In any event, given recent experiences, I think I’m finished selling video game consoles on eBay. It seems to attract a lot of cretins. I’d rather sell for 30% less on FB. eBay, IMO, should provide some better seller protection — not speaking of this instance, but generally.
fern*wood
·2 years agoThe best lesson to learn is to always quickly ask on this board when a problem like this comes up. Unfortunately, calling ebay phone reps (whom may have started work yesterday and never sold an item in their life) is usually the worst thing to do.
umccars
·2 years agoOn Ebay, you're on your own. Learn the rules and figure out what works best for you. Ebay is not going to help much.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoYes, you should have just canceled the auction as soon as the items were stolen. If an auction has more than 12 hours left, the seller can just cancel all the bids and end it early with no transaction. With less than 12 hours left, the seller can still cancel the bids, and then hope that no last-second bids come in. You got bad advice from eBay customer support.
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/ending-listing?id=4146
Now, your only option is to cancel the transaction on the basis of "Out of stock". This will put a defect point on your account, but just one of those won't affect your account status.
jinxie-tj
OP2 years agoThanks, but my bad — there already was a bid and it was just a couple hours away.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoAs I noted in my edit, even with a short time left in the auction you could have canceled the bid(s).
If you start negotiating with the buyer regarding replacement, it will not go well. Just cancel the transaction and put this all behind you.
jinxie-tj
OP2 years agoThanks, much appreciated! eBay said they would remove the mark if I appealed bc it was a first-time offense.
I am going to wait a day, to see if by chance the buyer capitulates, which I highly doubt based on his initial curt reply, and then I’ll cancel.
Fwiw, he did say he would accept the replacement, but I know from reading that that’s not enforceable and he could return for non-compliance.
Thanks again!
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoThere's no reason to wait, just cancel the order as out of stock and refund the buyer.