Is ebay going down the drain? Seller cancel my purchase even after I paid fully the won auction.

[mrict1]

After being on ebay for about 2 decades, this morning I learn that ebay now, is having a policy that seller can cancel the sale, even after items is sold and buyer has fully paid for it, for whatever reason buyer likes to! This is what happened to me. I won the item. Paid instantly. After 3 days get an email from buyer:
"Are you still interested in this item? I had an issue with my account and had to cancel and then relist all my items. If you are interested please see the item back up on ebay. Thanks so much".

He obviously also lies about relisting all his item, as I do see a feedback on another item he sold on the same day when I bidded). The so called issue with his account in reality is nothing but the fact that, he thinks the item is sold at lower price, than what he wanted. Why? Because the new listing is starting at the price I end up buying this item but he has jacked up the shipping FIVE time!!!!

I call ebay. The rude ebay customer service person not only tell me seller is perfectly doing fine by ebay's policies, but he even goes one further step and passed sarcastic comment towards me! Really!!! Is this what current ebay is all about???!

Well even if you are reading this and feeling I am wrong or no sympathy with me as a victim of purchase on ebay (You remember the statement "Bidding is a contract and buyer and seller obliged to complete their contract"), who has lost my ample time to find an item,  watch it down the auction period, set the time to be there when auction ends and make the final price rise and bids, then pay form my account, just to find out that seller has all rights to cancel any time they want and for any reason they want, then Its me who has to wait another one week to get the paid money back to my account (Meanwhile potentially I am responsible to pay paypal and ebay charges (Though small), the interest etc, inquired), then at least now you know a new ebay trick: List the item. If the sold price not enough, just cancel the purchase, start with the end up price as staring point in a new auction, even email the previous buyer and ask him to join and rise the price one more time for you.......  You have developed enough follower buy now and possibly set a price on sand as least price. Well now buyers have nothing to loss but to earn more, as long as passing the profits to ebay and paypal.

Shame ebay and you have lost at least one (Upto this date) loyal buyer! That is if you even care....

[ed8108]

Yes, it is very disappointing when a seller or a buyer fail to complete a transaction. 

[a*river*runs*through*it]

@mrict1

"Meanwhile potentially I am responsible to pay paypal and ebay charges"

What charges would those be?

Buyers do not incur any fees. If you are refunded in full you are made whole.

The seller got a defect on their account for cancelling the sale.

[castlemagicmemories]

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OP, Sorry this happened to you, I know how it feels and it doesn't feel good.

But this has been happening for ages.  Sellers do get a very serious defect when they do this, and it can hurt their visibility and cost them their selling privileges.

Being on as long as you have, I am very surprised that you have not run into this before.  I have more than once.  If this is your first experience, please know that this is not the norm.  I would reconsider leaving Ebay because of one bad experience.  Of course it is your decision, but after so many years, with no issues, this will soon be a bump in your rear view mirror.

Wishing you better experiences.  

Ebay can no more force a seller to sell than they can force a buyer to pay.

[femmefan1946]

But this has been happening for ages.  Sellers do get a very serious defect when they do this, and it can hurt their visibility and cost them their selling privileges.

I've been around since 1998, and agree, cancellations after the fact have been going on since then.

They may even have been worse, since at that time there were more auctions (those are now down to only about 15% of transactions) and more sellers were foolishly starting the auctions at eBay's suggested 99 cents.

The Defect system is recent and much as we sellers hate it, it does act more effectively to control sellers who are trying to sucker bidders with low starting prices they have no intention of honouring.

[mudshark61369]

@mrict1,

" Are you still interested in this item? I had an issue with my account and had to cancel and then relist all my items. If you are interested please see the item back up on ebay. Thanks so much".

While it is too bad this happened to you, it most likely happened because of an inexperienced seller.  They have sold only 8 items since joining in `02, and only 2 in the last year, Their other items were sold more than a year ago, so chances are PayPal placed a 21 day hold on their payments, and they were not prepared for it. On their account they saw the payment as pending, while on your account the payment showed as completed.  The hold often catches returning sellers, unawares, and finding the info to complete the transaction is not easy.

Not only that but the item you bought could not have shipped for the price shown on that listing since it weighs around 5 lbs, and would need a large box to ship it in.  $7.75 is the shiping cost for most items weighing 1lb in a standard size box (one with all dimensions under 12 inches, and they listed the shipping as $8. 

The above does not excuse what the seller did, they seem to have done the same thing with the lens they recently sold as well, it too has been relisted.  It can explain why this happened. 

By now you should know to check each seller's feedback profile before buying from them. Even checking those with a 100% rating, especially if they have a low feedback number.   Not only can doing that help you weed out the bad sellers, but it can let you know if you are dealing with an inexperienced one as well, which can save you time and effort. 

[missjen831]

I seriously doubt the issue was the 21 day hold since the seller relished the items.

[femmefan1946]

If the item, from the seller's point of view, was not paid, it would make sense to relist it, in the hope that the next sale would go smoothly.

And the rise in shipping cost makes sense in that context too.

Not condoning the seller, who jumped in without updating her knowledge of the current system, but... yeah.... I can see that situation.

And if she got Defects on both those relisted failed transactions, then she is going to find her selling account closed very soon.

All for the lack of a horseshoe nail.

[mudshark61369]

@missjen831,

"I seriously doubt the issue was the 21 day hold since the seller relished relisted the items"

Femme.., beat me to a reply and wrote basically what I would have written. 

Going beyond that, the seller is displaying their inexperience by re-listing the items with a starting price close to the highest bid received from the cancelled transactions.  They have also guesstimated the shipping to be much higher than it should be. They've made other mistakes as well with the other item they have re-listed, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see both items re-listed even if they sell again,  next week.

[myangelandmyprincess]

While yes the transaction should be completed eBay does not and has never had a way to enforce that   Buyers who don't pay risk getting unpaid item strikes which eBay has actually become more lenient on since it used to be three and your out (well with one freebie so really four). But while becoming more lenient on the non payers They've become harder on sellers who refuse to follow through.  Yes they've added the option to officially cancel but that comes with a price.  Cancelling for out of stock gives the seller a defect refunding without cancelling can also result in a defect.  Sellers are allowed very few of these before they are restricted.  

[castlemagicmemories]

Ebay is not going down the drain because of one failed transaction.

Sorry this happened to you, OP.

[cargo11]

Question - if the seller cancels a paid transaction, can the buyer still leave feedback for that seller or report them?  I don't know the answer - otherwise I might state to leave a negative in their feedback.

[castlemagicmemories]

You can leave feedback but you will have to go through the Feedback Forum to do so.

The seller likely self reported if they chose out of stock for the cancellation reason.