Seller cancelled order after accepting my offer?

[tokyonimbus]

So the seller cancelled an order after accepting my offer. I saw an email saying that the item is damaged or out of stock after I had paid for the item. It seems fishy because he was saying it was in stock just a few minutes earlier via message and then cancelled without any warning or message. It almost seems like the seller didn't want to let it go at the price and was having second thoughts, but I have no idea since he hasn't responded since. 

I didn't realize you could cancel orders without buyer confirmation.. can anyone help me? What's the best way to go about this? If I still really want the item can anything be done?

[tokyonimbus]

What also doesn't make sense is that I got an email saying the transaction has been cancelled yet no e-mail about a refund and the money is still out of my account.

[mudshark61369]

@tokyonimbus,

eBay cannot force a seller to complete a transaction, but does give them defects if they cancel a transaction and may charge them a fee for taking that action. 

There may not have been a Formal Offer if you only discussed the price through messages. If you did make an offer on a listing that had Best Offer the seller can be punished by ebay.

Did you look at the seller's feedback profile before making an offer? They might have had a fair number of feedback, but none as a seller or they hadn't sold in over a year.  A new or returning seller might not realize two things:

A) the new listing tools might have added Best offer to their listings even if tey did not want to accept them.

B) There would be a 21 day hold placed on their payments by PayPal. It would show up on their account as Pending, but show Completed on your paypal account.

The hold could be why they wanted to cancel, and have not yet refunded you.  The refund may show up as a paypal balance or take a few days to show up on your card, depending on how the payment is funded.  You can find out about PayPal refunds by going to that site click on the Help button and type How are refunds processed in to the topic search box.

If the seller is new or returning, and you still want the item try messaging them again and tell them if your payment is Marked as pending by PayPal, to login to their account click on the Help button, and type "Payment Hold" into the topic search box. They would get the info they need to complete the transaction.  

The previous messages may have been seen as coming from a scammer if the seller didn't know about the hold.

Good Luck

[tokyonimbus]

The seller had no feedback, but it was a rare item and he seemed to have a good item description that did not seem suspicious. It was strange when the offer was accepted immediately, which was actually lower than the starting bid of the auction he had set.

I checked the timing on the emails and I guess I had paid AFTER the order was cancelled.. and I paid using my bank account so I don't see the transaction in Paypal. I don't know why eBay would let me pay if the order was already cancelled... hopefully my funds will be returned shortly.

I've tried contacting the seller and haven't received a response since. It hasn't been long, but I am still a bit worried since it was a little bit expensive.

[mudshark61369]

@tokyonimbus,

  " I paid using my bank account so I don't see the transaction in Paypal".

How did you make a payment directly from your bank account without going through Paypal?  Did you pay by an electronic bank transfer?  If so you may have lost your money.  In Europe bank transfers are used often, but they are rare and not encouraged  on the US site. Read the link below from the UK site. 

https://www.ebay.com/gds/Payment-by-Direct-Bank-Transfer-/10000000002794069/g.html

If you mean you paid by e-check, those can take several days to clear, and Thursday was a holiday and weekends also can slow down the clearing process.

  "The seller had no feedback, but it was a rare item and he seemed to have a good item description that did not seem suspicious. It was strange when the offer was accepted immediately, which was actually lower than the starting bid of the auction he had set".

I do not think any of eBay's listing tools force Best Offer on an auction listing.  That only has happened to Buy It Now Items.  A seller would have to check a box to add Best Offer to an auction listing.  If the listing said anything about contacting the seller by direct email to see how payment could be made, it was a scam. 

If the opening bid was set fairly high and there were few days left in the auction, a seller especially a new one, might accept a lower offer than the starting bid.  Most would let the auction end, then relist it with changes though.

[tokyonimbus]

How could I have lost my money? I paid through eBay's checkout system and it said I was covered through Seller Protection. I paid through my eBay account which is registered to my Paypal account, I was not aware I could even pay with my bank account directly and lose seller protection.

It says the payment method is credit card under the order details, but it's just my debit card.

[tokyonimbus]

Honestly I was equally surprised I couldn't see the transaction in my Paypal account since everything I buy usually goes through my Paypal. Right now it says the order is cancelled, but then still has an estimated delivery date. I don't understand how eBay would allow me to pay for a transaction through their site if it's already cancelled? Surely I can't be liable for that and am still covered?

I even have an order confirmed e-mail from eBay saying all the order details and estimated delivery date. It doesn't make sense that my money would just be gone if the seller doesn't ship?? Don't I still have some protection?

[tokyonimbus · Accepted solution]

So I just called eBay and got it sorted. I guess the refund is going back to my account within 24 to 48 hours and was already processing. It seems really weird it would let me pay after the order has been cancelled though and not mention anything of a refund.

[pburn]

Who knows why the seller cancelled? We can take as many guesses as we want, but we'll never know which one of those is correct. Bottom line is, unfortunately, you're not going to get that item from that seller.

Of course you still have protection under eBay's Money Back Guarantee--assuming you paid for the item through eBay's checkout and with your debit card, as you've explained it in your previous posts. You paid the same way you've paid for all your other eBay purchases? Nothing different in the procedure you used? You used the eBay cart? The same funding source? Not via any email links?

If the seller cancelled your purchase, you will see the money refunded back to your funding source--in your case, your debit card. This could take a few days to show up into your checking account. Keep in mind that transactions don't post on weekends, so if you haven't received the refund by maybe mid-week, contact eBay for assistance (or come back here and post again).

[pburn]

Oh, good for you! Glad it's resolved!