Was This eBay Seller Scamming?

[unemployed_husky]

I bought and won a Kirby for $58.61 on eBay.  $30 +$28.61 shipping.   The seller got back to me and said it would cost an EXTRA $100.00 to ship it after "they just got back from UPS" on top of the $30 I already paid, and then sent another eMail later saying it would now cost $120.00 to ship it. They demanded my PayPal eMail address so they could "send an invoice to me now".  I said no, the shipping was only $28.61, the item was already paid for, I do not have that kind of money (would have been over $200 by this point).  They cancelled the order.

I looked back on the order and I found out that they relisted it just 4 days after it was cancelled, with the shipping price only $24.87 higher than what it was when I bought it, no change on the item price, and it was sold and paid for and shipped (positive feedback received from buyer saying it was in good shape).

So why were they asking to get $120 additional money for shipping alone out of me when they were happy to ship it for $50?  Is this some kind of bait and switch scheme or what?  The seller only had 1 prior positive feedback score but has been a member for 9 years.

[tdumonde2014]

The scam is trying to shake the buyer down for additional monies.

[me298530]

They cancelled the order.

Consider that a blessing. The seller is either trying to scam people after the fact by demanding more money or the seller is ignorant and not fit to be selling until they learn the rules.

[unemployed_husky]

Yeah that's what I thought. I knew something was fishy. It's just weird they willingly refunded if they were up to something bad. Maybe they just think they can hook someone that doesn't know what something should cost and will pay extra cash.

[downunder-61]

If they cacnelled the order using 'buyer asked to cancel' or 'problem with buyer address' report them to eBay.

[ed8108]

I suspect that the price that you won the item at plus shipping may not have met your seller's expectations.

I also suspect this seller may have hoped you might request a cancellation by asking you for an outrageous additional sum for shipping the item you won.

When you said no to paying more,& did not ask to cancel, your seller cancelled & relisted.

[mudshark61369]

@unemployed_husky,

  "The seller only had 1 prior positive feedback score but has been a member for 9 years".

When you checked the seller's feedback profile how many feedback did they have after their username in (  ) ?  If the account had been dormant for over a year the 1 feedback  could have been for a purchase and that can indicate a hijacked account.  It could also be a new seller. On a profile page if you do not look below the box that only shows feedback received in the last 12 months, you can miss important info which is why you have to check all of a profile page's info. 

@ed8108, could be right about the seller not getting as much as they wanted for the item.  That could be because the seller is new and took ebay's bad advice about starting auctions at a low price. It could also be a scam attempt.  Sometimes things new sellers do mimics what scammers do.

[chrispass918]

If you have to ask if they’re scamming they probably are