Message from ebay

[storagetreasures2004]

I received a message from Ebay that stated Ebay has cancelled a bid from the buyer after they paid for an item. It shows they paid and that I have not shipped the item! I hope this does not hurt my Top Rated Status and not sure what to do at this point:

Message from Ebay:

Here’s what you should do

• Don’t complete the sale or ship the item to (buyers name) if you haven’t done so yet.
• Don’t communicate any further with (buyers name), especially if they get in touch with you outside of eBay. 
• If (buyers name) requests a payment or refund, don’t send any money without contacting eBay first. If payment was processed, a refund has not been issued yet just in case you’ve already shipped the item.
• If you already sent the item, contact the shipper to find out if you can stop the delivery and have the item returned to you.
• If your listing has ended, you can relist your item

I need a way to contact Ebay besides the chat, because that doesn't seem to work.

StorageTreasures2004

[simply-the-best-for-you · Accepted solution]

You don't need to do anything & it won't hurt you in any way.  It happens from time to time.  If you haven't shipped yet, that's even better, but even when you have shipped, it's almost never a problem.  I've had lots of them where I've already shipped.  No problems at all.  It's been years since I had one.   I've never bothered trying to stop delivery.  It just means someone was most likely kicked off eBay but the reason can be pretty benign, so it's nothing for you to worry about. 

[toysaver]

EBay worked to protect you.  Something was wrong with the payment.  My guess is it was for the $200 newspaper.  This is a better outcome than being scammed out of your money from the buyer which is becoming increasingly harder to pull off.  The TRS is evaluated every 30 days and this transaction will be long gone by then.  My experience is that the item disappears from awaiting shipping in a few days.

[soh.maryl]

Can you explain further? If the buyer already paid and the seller already shipped, what happens next? 

[pickapaper]

@soh.maryl wrote: "Can you explain further? If the buyer already paid and the seller already shipped, what happens next? "

The OP said in his first sentence that the buyer paid but he had not yet shipped.

I've never had this happen but if eBay warned this because of something wrong with the buyer's payment, I would guess eBay will probably reverse the payment (since they tell OP not to refund) and it will be like the transaction never happened.  But I don't know for sure.

[soh.maryl]

Thank you for your helpful reply.  

[jonathanbrightlight]

@pickapaper I’ve had it happen before, they didn’t reverse the payment on our end at least, and the item didn’t come back to us, so it was just like any other order at that point, despite the message.

[kalyoth]

ebay will likely add this transaction to a file labeled "fraud" & write off the money on their taxes. You will very likely retain the earnings for the sale & get to resell the item a second time. Not guaranteed as ebay does behave oddly at times. But, that has been the case with two such transactions for me.

Whether you pursue selling the item a second time or donate it, is your call.