Seller won't complete transaction and is acting shady.

[keatobu_0]

I recently bought an item from a seller that was listed at a about 400 dollars.  I completed the transaction and paid up front the full amount, I even received an email confirming it and got a message that the seller was also getting my item ready.  A day later they responded and said that my item was "damaged" due to heavy rain and flooding.  They asked if I wanted a refund and apologized.  That's normal right?  The shady part comes in the form of the listing being updated.  Originally the item was bought for 400, they said the item was destroyed because of flooding in their warehouse, but now the listing has the item up for 800 dollars, twice what I paid for the item.  They can't cancel my transaction because they simply want more money for the item all while lying about the fact the item was destroyed can they?  Does eBay have any policy about following through with the transactions once they are paid?

[luckythewinner]

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Does eBay have any policy about following through with the transactions once they are paid?

Yes there is a policy, but eBay has absolutely no way to force to a seller to ship an item. Just as they have absolutely no way to force an auction buyer to pay for his item. 

They asked if I wanted a refund and apologized.  

If he claims he doesn't have the item, what other option would there be aside from a refund? I suspect he wants you to ask for a cancel so he can feel justified in choosing "Buyer Requested" as a reason and avoid an out-of-stock defect. 

If it were me I would tell him that I want my item, and the other one he has listed will do just fine. 

[candd205]

Don't tell him you want to cancel the item. If  you do this, then he will avoid the defect on his account, because he will say you requested the cancellation. Instead, just calmly say you do not want to cancel, that you want the item as described in the condition on the listing. No extra chatting, just that one line.