eBay won't help. Can you?

[ufgator1978]

I attempted to sell four car wheels in late May. I had a willing buyer\ and I shipped the wheels, and that's where the fun started. The buyer refused delivery because the post office wanted an additional $380 in postage. That's on top of the combined $300, split evenly, the seller and I had already contributed to the shipping cost. I had gotten faulty advice from an eBay rep on how to prepare the shipment, which is what led to the breakdown. To this day eBay refuses to accept responsibility. 

A week after the refund was issued, another  eBay member who had come forward with a lowe offer the same day the shipment went out (I naturally just ignored it) filed a dispute claiming he was due a refund. WHAT?!?! I laughed to myself over the guy's nerve. Today came news that eBay had sided in his favor and they're preparing to take money from my bank account to fund his refund.

I'm beyond myself trying to comprehend how something this outlandish to happen. You can't reach a live human being at eBay, they refuse to pay attention to the facts and I'm about to be frauded out of $466 of my hard-earned money. Is there recourse for something like this? I certainly can't trust eBay to answer that.

[itsjustasprain]

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@ufgator1978 wrote:

A week after the refund was issued, another  eBay member who had come forward with a lowe offer the same day the shipment went out (I naturally just ignored it) filed a dispute claiming he was due a refund. WHAT?!?! I laughed to myself over the guy's nerve. Today came news that eBay had sided in his favor and they're preparing to take money from my bank account to fund his refund.

I'm beyond myself trying to comprehend how something this outlandish to happen.

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Viewing your completed listings shows that your negotiated sale happened on May 27th - but then someone hit BuyItNow on a second listing for those wheels on May 28th.

[ufgator1978]

As mentioned, the second offer (or the Buy It Now buyer) came in $100 lower. I never responded to the person. Am I missing something? Can he be entitled to something simply for clicking Buy It Now? I never agreed to sell to him and he never remitted payment that I'm aware of. I never received anything from eBay to indicate I was engaging this person in a sale. 

[kensgiftshop]

You sold them twice.

Did both buyers pay?

[ufgator1978]

I honestly don't know. I never got notification that I had sold the wheels to the second party or that money had changed hands. Literally nothing. The seond offer was $300 below the offered price. How could I become a party to a transaction that I did not approve? This is bizarre. 

[slati_2013]

Such items are best shipped by UPS Ground. Cheaper. Also how were the items packaged? Big boxes have an extra big box surcharge. The $108 you have posted is way too low. And the cost only goes even high if the distance is far.  If you don't have a UPS account, I recommend setting up one and using it for bigger items. Also consider splitting the wheels into say our different boxes.  Also, this probably she be a "local pickup" listing auction only. 

[ufgator1978]

I was aware I had made a mistake on the shipping. I had four boxes to ship and only one label. I went to considerable trouble to get a live human being on the line and ask: Does this look right to you? I can't use the same USPS label on all four boxes, can I? Have I made a mistake?

He put me on hold and two minutes later said, go ahead and send them with one shipping label. I did and I've lived to regret it. eBay acts as if that conversation did not take place. 

[itsjustasprain]

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@ufgator1978 wrote:

The seond offer was $300 below the offered price. How could I become a party to a transaction that I did not approve? This is bizarre. 

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Your listing was for $1,100 OR Best Offer. You declined the Make Offer that was $300 lower but the buyer was still free to hit the Buy Now button and claim it that way instead (for full asking price). He must have paid you (even if somehow you did not notice) because otherwise Ebay would see no funds to claw back later if that is what is happening now.

When you look at your Sold Items page what does it show for payment status on the May 28th listing?

[itsjustasprain]

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@slati_2013 wrote:

Also, this probably should be a "local pickup" listing auction only. 

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Absolutely. You do not want to be on the hook for a full refund due to claimed shipping damage (either real or fake). Local Pickup Only.

[ufgator1978]

It says it sold on May 28. That was the day after the items shipped to the original buyer. If I'm hearing you correct, there's another step I could have taken that I wasn't aware of. The system is convoluted enough that a seller can unwittingly make the mistake I made without eBay's system catching it and stepping in to prevent a problem. eBay could see I was already engaged in a sale. That's plain awful business if that's what happened. Awful.

[ufgator1978]

Clarification: It says payment was received from buyer #2 on May 28 and that payment was received from buyer #1 on May 27. 

[itsjustasprain]

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@ufgator1978 wrote:

Clarification: It says payment was received from buyer #2 on May 28 and that payment was received from buyer #1 on May 27. 

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Right - your listing somehow got relisted and you had a second buyer (full price) the day after the first one.

I cannot tell from here whether your second listing came up after the first one sold (somehow you hit a Relist Item link) or if you accidentally put up two copies on Day One and they sold one day apart.

[itscalledapostingid]

You can view the order details page for each sale to see if both buyers paid and the current status of the cases, refunds etc.

[ufgator1978]

If I made either fatal mistake -- and I don't think I did -- it certainly wasn't intentional. What comes to mind is that it should be fairly obvious to eBay what occurred here and they have the ability to unwind the second transaction, but they appear unwilling to listen and learn. I can't get anyone's attention in order to discuss it. It certainly doesn't help that I'm not sufficiently familiar with the system to fully explain where I went wrong if in fact it was the result of my action(s). 

[toysaver]

I find it hard to believe anyone would not know if they got paid twice for an item that sold for $1000.