Can a Ebay Seller do this? I am kind of pissed!

[romantico]

OK, I won an item on ebay. The shipping clearly said I had 2 options. One was $12.55 the other was $8.10. I chose to go with the $8.10. The seller sent me an invoice with $14.77 shipping charges. I emailed them back about the mistake and they apologized and sent me back a second invoice with $12.55 being my only option. In both emails I made it very clear I wanted to go the most economical route. I went ahead and paid for the item but left a note saying, I wanted the most economical shipping,but you seem top be ignoring that. I hope I get this item rather quickly since I am paying extra for it. I will also think twice before bidding from you again. I was pissed but I meant every word. I was very firm but not nasty.

The seller has refunded me fully and said it was an honest error. (an honest error that happened twice along with two separate invoices) So, basically they decided they did not wish to sell this to me after I won it. I was the only bidder and I would have really liked the item. My question is, can they do this? Can I fight this? I am afraid they will leave nasty feedback now as a result to all of this. Doesn't sound right to me.ANy advice would be helpful. Thanks!

[sharesunited]

1. What about the seller's feedback? Have others complained about them playing this game?

Reminds me of those commercials which show a cheap price for the featured goods but with shipping and handling at some outrageously expensive number. Trying to hide additional profit by calling it something else.

[romantico]

4. The Seller

The Seller has PERFECT feedback, as do I. I got no email from ebay informing me the transaction has been canceled or terminated. I checked my 'leave feedback' page and it is listed as me having won the item, but they have the item back up for sale at my winning bid(price)

If the item was canceled, either of us would be able to leave feedback. It would disappear from my winning items page. At first they refunded me the difference which was $2. However, after a couple hours they sent me back an email saying they refunded my money and a rather snotty remark and thats it.I sent an email back asking them to please cancel the transaction or terminate it. This has never happened to me at all. I have a '1979' feedback rating and this id the first any such thing has happened to me.

If anyone has experience in this sort of thing, advice would be greatly appreciated

[justiceischeap]

19. Dispute this with eBay. The seller is breaking the rules 'cause eBay has the item as sold.

He's in effect ripping you offer by adding the item for auction again.

[OregonBlue]

2. All you can do is leave negative feedback and forget about it!

[2Design]

3. they wanted a certain price - you did not want to pay it - they gave you your money back

done deal - it was nice they gave you the money back - if they list it again - bid again knowing you will pay the higher shipping - ebay has so many fees and paypal and other that the only way for sellers to make or break even is to up the shipping charges - it cost to drive, pack, and ship and most are not corporations with automated services

I would NOT leave them negative feedback unless you want negative feedback that you would not pay - let it go - you probably really don't need the item anyway - sometimes it becomes too much of a hassle to deal with buyers and it is easier to refund since the seller knows no matter what they do the buyer will not be happy

take your money and spend it elsewhere or wait until someone else post the same thing with the shipping cost you want at the price you want

[romantico]

7. But

But can I terminate the transaction? According to ebay, they will think I have not paid for the item. In about 4 or 5 days I will be getting a payment reminder and so on. This could really come back and bite me. The seller could leave nasty feedback saying I did not pay, even though I have all her emails and the PAYPAL receipt saying I did.

[2Design]

9. when the seller did the refund it should show through ebay that it was refunded

I stopped selling or buying on ebay because of fraud sellers and pain in the a$$ buyers (sent checks or wanted to negotiate shipping or just did not pay because they decided they did not like the price) so do not know how it is set up now

you can 'what if' yourself into the future or wait and watch it unfold - the system should have register the refund when the buyer did it which relieves the buy from the fees from selling too -

you have your receipt and copies - save them

[madrchsod]

14. go right to ebay and explain the situation

since you were the only bidder it seems to me that they may not want to sell at that price.

i was going to list many items on ebay but checking similar items it`s not worth the time and effort. the fees are to much for what my items are selling for.

i always refunded and absorbed shipping costs

[Cassandra]

5. They may have realized, belatedly...

that the lower shipping choice had been miscalculated and they had to refund you or be accused of bait and switch. You might check ebay's rules for sellers as to when they can refuse to sell, if you can find them, and if it seems like the seller is in violation, send an inquiry/complaint to ebay support. The whole thing sounds pretty tacky on their part.

[miles 2 go]

6. I'm still confused

After the refund, did they say that they would not sell it to you? Did they say that the mistake was in their shipping estimate and that they could not ship it for that price?
If not, it may be that they will still send you a corrected invoice with the 8.10 shipping on it and I would go ahead and request it.
You could complain to ebay but they could just say that the item is broken and no longer available or some other such bs.

Don't be afraid of negative feedback. Sometimes you will get it. You can't please everyone all the time. If he won't sell it to you at the price offered, he deserves neg feedback.

It is possible that he did make an error just on the invoice. They usually just hit the send invoice button and don't really pay much attention to what it is saying. So if they mistakenly put in the wrong info, it would be sent without them knowing about it.

Have you just come out and asked for the 8.10 shipping invoice? I would. It may be that he assumed that you wanted priority shipping because that is what you paid for originally and made a special invoice with just that option.

Just tell him, "hate to be a pain in the butt, but could you please send an invoice with the 8.10 parcel post (or whatever) shipping? Thanks much,"

[rsmith6621]

8. I Have Sold on Ebay before and...

......often times I inflate the price of shipping to pad my losses so I come out a little ahead.....it is just a strategy...

I would leave some neg feedback in hopes that the seller has a change of heart.

[LiberalFighter]

10. You should be able to confirm whether the seller's shipping price is what he invoiced.

Whichever shipping service he used do a reverse address to determine what the charge should be.

[romantico]

11. Well I did

The first invoice was a price not even listed in the auction. They apologized and said they had the wrong zip code. No problem. Second invoice was still not the cheaper shipping.They ignored the fact where I said the cheapest was best for me twice, not just once. An honest mistake happens to all of us. Twice within a few minutes makes me question it.I do no think I could have been more clear.The fact that ebay sees it as a done deal is what concerns me. I am trying to avoid further headaches by resolving this RIGHT NOW.I wish ebay had a phone number where I can call and ask.I am almost certain the seller is/was suppose to terminate the transaction of this.

[LiberalFighter]

15. And who is to say the seller doesn't use the same tactics on others

by not terminating the transaction to avoid adverse ratings.

[jobycom]

12. The seller is a jerk. Just let it go, and don't rate them until they rate you.

If you rate them negatively, they will rate you that way out of spite. If you don't rate them at all, maybe they won't rate you, because they know you'll rate them negatively in return.

At this point, that's about all you can hope for. If they are selling the item again, it will be gone before you could file a complaint and try to force them to sell to you. You won't get anything else out of it, since you aren't out any money that they could refund you. It will just chew up time. Meanwhile, they have to pay to list the item again, so they are just cutting off their nose to spite their face.

As for the messages you'll get saying you haven't paid, they won't hurt you, and they'll go away eventually. I had a seller once require payment through his own website, rather than through EBay, so that EBay thought the item wasn't paid for. I got reminders for a short while, but nothing bad happened. Save your emails, though, in case the seller tries to claim you wouldn't pay.

Technically, and legally, when you win an auction a contract is formed between you and the seller that binds both you and the seller. You honored that contract, they broke it. Legally, you have all the rights to recourse, and could sue to make them sell at the original terms and all that. But unless we're talking thousands of dollars or a one-of-a-kind item that you'll never find again, there's no point in worrying about it.

So just let it go, as more trouble than it's worth. You aren't out anything except a bit of time, and unless they try to give you a negative rating, it's easier to forget it, no matter how annoying they were. If you want to feel some satisfaction, realize that they are cutting their profits by relisting, out of their own stupidity and incompetence.

[ima_sinnic]

13. sellers can no longer leave negative fb for buyers

... one of the reasons I way cooled down on selling on eBay. I like to know if a buyer has ripped off another seller by bidding and not paying. I was also able to cancel a bid on an expensive antique typewriter after reading the buyer's fb and learning that s/he was part of a scam ring in Hong Kong and would doubtless claim he never received the item.

Seller may have been using a template for listing the auction and neglected to fix the s/h charge. As a seller I have felt duty- and honor-bound to ship at the price stated in the auction, even if I made an error there. Seller was definitely at fault here and should have shipped at the price stated in the listing.

Has the auction been canceled? If so, there is no option for leaving fb anyway. Some day you will have another opportunity to buy this item again, so I would just chalk it up and ignore this seller.

[bedazzled]

16. the seller needs to file an unpaid item dispute stating you agree to cancel

the transaction. then you'll get an email -- you'll state
that you agree to cancel the transaction also. they'll refund
the seller's final value fee, and all will be well.

i sell a lot. maybe the seller didn't have a proper box.
i try and scrounge boxes where i can, and if i don't have
a box and am unable to give the proper weight to the purchaser
i don't list the item.

in a case like yours, i'd ship it for $8.10 even if it cost
$12.55. my mistake, i've got to eat it.

[chris_c]

17. dont worry

Well, the new ebay rules are that sellers cannot leave negative feedback for buyers.
So you don't have to worry about nasty feedback. However, you can leave negatives for the seller!

[Name removed]

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