EBAY Question - Non Selling Seller

[Ike Witt]

Yesterday I won an auction on EBAY - actually, I used the buy it now feature. It was for something that I really wanted, and it was fairly expensive. I paid this morning via PAYPAL and was anxiously waiting to get the shipping information. Instead, what I got was another email from PAYPAL saying that my payment had been refunded. There was a small note from the seller as part of the PAYPAL email that said

I apologize however we are out of stock on this (item) and do not wish to hold your money.
If you wish to reorder this (item) and wait till it comes back into stock we will not charge your card until it does and you can do this at (URL Deleted).

Now, I like the fact that these guys didn't steal my money or hold onto it for a month or more waiting for the item to come in. However, I don't like the fact that they auctioned an item that they didn't have in stock.

I have been thinking about reporting this guy to EBAY as a non-selling seller. If I did that, what happens? I understand that it won't help me, but how much does it hurt him? Should I give him a chance to explain or just say screw him and report him. Or should I just let it drop? FTR, the item I want is available near where I live, it just means an additional $175+ cost to me to buy it here.

Any and all input would be appreciated.

[Mangetout]

It can happen; you have three dozen of an item, you sell 34 of them, then suddenly two buyers report their items to be faulty, now ideally, you'd end the listing and use the remaining two as replacements, but by the time you get to cancel the listing, someone else has bought one...

Another possibility is that the items were also offered for sale somewhere else at the same time; I'm not sure what eBay policy is on this one, but I've heard of it happening on larger items such as cars.

However, the offer to sell you one (and record your order) outside of eBay is (I believe) against the rules.

[voltaire]

The seller was punished enough by having to pay the Ebay listing and selling fees, even though they didn't make a sale. They handled your transaction perfectly and IMO they don't deserve any additional punishment from you.

There are quite a few distributors on Ebay who don't order items from their suppliers until AFTER they have successfully sold them on Ebay. Most of these types of sellers would have held onto your money and waited for the items to come in from their supplier. Since this seller was rather straightforward with you, I don't see where you suffered any significant loss worthy of causing trouble for them.

Just my 2 cents.

[Scarlett67]

The OP doesn't say where the deleted URL is; it may well be a link to their eBay store. Clarification, please?

I don't think I would get too hot about this, for the reasons Mangetout lists. I don't think there was evil intent here, at least not without further information.

[sailor]

That is what feedback is for. If you feel outraged you can leave negative feedback. Personally I do not think it warrants it at all. These things happen. Mistakes happen. As long as they corrected it promptly I believe they do not deserve negative feedback. I would just move on.

Imagine you see something advertised in a store and you walk in and ask to buy it and they tell you they are out of it. Is it such a big deal? I don't think so.

[voltaire]

Originally posted by Mangetout
However, the offer to sell you one (and record your order) outside of eBay is (I believe) against the rules.

I don't think so. As I mentioned above, the seller is already out the Ebay fees for the item. As far as Ebay is concerned, the item was sold and they were paid. If the seller wants to offer a different arrangement to the buyer, I don't see how this would violate any Ebay rules.

[Mangetout]

The fee can be reclaimed by filing something similar to a NPB report, although if he tries to do this, you'll know because the system will send you an email.

[Ike Witt]

The OP doesn't say where the deleted URL is; it may well be a link to their eBay store. Clarification, please?

The URL goes to their store, not anything EBAY related.

Imagine you see something advertised in a store and you walk in and ask to buy it and they tell you they are out of it. Is it such a big deal? I don't think so.

True enough, it isn't a big deal. Of course, I can walk into a store and hem and haw for hours to decide if I want to buy or not. On EBAY, AFAIK, if a buyer decides they don't want the item after the fact they get banned(?) unless they can show that there was misrepresentation on the part of the seller.

Also, the URL lists the item for sale, still.

I am pissed off, but based on responses so far, I'll probably let the issue drop.

[voltaire]

Originally posted by Mangetout
The fee can be reclaimed by filing something similar to a NPB report, although if he tries to do this, you'll know because the system will send you an email.

Yeah, but I doubt the seller would do that since the bidder in question did in fact make the payment. (BTW...NPB = Non Paying Bidder) It would be quite easy to prove, then the seller would be in trouble with Ebay.

In this case, it seems the seller was willing to write off the loss of the Ebay fees. This is why I say that I think the fees are enough to discourage the seller from doing this again, if avoidable. And IMO, no further action is necessary.

[Mangetout]

Originally posted by voltaire
Yeah, but I doubt the seller would do that since the bidder in question did in fact make the payment. (BTW...NPB = Non Paying Bidder) It would be quite easy to prove, then the seller would be in trouble with Ebay.

In this case, it seems the seller was willing to write off the loss of the Ebay fees. This is why I say that I think the fees are enough to discourage the seller from doing this again, if avoidable. And IMO, no further action is necessary.

That's why I said 'something similar to' a NPB report - there is a 'no blame' option - for when the buyer and seller don't complete the transaction by mutual agreement - still not entirely appropriate for this situation, I must admit, although perhaps it could be argued that the buyer consented to the non-sale as evidenced by the lack of negative feedback. I dunno.

[wet marble]

First and foremost, you should contact the seller and get their side of the story.

After having heard their side, then you can make an informed decision as to how to proceed. If you think they are lying to you in an effort to deny selling you the item at the auctioned price, then you could file a non-selling seller report. If you think they screwed up and should be held responsible, you can leave negative feedback. If you believe that it was an honest mistake, you can just let the whole thing go.

As far as a non-selling seller report negatively impacting the seller, ebay would contact the seller and give them a change to respond to your accusations. They usually ask the seller for proof that they had the item they intended to sell and ask for extenuationg cirucmstances. If the seller cannot meet the burden of proof that ebay requires, then they will get a strike against them. After 3 strikes (I think) the account is banned from ebay. Non-paying bidder works in an almost identical fashion.

[Duderdude2]

I think you're making a big deal out of nothing. So you're bummed they didn't have the item, big deal. You got your money back.

[handy]

I believe they have to ship you the item within 30 days. I don't think they like people auctioning things they don't have. I don't know if they have to pay Ebay fees, they might just file a non paying bidder to get their fees back? Wait & see. But you're stuck with Paypal fees aren't you?

For feedback you should protect the other buyers by giving neg feedback but you could wait 30 days & see if you get the item.

[whiterabbit]

Mama Tiger has on a few occasions sold something she then found out she was out of stock on. She then emails the customer and offers them several options, such as a refund, or free shipping on another item (applying the already-sent money to the other item). What these people did was a bit abrupt, but at least they returned your money instead of keeping it and BSing you.

Get their side of the story before leaving negative feedback. It could be a completely accidental "Oops!"

[NurseCarmen]

I apologize however we are out of stock on this (item) and do not wish to hold your money.
If you wish to reorder this (item) and wait till it comes back into stock we will not charge your card until it does and you can do this at (URL Deleted).

This is actually in violation of eBay terms of use. They are not allowed to direct a bidder to a store after denying the bidder. This was due to a lot of fraud that had been happening, mostly with expensive items. At least with eBay and PayPal, you have some recourse, especially with expensive items. At JoeSchmoe's website you may not have the same type of recourse. They may also try to talk you into using a Money order, etc. They could be trying to get a whole bunch of credit card numbers all at one time. There could be a lot of things going on here. I admit that it seems legit, but in never hurts to be a little paranoid with any online transactions.

[KidCharlemagne]

I would take a look at existing feedback and see if this has happened in the past. If not, I would let it slide for many of the reasons already given. An important aspect to consider is that you bought with a BIN - which means that the seller was happy to sell it at this price. It's alot more annoying when you pick off something cheap at a no reserve auction and the seller decides he didn't get enough for it. If I had been the seller I probably would have been slightly more contrite but then I again I'm Mr. Charming ; P. Be careful with negative feedback - it's a real bummer for the recipient - I know I would really be bummed to have even one blemish on my record. There is also the option of neutral feedback.

[DrDeth]

Oddly enough, sellers scream like mad about the terrible horrible "Non paying Buyers (NPB) and there are several eBay penalties against buyers who bib but don't pay. However, there is nothing eBay will do about Non-selling sellers.

I'd ask what's up, find out when the item can be shipped, and check feedback. I'd then wait a while, and send them a NEG, unless they have shipped or their explanation is good enough.

I mean- if you told a seller that the money you were planning on having when the auction ended didn't come in, thus you couldn't pay- they'd be outraged, NPB & NEG you. The seller would scream that you shouldn't bid if you don't have the money on hand. Thus, the seller should have the merchandise on hand when the item is listed.

[Ike Witt]

Let me try and address some things. First, their feedback is 99% positive. The negative feedback they do have is due to other issues. Of course, that doesn't mean that the same thing hasn't happened before, perhaps it has and others didn't feel that it was worth the effort either. Since the transaction was through PAYPAL I don't think that they got my CC number. However, I am looking to see that the entire amount was refunded and I didn't get stuck with any PAYPAL fees. Also, FWIW, their website is offering the product at the same price as the BIN price.

The thing that pisses me off is that they didn't have the product reserved for the auction. I can understand that they would want to sell it to somebody who came into their brick and mortar store, but when there was an outstanding auction... Like I said before the item is available here in Austin, it is just that the price is about $175 more and that doesn't include the tax that I would have to pay.

[Ike Witt]

Originally posted by DrDeth
I mean- if you told a seller that the money you were planning on having when the auction ended didn't come in, thus you couldn't pay- they'd be outraged, NPB & NEG you. The seller would scream that you shouldn't bid if you don't have the money on hand. Thus, the seller should have the merchandise on hand when the item is listed.

This is what pisses me off. AFAIK, the winning bidder and the seller have a, implied at least, contract.