Can a seller cancel an order after it has been negotiated and paid for?

[murphcrud]

Hi Guys,

Can a seller cancel an order after it has been listed as a Best Offer listing?  I met all of the sellers buyers criteria.  Made an offer to which the seller accepted, we paid immediately and now he advised that he won't do the deal because of higher than expected shipping costs.  The deal included FREE shipping.  He refunded my money through Paypal and used the "out of stock or damaged" reason for refunding. 

To top things off on this deal, I originally initiated contact with this seller merely as a courtesy to advise him of an error in his listing.  He then asked if I would like purchase the "lot' as a bulk price.  We finally negotiated the deal after 11 exchanged emails through eBay and after he went to the Post Office to obtain shipping cost.  As I previously stated, he now states that the shipping costs are higher than expected.

Do I have any recourse?  How can I email this info to eBay?  I just go around in circles trying to even locate an eBay email address.

[momcqueen · Accepted solution]

A seller cannot be forced to complete the transaction. Once he refunded you, it's over. And, frankly, this might be for the best as this person with whom you are dealing sounds like a total flake. Who knows what you would have received in the end?

I know that is a disappointment and so does ebay which is the reason seller-iniatied cancellations count as black marks on a seller's account. This seller won't be allowed to continue selling on ebay if this is how he conducts business.

Your only recourse is to leave Feedback. Calm, rational and truthful feedback.

[hyperrush]

don't bypass ebay rules... poor seller.

[reallynicestamps]

The deal included FREE shipping. 

Technically, Best Offers do not include shipping charges.

If the original listing was Free Shipping to Canada (and if your seller was not in Canada, it probably didn't) then the free shipping, which is really shipping included in asking price, would stand.

If it did not, then the buyer still owes the original shipping cost.

By cancelling with Out of Stock, your seller got a Defect on his selling account, which can have a heavy effect on his fees and on the number and value of his future listings

[momcqueen]

Also, if this was the Seller who led the feedback 'Cancelled Order' on your feedback as a buyer, you should probably call ebay and ask to have that removed. You are a seller and it looks to someone not paying attention like you cancelled the order. 

[murphcrud]

I would love to post a feedbais , but after the refund was issued, the purchase info disappeared. Could this be because the refund by Paypal is still pending? I meant to add in my original post, this seller is from Greece and he advised when I asked why he now cancelled - he merely stated 'Tough', he will just relist the lot and hopefully get a better price.

[tobey_arih]

Yeah, if the deal sounds too good, don't be baited. Apart from that, a seller outside of N. America or in non-English country is already a conudrum, as its translated via Ebay.