Seller Refuses to Admit Purchase

[zorkmid.2008]

I had hoped to open a case, but I find that payment has to be made before a case can be opened.  Let me explain.  I bid on an item and, since I was the only bidder, I won the item.  The item was listed as 'Pick-Up Only' and the expectation was that I pay for the item on pick-up.

I sent an e-mail to the seller on the day of the notification and his response was 'You can't take the item because it was just posted'.  He had re-posted the item and it had 6 more days before that auction expired.

I explained to him that I won the item in the auction that just completed, but he refuses to even admit that the auction ever took place.  I explained that you can't repost an item after a successful completion.  He did suggest that I could purchase the item from the new auction using the 'Buy Now' option.  Since I had bid the minimum amount, I think he regrets that he had placed it up for auction at such a low amount and hoped to get a better price.

I thought I had to wait 10 days before opening a case.  It's been 12 days since the auction closed, but now I see that in order to open a case you have to specify the date that the payment was made.  I haven't made a payment, since pick-up couldn't be arranged.

I went ahead and purchased a similar item in the meantime from a different seller.  That transaction went smoothly and professionally.  I paid slightly more than I bid in the first auction, but I'm happy with the result.

Now I have an open auction associated with my account and I'd at least like to close that.  However, I really feel that the seller should be sanctioned for violating eBay policies.

What should I do?

[chaldo2010]

There's really not much to do here. The seller can easily tell eBay reps (if you were to complain to them)  that he broke/lost/misplaced or no longer wants to sell that item. It may really have been a listing error.

He has to pay eBay a final value fee since the item sold. He has to send you a request to cancel the bid in order for seller to get that amount refunded by eBay.

Be happy that you didn't have to pay much more for the same item from another seller.

[zorkmid.2008]

Ok. Thanks for the clarification. I'll assume that it was a listing error rather than complaining to eBay. I'd like to close the transaction. So, I'll wait until the situation resolves itself rather than following up with eBay support. I won't rate the seller until I have the complete picture.

Thanks.

[reallynicestamps]

If the seller does not start an Unpaid Item Dispute, you will have no penalty from eBay. Meanwhile, he has to pay the fees for selling the item -- about 10% of the selling price. You can leave appropriate feedback and Detailed Seller Ratings.

If he does not ask you to agree to a Mutual Cancellation, he has to pay the fees for selling the item -- about 10% of the selling price.You can leave appropriate feedback and Detailed Seller Ratings.

If he does ask you for a Mutual Cancellation, you can agree or ignore the MC. Both of you will be freed from the transaction. He will not have to pay fees. You can leave appropriate feedback and Detailed Seller Ratings.

If you refuse a Mutual Cancellation, the transaction remains open, he has to pay fees and you can leave appropriate feedback and Detailed Seller Ratings.

So by refusing to acknowledge the sale, he is out his fees, will be paying more fees if the item sells on second listing, leaves himself open to negative feedback and to poor DSRs.

You are annoyed and disappointed.

The most effective feedback is calm and factual. "Refused to accept payment. Relisted item." would alert most buyers.

More important to sellers are Detailed Seller Ratings. The normal Rating is Five Stars. The lowest Rating is ONE Star. (No stars is a free pass.)  If a seller's rating drops below 4.3, his ability to list and sell on eBay is severely restricted.

It would be interesting to see the transaction number for the first and the second listing. Could you post those?

[zorkmid.2008]

The original auction was 331111435207 and the auction started afterwards was 331116584042.

[zorkmid.2008]

The seller generated a case file asking to cancel the transaction claiming that I had not paid the agreed amount. I refused with the comment that he had refused to acknowledge the sale and had reposted the item instead. eBay automatically closed his case.

Does eBay investigate these sorts of situations?
Thanks.