What to do with dodgy ebay seller?

September 30, 2005 4:08 PM

Ebay advice please?

So I was bidding on this auction for 3rd gen Ipod. Didn't win, but a couple of days later get one of those 2nd chance things, offering me the chance to buy it for £70 - which I did. Now I get an email from the seller saying he didn't mean to relist it as it's "not fit for selling". By this stage I've already paid on paypal. So what should I do: a) forget about it, so long as I get my money back, b) flame his ass off in feedback or c) deploy my winged lawyers to enforce the contract? Advice, experience anecdotes all appreciated!

posted by prentiz to computers & internet (10 comments total)

As long as you do get your money back, I'd just go with option A. If something is truly wrong with it, then he's doing you a favor by being honest. But if you don't see your money *real* soon, then it's time to get serious.
posted by peewee at 4:16 PM on September 30, 2005

I agree. We all make mistakes, at least the seller is being honest about the product condition. Just make sure you get your money back.
posted by arcticwoman at 4:18 PM on September 30, 2005

Yep, third for leave it alone assuming you get your money back.

They are, as they say, a dime a dozen. Which reminds me I have some eBay listings to do.
posted by FlamingBore at 4:53 PM on September 30, 2005

He was probably dealing with a slow-paying seller, but got his money in the end. I've seen it happen before.

Make sure you're refunded in full, extremely quickly. If he takes very long, go ahead and tear him a new one. Paypal can be refunded instantaneously, there's no reason a delinquent seller should take even 24 hours to refund.

Be careful, Ebay can be a hazardous place. It's okay to be nice and polite, but any time that red flag pops up, cover your ass and act in your interest as fast as you can.
posted by Saydur at 5:10 PM on September 30, 2005

You should file a complaint with paypal, just in case and do it now. They will notify him and hopefully get him moving.

Leeklawans(197)*
posted by lee at 6:27 PM on September 30, 2005

Leave it alone? There goes your money. I've had a lot of experience on Ebay, as both seller and buyer. Assuming he/she is honest is your worst mistake. You already know the seller isn't honest, or he would have correctly listed his item in the first place. Tell him (politely, at first) if you don't get a full refund by such and such a date, say, Tuesday, that you may be contacting a lawyer. Even if you don't have a lawyer, this may be enough to get your money back quickly. It took me a month and a half to get $12 back from a guy in Texas who I trusted (he tried to scam me on some Ayn Rand books, of all things). There are just some times when you have to be an asshole, and this sounds like one of them.
posted by slow, man at 6:45 PM on September 30, 2005

You already know the seller isn't honest, or he would have correctly listed his item in the first place.

This doesn't follow. It's not necessarily the same item. 2nd chance offers are for when the auction winner is a NPB and when you have another item (eBay states this specifically).

Just ask him for your money back. If you get it in a timely fashion, do not take it any further. Do not mention lawyers or any such thing unless you have to. I highly doubt he won't refund your money promptly considering it was his mistake.
posted by dobbs at 10:13 PM on September 30, 2005

Oh! make sure he returns your money with the "issue refund" option (tell him to search paypal's faqs if he doesn't know how to do this). Otherwise, PP will take fees off when he returns the money.
posted by dobbs at 10:14 PM on September 30, 2005

I think dobbs is right -- play nice at first, no need to go on the attack just yet. If you don't get a refund in a reasonable time frame -- and I think maybe a couple days is reasonable, as some people aren't able to take care of this kind of thing every day -- then start talking bad feedback, PayPal complaints, or lawyers.

But I doubt it will get that far. Most sellers do care about their reputations and don't want to screw/anger their potential customers.
posted by SuperNova at 10:23 PM on September 30, 2005

Also, once he returns the $, tell him you'll reciprocate his feedback. If he leaves positive, you do the same. You can leave positive but write, "Transaction didn't take but seller quickly refunded money. No complaints." or something similar.
posted by dobbs at 9:45 PM on October 1, 2005