just my luck...

January 2, 2008 10:44 PM

Ebay removed an auction I won and canceled my bid - after I paid for it. What do I do now?

I did a Buy It Now for a memory card earlier today and paid via credit card Paypal immediately. Tonight, I got an email from Ebay saying that they had removed the auction and canceled my bid, which is all fine and good except that I'm out the money already. I guess there could be some innocent reason that the auction was removed - the seller is a Power Seller with great feedback, and still a registered user with some similar auctions up - but it doesn't seem likely. I'm afraid I've been scammed, or at least that there's something sketchy afoot.

Where do I go from here? Is there someone I'm supposed to contact? Can I file a Paypal dispute now or do I have to wait a while? (It's theoretically possible that I could still get the item at some point.) If I do file with Paypal (now or later), what are my chances of getting my money back? Would I be better off doing a chargeback with my credit card company instead?

posted by streetdreams to shopping (11 comments total)

I would start by emailing the seller and asking what happened to the item and when you will get your payment back if not getting the item, since they have good feedback. I'm not sure what the next escalation would be, probably eBay abuse?
posted by Orb at 10:55 PM on January 2, 2008

Luckily, a prior thread was flush with eBay contact info. Good luck!
posted by EatTheWeak at 11:00 PM on January 2, 2008

I wonder if the holidays broke their infrastructure a bit? streetdreams, i'd certainly look for direct human contact in your situation. It just sounds too complex for e-mail support.
posted by EatTheWeak at 11:42 PM on January 2, 2008

You payed by credit card? I'd go straight to the card issuer and have them stop payment or whatever it's called for a fraud charge. Don't bother with ebay.

As for the problem, someone may have hacked the sellers account and started scamming. It happens alot, and it happens quicker than the bad feedback will appear.
posted by Sufi at 12:30 AM on January 3, 2008

Don't do a chargeback just yet. Talk to the seller... If you can't get anywhere there, contact PayPal and go through their Resolution Center and file a claim.

From PayPal:

Most disputes can be resolved through communication and it's best to contact the seller as soon as you recognize a potential problem. You can open a dispute in the Resolution Center within 45 calendar days of payment.

If you're unable to resolve the dispute, you can ask PayPal to investigate by escalating the dispute to a claim. You must escalate to a claim within 20 calendar days of the date the dispute was opened.

How does the dispute process work?

Reasons for opening a dispute:

* Item not received: You paid for an item but never received it
* Item significantly not as described: You received an item that was significantly different than the seller’s description
posted by Mookbear at 1:15 AM on January 3, 2008

Just as a note, if you have evidence of you payment (which you do) and the e-mail from eBay informing you of the auction being cancelled (which you do), you should be fine in getting your money back. Keep any communications you send to the seller, and any replies that they might send back... It might take a couple weeks, but it should all work out.

Also, you're better off buying memory from a reputable store. Some people make a decent living selling fraudulent memory on eBay, etc. There's been a posting about it somewhere here before.
posted by Mookbear at 1:21 AM on January 3, 2008

Yes - talk to the seller. If she has similar auctions, she may have memory just laying around. Thr auction may be nixed, but she could still mail the item.
posted by Pants! at 6:40 AM on January 3, 2008

This happened to me a few months ago, and the seller still shipped my item to me. It doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to get ripped off (I didn't), but definitely be mindful of the time limit to file a dispute.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 6:44 AM on January 3, 2008

I've received several scam e-mails from "eBay" that fit this post to a T (auction & bid canceled, etc.). In addition to what everyone else has said, doublecheck "My Messages" at eBay to make sure that the e-mail is authentic.
posted by thomas j wise at 7:03 AM on January 3, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

File Paypal dispute immediately and escalate it to a claim, if you discern that it was a real cancelled auction. If you get the item, then you can close the dispute. But definitely don't let your time limit elapse (45 days from end of auction).
posted by cass at 8:07 AM on January 3, 2008

For other Ebay-related questions, go to the Ebay forums like Trust & Safety, or the Ebay Answer Center. A lot of helpful folks will help you with your queries.

Then you can save your AskMe question for something you really need to know, and also avoid a pile-on. :)
posted by cass at 8:12 AM on January 3, 2008