FEED BACK APPRECIATED!

[KC]

I bid/won a old oxidized bowl for $5.50 on Ebay today (actually bid against someone else!).  The seller verified that all silver is gone from being submerged in saltwater for years and was recovered and now being sold.  


I just opened my email and received a notice from the seller "hi i would love to talk with you about this item i am new never sold on ebay i cannot allow this item to go for this price i was informed by eBay to contact you and to set my bid higher to start. i would sell this item for 100.00 straight out i am sorry i will either re list or keep for any less i will pay shipping"

What's this about?  Anyone have this happen before?  They have 1 feedback from last 30 days, 1 from 6 months and 2 from 12 months.

[wendy177]

KC never had this happen before!! I have seen ebay items removed before the auction was over but never after an auction hit sold to then say you cant have it but I will sell it to you for $$$$ more. so you know they lied about never selling on ebay before!! I would bet they also are not being truthful about ebay telling them to contact you!  I would contact ebay by phone and push the issue, this doesn't seem legal, who is to stop them from doing that with any item they don't like the low selling price of. Doesn't  ebay have an option to set a minimum price requirement for the seller to put in place prior??  Or they can start the bidding price as high as they want! I only use ebay now for reference research and that's it. Let us know how you make out!!

[mart]

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/user-agreement.html#3

Read number 5 down,, part of the ebay user agreement !! He cannot do this just because it did not bring what he thought it should !!  He should have set a reserve that what the reserve price is for !! Ebay is a binding contract for both buyers and sellers !!
It is not your fault that he did not read the user agreement before listing an item for sale !!

Wendy is right.. send him the link I sent you !! It is not allowed to up the price after a sale !!  Tell him tuff s--t he sold it and he is bound by the ebay contract !!  Then tell ebay what he is doing in writing !! I agree that he has probably sold under a few different names !! Post the link to the item and let me check a few things !!

One more thing,, it not very much so I would go ahead and pay for it now, watch the shipping cost too, then you have done your part as far as buyers are required,,then he can`t back up !! You can file against him if he fails to send it as per the user agreement !!  Ebay would never say for him to contact the buyer for more money !!

[fancypants]

I've had the 'hustle' put my direction from an Ebay seller , but only due to the fact that I was paying with a Postal Money Order & that the (legit) seller was going on an extended trip ... (he wanted the dough fast , so I over-nighted it & everything went well ... really a heck of a buy too !) ... this is the one & only slightly 'off' interaction with a completed bid on Ebay for me .

Your seller does seem like some 'pants on fire' stuff is going on with them/him/her .... perhaps due to ignorance (of Ebay rules/TOS/EULA) but emotionally ... sounds too much like a bait & switch for my fancy pants !

Mart & wendy177 are passing out real good info & I can't really add to it , Ebay-wise ...

I say "Be of good cheer." & don't stress too much (or go on the warpath) over a few bucks .

But that's just me .
 

[mart]

Fancypants is right,, it not enough money as-is to worry about but,,ebay tries to keep a fair playing field for everyone !! If this person hits everyone for more money,, it isn`t fair for the buyers who purchase an item in good faith !!  like I said,, ebay is a contract,,it was his job to read it before agreeing to it !!  All reputable sellers abide by the user agreement and we all have lost a dollar or two but we make it up on the next item !!

[frogpatch]

As far as I know you can cancel a sale if a listing was incorrect. Out of the thousands of items I sold on Ebay I only declined to ship a pair of lamps once because the buyer wanted the lampshades which pushed shipping way over the selling price. It was in the listing that they were not included. I never has a seller contact me and say the price was too low. They should be reported to Ebay and also given a negative feedback. Ebay used to be good at settling disputes years ago but I do not know about today. For what you described the price you paid was cheap but not crazy. Was the piece from a famous shipwreck or something? What makes the seller think it is worth that much?

[mart]

Checked further on ebay and they said this is not allowed per ebay policy !! Recommended to pay for it and if he fails to ship file an "item not received" with ebay !! They also said if he sends a "cancel transaction request" that you should decline it !!  He has the opportunity to cancel a listing any time during a sale but after the gavel has dropped so to speak, he is bound by the sale price !!  Of course the said to leave appropriate feedback !!

[fancypants]

Hope this little situation works out well for you , KC !

Maybe prompting the seller to capitulate & do the right thing will work !!??!!

[artx]

I had a case where i bought Item and the shipping cost to my country was 12$.
and after i won the item the seller send me a msg that says the shipping cost will be 300$ and he sorry. 

i hate when ppl do that.

when i choose what would be the shipping cost to worldwide i make a little homework before i chose the price!
and keep stand behind this price!

[mart]

That's what all reputable sellers do !! I have miscalculated the shipping a time or two but I never ask the buyer to pay for my mistake !!

[KC]

UPDATE!

Called and talked to Ebay and they read the messages sent to me.  Said for me to leave a bad feedback.

(Seller sent a second message that the item wasn't theirs and the person they were selling for took it back.  They would not complete the sell.)

Ebay also said just to let the sell run on and it wouldn't be a negative comment against me because of the detail, mesages, etc.

Well, I just see that the seller tried selling the same item again!!!!

[mart]

Post a link to it !!  Wanna see this one !!

[fancypants]

Yah , me too please , KC !

Just gotta put that stinkers' moniker on my watch list (nicer name than what I'm thinking) .

[housemouse]

I sell for a number of people in the area,  I would never send a message like that regardless of what something sells for.  The people I sell for have been made very aware that items may sell for a low price and that fees eat up most of the money made and are ok with it.  Definitely, not a very professional seller.  Just because it's an online sale, doesn't mean that you treat a customer any different than you would face to face in my opinion.  I hope that you find a good resolution and sorry you lost out on a cool item.  I too am curious about who this was so I can avoid them 

[KC]

Sorry I never got back on this...the seller was ousted.

I am actually REALLY glad I didn't get the piece (it had been immersed under salt water for decades and all silver was gone). (It would have cost too much to resilver.)   I actually got a pristine piece from 1800's for a great price ($70)!  Valued over $300.  Just to add to my collection that will be donated to a Victorian Museum one day - preserving pieces of a time long ago.

This one by Reed & Barton is very similar to the one I have!  It is a Silver Waste Bowl (to hold used spoons/forks) with a Call Bell (or butler bell)on the bottom.  It was rung once new tableware or food was needed during teas or at formal dinners.