Ebay Douche bags and your rights as a consumer!
Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 10:45 am
A week or so ago I placed a small bid on a set of injectors which I noticed when looking for random parts through Ebay. The injectors had no reserve, a few days to run and only 1 bid at $0.99. So me being the opportunist I am, I placed a $2 bid on them expecting either the biding to take off once an initial 'outsiders' bid was place, or the item to be removed before the 24hrs ending time curfew. (As far as I'm aware, sellers are legally allowed to cancel the item on the previso that the item has been sold externally to Ebay. This is regardless of bids to that point, and only IF that condition is nominated in the posted add during the sale.)
Time counted down and went into the sub 24hrs to go!, I was still the highest bidder at $1.25. The auction was booked to finish around 6:30pm on Thursday. As the end time approached I opened a 'increase max bid' page and second to keep an eye on the exact time to run. I was expecting the bid to go into the triple figures with minutes left, or at least being pipped by a slightly larger bid, but nothing changed. With 10secs to go, I increase my max bid to $20 to cover snypers. Because I have dial up speed at the moment, I went back to eating dinner with the fam not knowing exactly what had happened yet.
An hour or so later, I sat back in front of the PC, the open ebay page didn't show that I had won the bid, only that the auction was over. I figured that someone had placed a more representative bid in the final seconds. I also noticed that I had received a message from the seller:
Dear damlowet,
Hi mate, I ended the auction as I am not going to let these go for $1.25.
I plan to relist unless you want to make a reasonable offer.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
WTF! I knew straight away that as per Ebay guidelines you aren't allowed to cancel an item because you think the high bid is too low!
Also, in the wording of his message to me, apparently I had won the auction! I went into my email and found that I had received an email from Ebay saying that I had indeed won the auction. A little confused, I went back into my messages and found that the item was cancelled after the end of the auction and his message was sent post end auction time.
What Fucking shit is this!
I sent a message back to him:
Dear eXXXXXXXe,
Mate, that is not how an auction works! If you wanted to pull the item, you should have done it 24hrs before the ending time as stated by Ebay. If you do not honor the action, you will be hearing from them. You committed to a no reserve auction, so that as far as I'm concerned, is your loss.
- damlowet
His reply to that was:
Dear damlowet,
Hi mate, I am sorry you feel that way. I am happy for you to make a sensible offer on them and we can call it finished. But as far as I am concerned they are not going anywhere for $1.25.
In the meantime I had also received a message from ebay regarding the injectors, the message was requesting that the seller was trying to cancel the auction:
Hi damlowet,
eXXXXXe recently opened a cancel transaction case for an item you recently purchased: Seimens DEKA Injectors 840cc Set Of 4.
Reason for cancel transaction request: The seller sold the item to another buyer.
Click the "Respond now" button to accept or decline this cancellation.
If you don't take action by 15-Nov-2012, the seller will be able to cancel the purchase without your consent.
FUCK OFF!!!! Now the seller was lying to ebay to try and cancel the sale for a reason that didn't exist, and in a time period which he wasn't allowed to based on the T+C's of Ebay.
Knowing a bit of the legalities which are enforced between a buyer and seller of goods at any level, I knew damn well that by winning the auction I had entered into a "Contract of sale" with dipstick regardless of whether he acknowledged it or not. He had no right to cancel the item and would be responsible financially for ALL actions following, in me pursuing the items I had legally won if I chose to pursue it through a small claims court!
I rejected the request to cancel the auction and sent Ebay a message:
Message: The seller will not honour the winning bid I placed, and is suggesting that I offer 'reasonable' amount as he feels that he didn't get the amount he was after. Apparently he is going to re list the item, even though the reason he gave Ebay for the sale cancellation (after the end of the auction) was due to selling the item to someone else. I told him that on my winning bid we had entered into a legally binding contract which is in his best interest to honour. Also, that a mistake on his part as the seller is not my responsibility as a buyer to fix.
In his second message, he states to me that he will not let the item go for the winning bid price.
Now he was starting to piss me off so I wrote:
Whether you are sorry I feel a particular way or not is irrelevant, as the person who cast the winning bid on your item, I have entered into a "contract of sale" with you. If you like, do a search and find what that means as a retailer of goods. As far as Ebay is concerned:
(eBay expects sellers to consistently provide service that results in a high level of buyer satisfaction.
When a buyer wins an item on eBay, the seller and buyer have entered a contract that both members are expected to honour. A seller's obligations are formal – such as sending the item that was described in the listing – as well as informal – such as providing good service.
Sellers who don't fulfil their obligations may be in breach of their contract and can create an unsatisfactory buyer experience. Buyer experience is reflected in a seller's Feedback (including overall scores and detailed seller ratings), as well as Item Not Received and Item Significantly Not as Described disputes.)
I am not interested in making a 'sensible offer', as the bid I made was sufficient to win the item. If you had a problem with the item not getting the amount you were after, you should have set a minimum bid, that is your issue not mine. I am not responsible for your mistakes, you are. And as 'your' mistake, it will either cost you the difference between what I have bid for the item and what you think it was worth, or negative feedback with the possibility of you account being suspended.
I am also quite sure that Ebay will be interested that you falsified reasoning behind canceling the transaction also which may influence a ruling on your account.
Your move.
- damlowet
As I had indeed won the auction, I was able to leave feedback which was not in the positive for him!
I have received back a message from Ebay that they had been in contact with him and pursued the issue, but were not allowed to tell me what transpired as it would involve disclosure of confidential information.
Now that all the cards were on the table, I'd sit back and wait to see what happens.
Late yesterday I received another message from the dude:
Dear damlowet,
Disregarding your last charming message. I have just had another item sell for more than expected so I will let these injectors go for the winning price as a learning experience.
I will send them once I have received payment.
Doing a little searching, I found that the injectors I had won was the first and only item that he has sold, which means he is lying in his message to me again. What a dick!
So to summarize, he has disregarded Terms and Conditions, lied to Ebay, showed he was willing to take advantage of someone whom he though he knew more than, and is now lying to me about selling another item for a profit and doing me a fucking favor.
There is a 95% chance based on his behavior, he will damage the injectors so they can't be used anyway, so do I risk the purchase and postage, or call it a lost chance?
I will send him back another message and see what his response is.
Note to all, understand what a Contract of Sale means for you. You have rights which favor you as a consumer!!!!!!
Damo
Time counted down and went into the sub 24hrs to go!, I was still the highest bidder at $1.25. The auction was booked to finish around 6:30pm on Thursday. As the end time approached I opened a 'increase max bid' page and second to keep an eye on the exact time to run. I was expecting the bid to go into the triple figures with minutes left, or at least being pipped by a slightly larger bid, but nothing changed. With 10secs to go, I increase my max bid to $20 to cover snypers. Because I have dial up speed at the moment, I went back to eating dinner with the fam not knowing exactly what had happened yet.
An hour or so later, I sat back in front of the PC, the open ebay page didn't show that I had won the bid, only that the auction was over. I figured that someone had placed a more representative bid in the final seconds. I also noticed that I had received a message from the seller:
Dear damlowet,
Hi mate, I ended the auction as I am not going to let these go for $1.25.
I plan to relist unless you want to make a reasonable offer.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
WTF! I knew straight away that as per Ebay guidelines you aren't allowed to cancel an item because you think the high bid is too low!
Also, in the wording of his message to me, apparently I had won the auction! I went into my email and found that I had received an email from Ebay saying that I had indeed won the auction. A little confused, I went back into my messages and found that the item was cancelled after the end of the auction and his message was sent post end auction time.
What Fucking shit is this!
I sent a message back to him:
Dear eXXXXXXXe,
Mate, that is not how an auction works! If you wanted to pull the item, you should have done it 24hrs before the ending time as stated by Ebay. If you do not honor the action, you will be hearing from them. You committed to a no reserve auction, so that as far as I'm concerned, is your loss.
- damlowet
His reply to that was:
Dear damlowet,
Hi mate, I am sorry you feel that way. I am happy for you to make a sensible offer on them and we can call it finished. But as far as I am concerned they are not going anywhere for $1.25.
In the meantime I had also received a message from ebay regarding the injectors, the message was requesting that the seller was trying to cancel the auction:
Hi damlowet,
eXXXXXe recently opened a cancel transaction case for an item you recently purchased: Seimens DEKA Injectors 840cc Set Of 4.
Reason for cancel transaction request: The seller sold the item to another buyer.
Click the "Respond now" button to accept or decline this cancellation.
If you don't take action by 15-Nov-2012, the seller will be able to cancel the purchase without your consent.
FUCK OFF!!!! Now the seller was lying to ebay to try and cancel the sale for a reason that didn't exist, and in a time period which he wasn't allowed to based on the T+C's of Ebay.
Knowing a bit of the legalities which are enforced between a buyer and seller of goods at any level, I knew damn well that by winning the auction I had entered into a "Contract of sale" with dipstick regardless of whether he acknowledged it or not. He had no right to cancel the item and would be responsible financially for ALL actions following, in me pursuing the items I had legally won if I chose to pursue it through a small claims court!
I rejected the request to cancel the auction and sent Ebay a message:
Message: The seller will not honour the winning bid I placed, and is suggesting that I offer 'reasonable' amount as he feels that he didn't get the amount he was after. Apparently he is going to re list the item, even though the reason he gave Ebay for the sale cancellation (after the end of the auction) was due to selling the item to someone else. I told him that on my winning bid we had entered into a legally binding contract which is in his best interest to honour. Also, that a mistake on his part as the seller is not my responsibility as a buyer to fix.
In his second message, he states to me that he will not let the item go for the winning bid price.
Now he was starting to piss me off so I wrote:
Whether you are sorry I feel a particular way or not is irrelevant, as the person who cast the winning bid on your item, I have entered into a "contract of sale" with you. If you like, do a search and find what that means as a retailer of goods. As far as Ebay is concerned:
(eBay expects sellers to consistently provide service that results in a high level of buyer satisfaction.
When a buyer wins an item on eBay, the seller and buyer have entered a contract that both members are expected to honour. A seller's obligations are formal – such as sending the item that was described in the listing – as well as informal – such as providing good service.
Sellers who don't fulfil their obligations may be in breach of their contract and can create an unsatisfactory buyer experience. Buyer experience is reflected in a seller's Feedback (including overall scores and detailed seller ratings), as well as Item Not Received and Item Significantly Not as Described disputes.)
I am not interested in making a 'sensible offer', as the bid I made was sufficient to win the item. If you had a problem with the item not getting the amount you were after, you should have set a minimum bid, that is your issue not mine. I am not responsible for your mistakes, you are. And as 'your' mistake, it will either cost you the difference between what I have bid for the item and what you think it was worth, or negative feedback with the possibility of you account being suspended.
I am also quite sure that Ebay will be interested that you falsified reasoning behind canceling the transaction also which may influence a ruling on your account.
Your move.
- damlowet
As I had indeed won the auction, I was able to leave feedback which was not in the positive for him!
I have received back a message from Ebay that they had been in contact with him and pursued the issue, but were not allowed to tell me what transpired as it would involve disclosure of confidential information.
Now that all the cards were on the table, I'd sit back and wait to see what happens.
Late yesterday I received another message from the dude:
Dear damlowet,
Disregarding your last charming message. I have just had another item sell for more than expected so I will let these injectors go for the winning price as a learning experience.
I will send them once I have received payment.
Doing a little searching, I found that the injectors I had won was the first and only item that he has sold, which means he is lying in his message to me again. What a dick!
So to summarize, he has disregarded Terms and Conditions, lied to Ebay, showed he was willing to take advantage of someone whom he though he knew more than, and is now lying to me about selling another item for a profit and doing me a fucking favor.
There is a 95% chance based on his behavior, he will damage the injectors so they can't be used anyway, so do I risk the purchase and postage, or call it a lost chance?
I will send him back another message and see what his response is.
Note to all, understand what a Contract of Sale means for you. You have rights which favor you as a consumer!!!!!!
Damo