eBay Problem - Buyer won item but wants to cancel

Hustler1337 · Aug 25, 2014

Hi guys,

So i put my iPhone 4 on eBay and a buyer won the auction. However, about 15-20 mins later, the buyer sends me a message through eBay saying he thought it was an iPhone 4S and didn't realise it was an iPhone 4 and that he don't want to buy it. He asked me to offer it to the next highest bidder.

The problem is, I am not happy with the bid price of the next highest bidder. I'd rather cancel the sale and leave it at that.

My question is, do I get the £4.50 fee I paid eBay for the reserve price fee refunded back to me if I cancel the transaction? I don't want to be £4.50 out of pocket because of the carelessness of the winning bidder.

How do I go about this?

Would appreciate some advice.

Thanks!

GoCubsGo · Aug 25, 2014

I think eBay outlines what fees you would incur in the event you cancel the auction after someone won. For £4.50 though, I'd eat it and move on. If you force the issue with the buyer, who is obviously a dbag, then you could end up with a larger headache. On the extreme of worst case scenarios, you could ship it and the guy can do a charge back and claim the iPhone wasn't as advertised, claim to return it and you're out cash and an iPhone.

Regardless, I believe if you cancel due to the buyer's advertised unwillingness to purchase, you won't have to eat the fee, but I'd eat it even if I had to.

Bruno09 · Aug 25, 2014

Hustler1337 said:
The problem is, I am not happy with the bid price of the next highest bidder.

This price should be only one pound under the winning bider, or am I missing something ?

I mean if the highest bidder won with a £121 bid, it's because the next highest bidder bid £120, regardless of the actual highest bid of the winner.

AFAIK, this is how eBay works.

jbachandouris · Aug 25, 2014

There is an option on eBay to cancel the transaction. Once the processes completes, all seller fees are refunded.

Basically, eBay sends the request to cancel the transaction to the buyer, they approve, then the deal is done.

Make sure you contact the buyer and let them know what's going on. Worst case scenario, you can open a non-pay bidder complaint after 7 days.

Either way, it will work out fine.

rei101 · Aug 25, 2014

Hustler1337 said:
Hi guys,

So i put my iPhone 4 on eBay and a buyer won the auction. However, about 15-20 mins later, the buyer sends me a message through eBay saying he thought it was an iPhone 4S and didn't realise it was an iPhone 4 and that he don't want to buy it. He asked me to offer it to the next highest bidder.

The problem is, I am not happy with the bid price of the next highest bidder. I'd rather cancel the sale and leave it at that.

My question is, do I get the £4.50 fee I paid eBay for the reserve price fee refunded back to me if I cancel the transaction? I don't want to be £4.50 out of pocket because of the carelessness of the winning bidder.

How do I go about this?

Would appreciate some advice.

Thanks!

Just take it easy, it was not your fault and for sure there is something on eBay that knows about it and you won't be charged. Just repost, not big deal.

jbachandouris · Aug 25, 2014

That's incorrect. eBay assumes the buyer paid. If the transaction is not cancelled properly. OP will be charged.

Hustler1337 · Aug 25, 2014

Thanks to everyone for your advice guys. Seems like there's mixed opinions on whether I get my fees back lol. I'm not referring to the Final Value Fee - that i'm almost 100% sure I will be refunded. I'm talking about the fees I incurred in putting a reserve price on the item and things like subtitles etc.

If I have to relist the item and don't get refunded by eBay for the original listing, it would mean I would have incurred the fees twice for listing the item. That already amounts to 10% of the selling price and does not include the final value fee (10%), totalling ~20% in total of the sale price. That excludes the Paypal fees as well. It all adds up, and in principle, I don't see why I should incur the costs for something that was not my error.

Anyways, I've emailed the winning bidder and asked him whether he'd agree to reimburse my fees if the next lowest bidder refuses to buy the item and eBay refuses to reimburse my fees. Hopefully he agrees. :|

thetechfixer · Aug 25, 2014

I would contact eBay

Hustler1337 · Aug 28, 2014

Just an update really, I contacted eBay through their online chat service and explained the situation. They agreed to refund my fees without hesitation, providing I cancel the transaction and the buyer agrees to the cancellation on this occasion only.

jbachandouris · Aug 28, 2014

Hustler1337 said:
Just an update really, I contacted eBay through their online chat service and explained the situation. They agreed to refund my fees without hesitation, providing I cancel the transaction and the buyer agrees to the cancellation on this occasion only.

There is no 'this occasion only.' This is how it works. I did tell you this from the beginning. Glad it worked out for you.

Hustler1337 · Aug 29, 2014

jbachandouris said:
There is no 'this occasion only.' This is how it works. I did tell you this from the beginning. Glad it worked out for you.

This isn't how it works, it's not standard policy for eBay to refund for listing upgrades like reserve price and subtitle fees etc. Here's a transcript from the chat I had:

Basically, [my name]. Once you've listed your item with listing upgrade It'll not be refundable. However, As a gesture of goodwill, I'll be crediting this fee for an one-time exemption. Before that, please ensure that you'll be agreeing to cancel the transaction.

But anyways, I'm happy with the resolution.

jbachandouris · Aug 29, 2014

Hustler1337 said:
This isn't how it works, it's not standard policy for eBay to refund for listing upgrades like reserve price and subtitle fees etc. Here's a transcript from the chat I had:

But anyways, I'm happy with the resolution.

Correct. They wouldn't need to refund those fees since you would most likely be able to re-list and those features would be automatically applied. I never ran across that problem, but I do know that many company reps have used the 'one time courtesy' line on me only to do it again several times thereafter.

I hope you never have to face that issue again. Many claim that Craigslist is better, yet in my area, it seems eBay is the better option.

thetechfixer · Aug 29, 2014

jbachandouris said:
Correct. They wouldn't need to refund those fees since you would most likely be able to re-list and those features would be automatically applied. I never ran across that problem, but I do know that many company reps have used the 'one time courtesy' line on me only to do it again several times thereafter.

I hope you never have to face that issue again. Many claim that Craigslist is better, yet in my area, it seems eBay is the better option.

For my area Craigslist and eBay are both great options.

sammy-boy · Aug 29, 2014

That is how is works normally, I've had a lot of time wasters lately who bought an item I'm selling 'by mistake', or the kid bid on it etc. Usually cancelling the transaction through My Ebay with them agreeing means i automatically get refunded my selling fees. They usually do if I send them a message explaining this and that they won't get an unpaid item strike.

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