Seller refunded me because they didn't charge enough.

[dubs_2]

I bought an item and the seller refunded me because of a problem, when I asked what the problem was, they said, quote: "I didn't price it properly".

If I bought an item, I am agreeing to a contract and it the same from the seller once they list something.

Surely this is illegal what the seller did?

Photo attached.

[sandypebbles]

If you believe it to be illegal, report it to the police

Good luck

[dubs_2]

Thank you. He at least refunded me, so as long as I do get the money back I'll take your advice to ebay for now and reprt him.

My main issue is that he surely violated the terms by doing what he did.

Thanks again.

[springyzone]

It happens.

This seller was at least honest with you. He could have said he found damage to it so had to cancel. He could have lied.

It isn't good form and it wouldn't give buyers a high opinion of trading on ebay when this happens but I am not sure how illegal it is.

They have decided not to go ahead with the sale & have refunded the money. Their account may suffer a bit because it would have been a seller cancellation and they would still probably be up for fees I think, or at least some of them.

Realistically, no one can force a seller to sell something if they have made a mistake with the price and trying to pursue it legally over what might be small items would more expense than it was worth.

Probably best to just move on, though it would be frustrating to have it happen, I know.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

have you ever made a mistake?

Was it an auction? If yes, what price did you win the item for and how much do you think it is actually worth? I'm trying to get a feel of whether it was a bargain price and whether the seller started the item at 99c bid.

If it was Buy-It-Now then was it a bargain price well below actually value?

The seller has a feedback score of 4.  Hardly an experienced seller there.

[dubs_2]

It was $749, listed as 6 available and 1 sold. It was also $100 cheaper than most. Sure he may of mistakenly put the price he put, but the issue is that he broke the terms of sale by cancelling the purchase. I paid what was listed and that should be the end of the transaction. There is no reason that I can find in the T&C's as a seller that you are allowed to cancel a purchase becuase you feel you didnt charge enough.

I reported him and have now moved on somewhat. I still need to wait until I recieve the funds back before I can move on fully.

Edit: also, it was a Buy it Now sale.

[dubs_2]

Thanks. It is very frustrating as it wasn't a small order and now by the time I get the funds back it's a week delay before I can purchase from another seller.

I am definitley not taking it further as long as I recieve the funds back. But he should not have cancelled the order in the manor he did, especially without contacting me first. He listed the refund officially as an item issue that covers damage or other related issues. I've never cancelled a purchase as a seller before but I'm betting one of the reasons officially isn't that you "didn't charge enough".

Thanks for the response.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

thanks for coming back and providing more details.

[dubs_2]

No problems

[digital*ghost · Accepted solution]

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@dubs_2 wrote:

Surely this is illegal what the seller did?

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Highly debateable.

In "normal" retail, if a pricing error is made, the retailer has full rights to withdraw the item from sale (i.e. they do not have to honour the advertised or shelf price - they can opt to, but they are legally able to simply not sell the item at all). This changes if they accept payment. So for example, if you go into a shop and see a computer advertised for $50 (when it should be $500), take it up to the counter, the cashier processes the transaction and accepts your $50, legally they shouldn't call you back as you're walking out the door and say "can't sell it to you for that", but they 100% can before they take your cash and give you a receipt.

In an online scenario, the seller is not presented with a chance to decline payment or tell the person "holding" the item in their cart the price is incorrect, until the payment has already been completed from the buyer's side, and our retail / consumer laws (AFAIK) have not yet been updated to account for many of these kinds of situations as translated into online retail, which is what puts your situation into a greyer area, but I suspect a competent lawyer could argue a full and immediate refund upon discovery of the pricing error is non-acceptance of payment.