Item purchased and paid for then seller cancels saying out of stock but relists item

[cummo63]

I am just about done with ebay. I thought purchases were binding - it is for buyers at least. I emailed a seller to check stock and the item description and received a positive response. I then buy the four items under the one listing. This morning the seller cancels saying he is out of stock and that I should buy from another seller. He has relisted the exact same items separately for a much higher price. Very dishonest. There is no comeback for this seller apart from a possible slap on the wrist. More and more I am finding online stores beating the ebay prices, often by a lot of dollars. Do your research, buy from an Australian online store and forget this flea market where dog eats dog and the rules are there to be broken. 

[padi*0409]

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@cummo63 wrote:

 I thought purchases were binding - it is for buyers at least.

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Not really, a buyer can refuse to pay and if they don't pay and the seller opens an NPB dispute the buyer will get a strike, which will have no effect unless they get more than one in 12 months AND the seller they want to buy from has their buyer blocks in place. Similarly for a seller, if they don't complete the sale they'll likely get bad feedback and possibly a slap from eBay.

[jellybirddesigns]

Sellers who show stock and then cancel for being "out of stock" actually get a defect on their account.

The fact that they have listed at a higher price will not help them avoid a defect if they cancelled for that particular reason.

If a seller accumulates too many defects in relation to the number of items sold, that starts to have an impact on their seller status.

Can you provide the item number? Was the seller domestic or international?

Are you able to leave feedback?

As for sales being binding - nobody can force a seller to sell, or force a buyer to pay. However, there are consequences for either party, such as non-payment strikes, account defects and negatives.

[imastawka]

You can still leave feedback, even if it was cancelled and voice your displeasure.

I bet if you check their feedback you will find similar stories and so, maybe, should have checked it before buying.