Is it possible to report a seller that you only suspect of wrongdoing?

[ful213254]

I recently won an auction and waited until the date that it said my item should arrive. I have contacted the seller and the purchase has been cancelled (for reasons that don't seem to add up to me). I have been given a full refund but I have been out of pocket for almost 2 weeks and there seems to be no way I can report my concerns to Ebay. On the resolution centre page that I got to, it just seems to get to a point where it says that because I recieved a full refund, I can't take any further action.

[davewil1964]

that when you win an auction, you create a binding contract between yourself and the seller. 

No. It is not a binding contract. It is an offer, which the seller has no legal requirement (except in limited circumstances) to accept

[digital*ghost]

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@ful213254 wrote:

If they removed every seller for every minor infraction, I'm sure most minor infractions would no longer happen.

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Lol, yeah, because there would be no sellers left on the site - I woulda been gone years ago for foolishly describing the style of a dress I was listing (in the title) as "Audrey Hepburn". 😅

I'm not here to condone the seller's actions, BTW - if the seller didn't communicate, didn't have any reason for cancelling etc and just held on to your payment for 2 weeks until you made contact, that's pretty bad, whether or not it caused any other issues for you.

I did note that your post mentioned you want to get in touch with eBay because of the reason the seller gave for cancelling; just be aware that these reasons are eBay-generated and sellers are provided with a grand-total of 3 reasons, where they can only pick one:

• The buyer asked to cancel 
• There's a problem with the buyer's address
• The item is damaged or out of stock

With these limited choices, the reason selected is probably not going to match the actual reason a lot of the time, and that third one is almost never selected if a seller knows what they are doing. "There's a problem with the buyer's address" would (anecdotally) be the most popular, I think. I use it the most, because the first and third are nowhere near applicable, while I can technically say (at least in a couple of cases I've had) there is a problem with the buyer's address, in that I refuse to post to it (for good reason, mind you). 

Anyway, if you want to talk to someone at ebay, your only real option is the chat function, which is accessible via the help link at the top of any page. Ironically, sometimes you have to choose options that don't apply in order to access it. JMHO, they are unlikely to do much other than pay lip service. At most you will probably get the "we may take action, but for privacy reasons, can not disclose anything about the actions we may have taken" line.

[kopenhagen5]

I will just move on with my life because I got the refund and that's, as far as I can see, the only possible resolution and you just have to accept that your time was wasted by waiting for an item that you could have bought elsewhere.

That's the best solution. 👍

Feedback could be - Purchased item and paid immediately, seller then cancels after waiting 2 weeks. Very disappointed and missed other sales.

[ful213254]

So why does Ebay always tell me to pay straight away if it's just an offer and I'm waiting for the seller to accept?

[4channel]

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@ful213254 wrote:

I recently won an auction and waited until the date that it said my item should arrive. I have contacted the seller and the purchase has been cancelled (for reasons that don't seem to add up to me). I have been given a full refund but I have been out of pocket for almost 2 weeks and there seems to be no way I can report my concerns to Ebay. On the resolution centre page that I got to, it just seems to get to a point where it says that because I recieved a full refund, I can't take any further action.

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Hi, I'm sorry to hear of your issue. This is strange that the seller didn't contact you straight away to inform you that they had cancelled the auction.

Did they say why on the first contact?

Was the item in your opinion won on a low bid?

[ful213254]

It was won on what seems like a very good price for me a few days before Christmas (I don't understand why people on here think you can just ignore an auction result, can anyone post me a link to where it says in Ebay's rules that sellers can just ignore auction results if they choose). They just got back from holidays apparently and found the item had been stolen when they got home. I don't really understand why someone would set an auction to end after they had left for a holiday and not inform potential buyers, or the buyer, that they were going away and wouldn't be able to post the item.

[gutterpunkz05]

Many close from christmas to new year , no big deal, and unfortunately some will return to their home, shop or storage facility  and find they have been robbed.  Happens all the time, not just holidays.  Ebay have probably allready given the seller a defect and that is all that will happen, so move on.

[4channel]

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@ful213254 wrote:

It was won on what seems like a very good price for me a few days before Christmas (I don't understand why people on here think you can just ignore an auction result, can anyone post me a link to where it says in Ebay's rules that sellers can just ignore auction results if they choose). They just got back from holidays apparently and found the item had been stolen when they got home. I don't really understand why someone would set an auction to end after they had left for a holiday and not inform potential buyers, or the buyer, that they were going away and wouldn't be able to post the item.

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OK, this seems fishy and it could be an old well-worked trick. I'm not saying that it is, but it is a possibility.

Below is the now classic example of what can go wrong. Renato, ra157 had similar.

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Seller Cancels Auction Sale After Item is Paid for. / Bargains Depend entirely on Goodwill
ra157

https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Buying/Seller-Cancels-Auction-Sale-After-Item-is-Paid-for-Bargains/...

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BTW: In a similar scenario, a friend of mind won a 70s hi-fi for $40 a few years back. Usually these items go way over $100. The UK based seller then said that the item had been dropped on the floor. I contacted seller on my friend's behalf and said, no problem, send it over as is, I'll fix it. After a bit of a pause, seller came back with ...  "Sorry, I threw it in the bin and it has been collected.

From memory, the auction in pounds was $40.

BTW II: Renato, ra157, real nice ebayer had the misfortune of this happening a second time.

[janeababe]

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@ful213254 wrote:

It was won on what seems like a very good price for me a few days before Christmas (I don't understand why people on here think you can just ignore an auction result, can anyone post me a link to where it says in Ebay's rules that sellers can just ignore auction results if they choose). They just got back from holidays apparently and found the item had been stolen when they got home. I don't really understand why someone would set an auction to end after they had left for a holiday and not inform potential buyers, or the buyer, that they were going away and wouldn't be able to post the item.

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No one can force a seller to post an item. Tbh, count yourself lucky they refunded you without you having to put in a claim! You were actually one of the lucky ones here, believe it or not. There are many buyers who have to start a claim for a refund, which takes time.

I know you’re not happy about it all. And I can understand that, but you’ve got your refund, so let it go.  Time to move on.  

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[repentatleisure1952]

You just couldn't resist bringing up the ra thread & the dumpster diving... lol