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

[ra157]

Last Friday I had the interesting experience of winning a Nikon 1 J3 mirrorless camera with two lenses at a very good price. I immediately paid for it with Paypal. 19 minutes after the end of the auction, the seller then cancelled the sale, citing the reason as,
" I'm out of stock or the item is damaged".

Plainly she wasn't out of stock, and it strains credulity that she suddenly discovered the camera was found to be damaged within 19 minutes of my winning it. I reported the seller to Ebay.

Ebay's response included,

"I assure you that I have warned the seller and we will monitor their account to make sure that if they continue to cause bad-buyer experiences, we will take further actions which could lead to restrictions or even indefinite suspension."

As best I can see it – sellers can break their Ebay conditions and their contract with me with impunity.

Plainly, if this pattern is repeated by a frequent seller, Ebay will do something. But it appears that casual sellers never have to worry about getting what they perceive to be a dud price for their item. If they do, they can just cancel the sale and claim the item was damaged.

To make matters worse, the camera was listed as not having a charger, which I bought from another seller after winning the camera. Despite my requesting that he cancel the order, it is on its way to me, and I have paid $10.98 for a useless charger.

Anybody else had this type of  frustrating auction experience?
Regards,
Renato

[davewil1964]

So you're unhappy that seller A reneged on the 'contract', but also unhappy that seller B wouldn't renege on the 'contract'.

There appears to be an element of inconsistency there.

[imastawka]

.......but not if you want to eat it too.

[collect247]

I need you to show me where in the rest of the commercial life a seller has had significant consequences brought upon them for not going through with a sale?

[digital*ghost]

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@ra157 wrote:

Hi Digital*ghost,
           You say the seller has gotten a defect, and as such such sellers are not able to do things with impunity.

Does this "defect" that the seller received in any way, shape or form affect her ability to Buy or Sell on Ebay, or cause the seller a financial penalty of some description?

Would  this "defect" deter any casual seller from cancelling a sale in the future, where he or she perceives she could have gotten a better price?

If not, it seems like impunity to me.
Regards,
Renato

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You seem to be under the presumption - or perhaps you just have the very strong desire for it - that it should be immediate and tangible consequences for any infraction like this, and that will satisfy you personally rather than anything else. Perhaps because you feel you've been wronged and you want the seller to be punished in a very literal sense, but that is just conjecture on my part, obviously.

Consequences have been dealt out, and when I said defects affect sellers negatively, I didn't elaborate because I was on my phone and it's a pain to type out thorough comments, but... Sellers with defects will have their items pushed lower in search results, they may lose top rated status, if they fall below standard level their fees will (soon) increase,and if they stay below standard level for too long, or get too many defects in a short period of time (and / or of a specific kind) then yes, a seller can be restricted or even permanently suspended from being able to sell.

Does that satisfy, or were you more looking for a one strike and they're out scenario?

Can you also please provide a reputable source outlining the consequences of withdrawing an item from sale after the hammer has fallen in a real life auction (I don't mean outlier court cases, I mean common T&Cs from auction houses and such), I'm interested in that because I'm relatively well versed in Australian Consumer Law, and I'm aware of a seller's right to withdraw items from sale in some circumstances, so I'd like to read about when they don't have that right. TIA

[imastawka]

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@ra157 wrote:

Hi Shoppingbag*,
          Thanks, Yes, well, one can be philosophic and say "that's life" - which is ultimately what I will do.

But in the rest of commercial life there would be significant consequences for a seller who reneged on a sale after an auction.

There doesn't appear to be any significant consequence on Ebay, as far as I can see.
Regards,
Renato

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So you missed out on winning a $1800 camera for $187

Then tried to cancel the sale of the charger with another seller.

Why does the seller of the camera need to be punished, but it's ok for you

to muck around the seller of the charger?

[enigmabear]

Because the buyer is always 100% without question right. No matter what. End of story,that's it,that's all

And as such any and all sellers who do anything to annoy a buyer must be tarred,feathered and punished in any way that said buyer deems fitting

Curious, as far as the 'ultimately'  remark if this is another case of 'going to small claims court'

The Shirley Temple tantrum is spot on 

[padi*0409]

Get 'em all together Stawks then they can sort it out with their handbags........................

                                                         

[ra157]

Hi Enigmabear,

You state,
"You're right, ebay did not ask the seller for proof of the damage because ebay is only for the buyer."

Plainly and unambiguously, if Ebay was only for the buyer as you assert, then they would indeed have asked for proof of damage.

But they didn't.

Instead they don't appear to care much what sellers are doing, choosing instead to apparently relying on an honour system rather than demanding verification, and kicking people off Ebay who flout the rules.

You appear very emotionally invested with this poor seller, who cancelled a sale, and did not bother to directly offer me any form of explanation or evidence and who, in my opinion, is unconcerned about any negative feedback that would inevitably result from her actions.

Similarly, that emotional investment translates to your somehow charachaterizing my objective comments as  "going off the deep end".

Not sure what you know about cameras. I own around 25 cameras and I've never seen nor heard of cameras with something rattling around inside them, in the manner you suggest happened spontaneously to the poor seller just after the end of the auction and who didn't want to disappoint me. 
Regards,
Renato

[ra157]

Hi Countessalmirena,
             Sorry to disagree with you, but your statement 
"I'm not surprised that the seller was so unhappy with this price that he/she would rather not sell at that price."
can only be interpreted as offering some sort of condonation for the seller's action.

I don't see you write one single thing stating that breaching of a contract in this manner is wrong.
Regards,
Renato

[ra157]

Thanks again 4Channel,
          I see something I perceive as problem, I've written to Ebay the points I've made here, and I've raised it for discussion here - curious to see if anybody has found themselves in the same boat.
Regards,
Renato