Seller cancelled purchase for no reason.

[michaelinvictoriaaustralia]

Hallo.

     I can't seem to find anything already here that deals with my question.
     The seller is in France, and I am in Australia. I bought a reel-to-reel tape recorder from him, and paid. He then wrote me a message pointing out that the item was sold as is, not as working, and without accessories, and also that delivery time might be increased to a month due to Covid - did I agree?  (The eBay page clearly said the first of these two points anyway.)
     I replied saying this was okay, but I got the same message a second time - and a third time saying he would cancel my order if I didn't reply.  He said he'd had previous problems with Australian buyers, and seemed to be holding that against me. I replied again, repeating that I was all right with what he said.  Seems he either didn't get, or ignored, messages I sent him.
     Very soon after that, my order was cancelled and my money refunded. When I wrote to ask him why he did this, he simply didn't reply at all.
     What is my best way of dealing with this? - I am really quite annoyed with him. Is this against eBay policy? But if he offers the tape recorder for sale again, I would like to buy it, as it is quite rare. He hasn't so far, though.
     I am tempted to leave a scathing negative comment, but I presume that that will decide him against ever accepting purchases from me again.  If I do this, it will only be after I feel certain he will refuse to deal with me over this.
     I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

[repentatleisure1952]

Leave appropriate, calm & factual feedback & then move on.

[michaelinvictoriaaustralia]

Oh, yes, I would be factual, not insulting - I just meant it might be rather frank though, not sparing the truth.

Was his action against eBay policy? I thought a completed and paid-for transaction was binding on both parties.

[4channel]

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@repentatleisure1952 wrote:

Leave appropriate, calm & factual feedback & then move on.

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I have to agree here. Seller didn't have to cancel, shouldn''t have. Calm and factual as said here is the way to go. Otherwise it can get removed.

[takkie-two]

It is disappointing if you find a rare vintage item on E-Bay that you really, really want, but if the item in question is an old style reel to reel tape recorder; the seller is in France and there's a pandemic, that is a recipe for disaster right there.

From memory a reel to reel tape recorder is a big bulky item, that at this point in time the seller can most likely only send per ship, which may take months and months (and add another month or so). By that time you'd be wondering if your item is ever going to turn up and considering the relationship with the seller is already somewhat strained; he's decided to cancel the transaction and refund your money.

You may not think so right now, but the seller has probably done you a favour; just move on and hopefully a great vintage reel to reel tape recorder may turn up closer to home !

[springyzone]

This is similar to other threads as in it is about a seller cancellation.

The seller is in France, he has had bad experiences selling to Australia and he was worried there could be problems with this sale too, as in lengthy delays and maybe an ebay or paypal claim etc

Overseas sales have been a bit fraught for months. I bought some sourdough starter from USA-just a small, cheap item-and had the seller message me about the postal delays. He was obviously toey. He did send the item but I imagine that for bigger, more expensive items, it would be a headache.

Your seller has decided not to sell to Australia at the moment. It's not personal. If he offers it for sale again, why on earth would you bid or try to buy? He would only have to go through the whole process of cancellation again. I would say there is also a good chance he would block you as a likely troublemaker, it certainly wouldn't make him any more likely to send you the item you want.

You can leave factual feedback but basically, my main suggestion would be to look for the item elsewhere, preferably within Australia. It may take a while but something similar will probably pop up sooner or later.

[*tippy*toes*]

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@springyzone wrote:

This is similar to other threads as in it is about a seller cancellation.

The seller is in France, he has had bad experiences selling to Australia and he was worried there could be problems with this sale too, as in lengthy delays and maybe an ebay or paypal claim etc

Overseas sales have been a bit fraught for months. I bought some sourdough starter from USA-just a small, cheap item-and

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Pease tell me you're not serious? You bought starter from the US? I hope you didn't pay much for it. To make it from scratch takes around 7 days, using just bread flour and water, equal amounts. If you'd asked on your local buy swap and sell sites, you would have found some. People who make sourdough have TRUCKLOADS of starter and are usually happy to give it away for free. People on my local sites are often advertising to get rid of some for free, me included.

When you do end up with too much, they make awesome pancakes. Grease a pan with butter, and drop in pikelet sized amounts into the pan. Allow it to cook through on both sides, and serve with whatever you like. Bacon and eggs are good. Also, don't believe the hype about feeding twice a day. One a week is enough, unless you are planning to bake. In which case, feed the day before.

As for the OP, I have blocked certain overseas countries because myself and others have had issues, so if the seller is wary about posting to Australia because of issues, then that is his choice, and understandable. Even more so at the moment with long delivery delays around the world. Just because we are getting back some sort of normality, it's easy to forget the rest of the world is still in crisis.

[springyzone]

Guilty as charged.

I didn't pay much, I think it was about $6 Australian and that included delivery and tippy, you should read the ads, so enticing. San Francisco sourdough starter. I don't regret it, delightful seller, product arrived safe & sound. I can be a bit of an impulse buyer.

I never thought to look locally but you inspired me just now. None of the locals on marketplace are offering it free, unfortunately. The nearest one to me seems to be selling one called Clint Yeastwood and it is about $15 and I would have to travel a couple of suburbs to pick up. There's a free one on the other side of town. Others all seem to be about $5-$10, so all in all, ebay proved as good as marketplace as far as my location is concerned (where is supermussolini when you need him?)

Pity you don't live near me in Vic or I'd definitely be after some starter!

I will remember your advice re the pancakes! Thanks.

If I were still selling items on ebay I think I would be like you and only sell to certain other countries (or maybe even just Aust) at the moment, so I can understand overseas sellers feeling wary in reverse.

[davewil1964]

supermussolini is in Canberra, so I doubt they would be useful. Or cost-effective. They seem to be on the gouger profit-maximiser end of the spectrum.

[springyzone]

You're probably right, dave. Supermussolini would have it at $50 a pop and selling like hot cakes, I am sure.

Tippy, I probably should have added I bought while we were in hard lockdown here in Melb, I couldn't travel out of my area and most people would not have allowed pick up from their homes during that period.