Seller refunded my payment & sold to second highest bidder.

[dresscode2479]

Hi ! I won an auction Sunday am and paid for it via instant paypal on Tuesday pm. The seller has just refunded my payment citing that they sold it to the second highest bidder as payment was not made within 2 days as stated on the listing.

I must admit, I had not actually read that on the listing  but as a seller myself, I think this sellers actions were a little harsh. Seller made no contact with me except for a note on the paypal refund. 

[j*oono]

I am really a bit confused by this thread as I thought that the buyer had four days to pay and that the seller had to stick with the initial buyer until eight days were up.

Things must have changed a fair bit.

I also thought that ebay's terms beat a sellers terms hands down.  I've never questioned a buyer unless it has been close to a week before they have paid.  If I was that worried about getting paid I would list as BIN and use the immediate payment function.

Red dot from me.

[*crikey*mate*]

Joono, you are kind of right.

The terms of the contract seem to have been that payment was to be made in 2 days

This is the ciontract term.

BUT

the contract is not voided simply because one of the terms are not met. So it is at this time that the breached party can commence action for performance for the contract or to have the contract terminated. Any termination of a contract must be by court, legal process such as arbitration (enter eBay UID) or by mutual agreement

eBay provide a resolution service which is akin to a mutual agreement (The unpaid item dispute). This is a free service and one which a person can use if they don't want to go to the expense of legals - let alone the time frame it takes to get such a ruling.

So, in this case, technically, the sellers terms do trump eBay's "terms" as eBay have no terms - the 4 days are just the framework in which eBay chooses to operate. Perfectly legal. It doesn't stop the seller from seeking iother avenues earlier.

Therefore, the seller is in the wrong as the contract was not legally terminated, nor was it terminated by mutual agreement or other resolution process.

This means that the seller now has two contracts on foot and is liable to fill both of them.

Thus, if the buyer chose to pursue this, they can - but eBay don't offer such a service, they would have to do it at their own expense.

[*crikey*mate*]

Joono, sorry, I know that is not easy to read - I did try to ex0plain it easily, but I can see I have failed, so I hope you can kind of get the gist of it.

In short - eBay have no policy or rule about how long a operson can take to pay as eBay are not a party to the contract between a buyer and seller, so they get no input into the terms. (generally speaking)

The quickest way to have a contract terminated is by mutual agreement

The next quickest and cost effective method on eBay is the UID process which takes a minimum 8 days for aus, as you know (i don't know why they set that time frame - ie if it is a legal decision or sopmething they thought up at the office Christmas Party)

The last way to have a contract terminated is by court order - expensive and time consuming in comparison to the first two.

BUT - one contract must be terminated BEFORE the item is offered for sale again and another contract formed.

[thecatspjs]

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@j*oono wrote:

I am really a bit confused by this thread as I thought that the buyer had four days to pay and that the seller had to stick with the initial buyer until eight days were up.

Things must have changed a fair bit.

I also thought that ebay's terms beat a sellers terms hands down.  I've never questioned a buyer unless it has been close to a week before they have paid.  If I was that worried about getting paid I would list as BIN and use the immediate payment function.

Red dot from me.

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 eBays has no payment terms, only a dispute process that "implies" payment guidelines.

It is a risk that the seller has taken by setting shorter terms for payment IMO. 

However under its own policies eBay is really obligated to remove any negative feedback as the buyer has not honored the terms outlined by the selelr in their description. 

[bsal6160]

Disagree cats. Even if the seller did imply a 2 day payment requirement he still is required to go through the Unpaid Item resolution process then as well, not just refund then 2nd chance offer to another buyer.

[thecatspjs]

The unpaid dispute is voluntary, ebay only encourages sellers to use its dispute processes, it does not require them to.

[davewil1964]

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@thecatspjs wrote:
The unpaid dispute is voluntary, ebay only encourages sellers to use its dispute processes, it does not require them to.

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And allows them to pay FVF twice, be reported as a non-performing seller, AND get negative feedback.

Which is what the OP should probably ensure.

[thecatspjs]

Good luck with reporting a seller for non performance when there is no eBay policy to back it up.

[davewil1964]

Refusal to sell?

No worries, you go with your paradigm. I suggest the Op goes with mine.

[thecatspjs]

Where might I find the refusal to sell policy ?

Oh thats right, search the site map .

*searching*  nup that option ain't there