Seller refused to sell - are sellers allowed to specify payment deadlines ?

[oasion45]

I recently won an auction and because I was away during the weekend, I did not pay immediately after the auction ended. The price of the auction was something quite a bit lower than what the market price was.

Seller specified in his auction description something to the effect that "payment must be made within 24 hours otherwise will be refunded".

When I came back home, I saw that the seller had opened an unpaid item dispute. No problem, I paid him. The unpaid item dispute was closed in my favor. Then a few hours later, he refunds, saying "since you did not pay me within 24 hours this transaction is cancelled"

I emailed him back "if you did not want to sell the item, why did you open an unpaid item dispute ? you should have opened a request to cancel the transaction"

I now understand why he opened a unpaid item dispute instead of a request to cancel the transaction. If he had done the latter, I would have refused his request to cancel. But even though he opened an unpaid item dispute, I still paid him and he still did not get his fees back.

My question is : are sellers allowed to specify their own payment terms or deadlines which are not in accordance with eBAY guidelines (i.e. the unpaid item process) or stricter than eBAY guidelines for e.g. payment is due in 24 hours, or payment is due immediately after auction ends or payment is due in 4 hours after auction ends ?

Please give me some advice on this. thanks

[crystal-gems]

OP, this is a no brainer.

The US seller of the t-shirt clearly states (in big print) on the site that it is payment within 24 hours or bidder will be reported.

The auction end time is on the site.

If you went away 'for the weekend'' and weren't aware that you were the winning bidder, it is not the fault of the seller.

Do the decent thing and just move on, and do not leave an undeserved negative for the seller.

[crystal-gems]

And as for you (a US buyer) complaining about a US seller on an Australian site.....have you had a brain snap or are you trying to smear this seller on numerous sites.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

Please give me some advice on this. thanks

sure, be grateful.

You have learnt a lesson, and ultimately, it did not cost you a cent (or 1.025 US cents as our dollar is better at the moment).

[jameshouseofstyle]

OP, had you apologised to the seller you may have had your item by now!

Or, even if you didn't get it and they still didn't want to have anything to do with you - at least you would have had a satisfaction of doing the right thing - saying sorry that you thought  the seller and his condition didn't rate any consideration!

I don't know why are you so surprised to see that  wasn't the case.

And I don't care what country the buyers or the sellers are - or any other rules - it just came down to common courtesy which applies anywhere on this planet.

Ebay can list as many rules as they like, about everything and anything - but those sellers who wish to enforce their own will do so (as you have just found out) as Ebay can't force them to part with the goods.

[***super_nova***]

Demanding a change to the payment method or timing, other than those specified in the listing

That means seller can say that payment must be made within 4, or 5, or 10 days, and if they do the buyer then has to pay within these limits = if seller says 10 days the buyer cannot demand that they will be allowed to pay in 3 weeks.

[the-kazbar]

The part you have quoted in post 35 is concerning disputes and how long after it is opened that it can then be closed.

It does not specifically state anywhere on ebay that buyers have 8 days to pay (4+4 ).

It specifically states in many many many places that the bidder is agreeing to the sellers stated terms by placing a bid or by using the Buy It Now button

[viewmont1071]

The seller can demand immediate payment by electing paypal only and selecting the immediate payment required check button.

This in fact sets a precedent for the minimum payment time a seller may enforce in their TOS

Immediate. (even if you do not use the check button and also accept bank deposit... bottle tops bumpers... whatever.

If a seller decides on 24 hours as a maximum and includes that in their TOS then they can refund or refuse payments made after the 24 hr period and then legitimately open a NPB dispute and refund any overdue payment made after the tos set time frame citing their terms and conditions in the dispute.

Like others I do not agree with some sellers terms and conditions but I understand their importance in the "real world" and also the ever growing amount of B and M business owners who will bring "real world' terms and conditions with them to ebay

[crystal-gems]

Many of my sellers  have immediate pay it now by Paypal.

I have no problem with this.  In fact, I like it because it makes a speedy transaction.

Done and dusted.

If I purchase more than one item from that seller I just hit the back button, buy, and when I get the pay it now it includes both items.

[***super_nova***]

The part you have quoted in post 35 is concerning disputes and how long after it is opened that it can then be closed.

It does not specifically state anywhere on ebay that buyers have 8 days to pay (4+4 ).

It also states that seller can re-list after they closed the dispute.  Could you point us to where it says that seller can re-list anytime before the transaction is officially null and void?  It definitely says that buyer has 4 days to pay after the dispute was open.

The whole point of opening NPB dispute is to demand payment; sellers have no right to demand payment if they then refuse to sell the item.

It all sounds like totally mess 🙂

[digital*ghost]

It also states that seller can re-list after they closed the dispute.  Could you point us to where it says that seller can re-list anytime before the transaction is officially null and void?  It definitely says that buyer has 4 days to pay after the dispute was open.

The whole point of opening NPB dispute is to demand payment; sellers have no right to demand payment if they then refuse to sell the item.

It all sounds like totally mess 🙂

In order for this to be a valid point, you have to believe that a seller is unequivocally bound to honour the sale just because the buyer paid and regardless of what seller terms the buyer may not have met or complied with - I agree with viewmont, in that a seller is not bound to honour a sale with a buyer who is in breach of a seller's terms.

Being able to 'officially' relist an item does not have anything to do with being bound to honour a sale, either, it's just that it has the potential to create further problems and/or consequences.