Sellers Not Shipping Low-Bid Items

[neverbreak]

If a seller puts an item up for auction and the item ends up selling for less than what such an item normally sells for, what can a buyer do if a seller tries to cheat on the deal by simply not shipping it? If a seller simply fails to ship it until he/she is forced to refund the money, is there any action that can be taken to reprimand the seller so that he/she can no longer do this, or is this an unavoidable reality?

Regards.

[imastawka]

If they are not happy with the price, then they started the auction too low.

But they should refund immediately.

You can't force a seller to sell to you.

Unavoidable reality, I'm afraid.

You can leave feedback to reflect your transaction.

[enigmabear]

As the buyer,you have all the power

You open an item not received dispute as soon as the system allows and get you money back

eBay do not care if it really was the seller not sending the item (or if it was lost/delayed due to Australia Post)

Just out of interest, did they seller tell you they were not happy with the final price and are not shipping the item, or are you just assuming that must be the reason it has not arrived by eBay's estimated date?

[halfgweilo]

I recently won a bid on a set of stamps at USD 0.99¢ plus $5.00 shipping cost. I was the only bidder. Another sellers were selling same at USD 25-30.00 plus shipping cost. Because of the extreme low $$$ results I can't say I was overly optimestic about my chance of receiving same. It's easy to say 'item sent' but didn't. Lost in transit etc. All that is left for me to do then was, wait until the expected date of arrival expires then ask seller for a full refund. I won't be writing this if I didn't receive the item. There are lots of honest sellers out there.  Cheers...Tom

[tazzieterror]

Neverbreak, there's nothing that you can realistically do to force them to follow through and post the item, but as others have suggested, open up an item not received dispute, and leave clear feedback to warn other buyers.

It's very frustrating when it happens - legally, they're obliged to complete the transaction as a contract has technically been formed between the seller and buyer, but good luck enforcing it.

I seem to remember a case a number of years ago where a buyer actually took a seller to court after the seller tried to renege on a sale, but the item involved was a motor vehicle or aircraft or something, so relatively high value and obviously worth pursuing in the eyes of the buyer. I think they won, too.

[kopenhagen5]

Court rules - https://www.smh.com.au/technology/ebay-sale-is-a-sale-court-rules-20070804-gdqruz.html

[davewil1964]

That was a one-off, as I'm sure you're aware. There were specifics in that case that normally don't apply. Like material loss.

As long as the buyer can establish a material loss, you are correct.

I suspect most buyers of $5 items won't be prepared to spend several thousand dollars getting a court to rule in their favour. Or even the cost of a tribunal hearing. Given the difficulty of establishing material loss for something they don't yet have.

[springyzone]

Realistically, you can't force a seller to post an item & you can't march into their home to take it by force. Legal redress is not a viable option in most cases.

The best you can usually do is to ensure you get a full refund and perhaps leave feedback.

I think sellers do suffer some defects on their account if they have too many cancellations but I'm not sure if one alone would affect them too much.

The main time you're likely to strike trouble with a seller like this would (at a guess) be with the private, occasional sellers who set their starting price too low, then get a shock. Regular sellers with shops etc either have buy it now or  are more likely to honour their sales.