Why were my discount vouchers cancelled on 31/12/2018 and not on 01/01/2019 per the conditions?

[vheve]

I had 2 vouchers due to expire tomorrow as stated in the conditions, but today they have disappeared from my summary page (when the summary page actually shows instead of the purchase history) and are no longer valid at checkout.  P5OFF & PERCENT5 I believe.  Did I misinterpret the eBay conditions? I had not used the vouchers for the transaction limit and they both appeared on my summary screen yesterday 30/12/2018.

[sam22312]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

In short, even if you want the item at the full price I suspect you will not be able to pay for it.

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I CAN pay for the item now if i wanted to, as it sits in my unpaid items.

The whole point is that originally i made the seller an offer for $475. With a discount I would have paid $451.25.

The seller replied if i use the listed description code P5OFF, I'd only pay $475 in total.

I reviewed the sold listing prices for the same used phone, and it comes up as a great price, so i figured $475 was ok.

Then when i went to checkout the code did not work, so it meant i would be paying $500 instead of $475 agreed.

Check the same model for listed prices for yourself.

[tazzieterror]

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@sam22312 wrote:

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@tazzieterror wrote:
Previously eBay have put a new 5% off code in place before expiring an earlier one - your seller has simply guessed a new one would be available today, based on eBay's past behaviour. So far, this doesn't seem to be the case.

You've agreed the pay the price shown ($500) - if an *eBay* promotion code doesn't work for whatever reason, that's not the seller's fault - they have no control over when eBay expires a promo code, or whether you qualify for it.

The seller isn't liable to make up the discount on eBay's behalf as you seem to believe, despite mentioning the code in the title and/or listing - it's a site-wide eBay promo, run by eBay, ended at eBay's discretion.

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That being the case, if I create a listing, say for a $1000 mobile phone, put in the listing description "Get 99% off with code 99OFF", and when the buyer goes through checkout the code doesn't work... This is OK to do as a seller in your opinion? What was your store/listings again, so i can avoid them with a 10' pole. 🤔

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You could always have checked the validity of the code before committing to the purchase.

Your example ignores the point, not to mention being just plain dumb.

[davewil1964]

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@sam22312 wrote:

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

In short, even if you want the item at the full price I suspect you will not be able to pay for it.

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I CAN pay for the item now if i wanted to, as it sits in my unpaid items.

The whole point is that originally i made the seller an offer for $475. With a discount I would have paid $451.25.

The seller replied if i use the listed description code P5OFF, I'd only pay $475 in total.

I reviewed the sold listing prices for the same used phone, and it comes up as a great price, so i figured $475 was ok.

Then when i went to checkout the code did not work, so it meant i would be paying $500 instead of $475 agreed.

Check the same model for listed prices for yourself.

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However, as you found, P5OFF no longer worked. If $25 is a deal breaker, read on.

Why would you consider a $475 used phone, probably from China, by a seller with poor feedback, as a good deal? You would have no guarantee it worked (at least much past the cutoff for eBay's MBG), no enforceable warranty, absolutely no legal means of redress....

As said, go to a real shop (or at least the website of a registered, reputable Australian company) and buy a real phone, with a real, legally enforceable warranty.

[tazzieterror]

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@sam22312 wrote:

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

In short, even if you want the item at the full price I suspect you will not be able to pay for it.

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I CAN pay for the item now if i wanted to, as it sits in my unpaid items.

The whole point is that originally i made the seller an offer for $475. With a discount I would have paid $451.25.

I believe Lyndal's point is that even if you try to pay for it, the transaction won't go through.

The seller replied if i use the listed description code P5OFF, I'd only pay $475 in total.

So you agreed to pay the seller $500.  *IF* you had been able to use the code...nevermind, you can't.  But you've agreed to pay the seller $500.

I reviewed the sold listing prices for the same used phone, and it comes up as a great price, so i figured $475 was ok.

Then when i went to checkout the code did not work, so it meant i would be paying $500 instead of $475 agreed.

You agreed to pay the seller $500, not $475.  You *thought* eBay was going to fund $25 of that $500.  

Check the same model for listed prices for yourself.

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[sam22312]

Understand your thinking RE:$500, but i have a message via eBay from the seller saying if i use the stated code I'd be only paying $475.

So them saying that is in effect a lie.

When i replied with the offer the code WAS current on my ebay summary page.

But by the time i went to pay it was not there.

If i go through with the transaction, i will get confirmation of it being an AU model first anyhow.

[padi*0409]

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@sam22312 wrote:

Understand your thinking RE:$500, but i have a message via eBay from the seller saying if i use the stated code I'd be only paying $475.

So them saying that is in effect a lie.

No, because in every code/coupon of eBay's I've seen, eBay reserves the right to cancel the offer at any time.

When i replied with the offer the code WAS current on my ebay summary page.

But by the time i went to pay it was not there.

Because eBay cancelled it.

If i go through with the transaction, i will get confirmation of it being an AU model first anyhow.

As said, you'd have no enforceable warranty with the seller, most respondants here will say to only buy items like mobile phones from reputable stores, be they eBay stores or B&M stores.

All the above has already been communicated to you here, so go your own way but be prepared for problems if you do.

[imastawka]

I see tears, and much stamping of one foot in the future     

Spoiler

I also see my dinner on the table............................................................

[digital*ghost]

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@sam22312 wrote:

That being the case, if I create a listing, say for a $1000 mobile phone, put in the listing description "Get 99% off with code 99OFF", and when the buyer goes through checkout the code doesn't work... This is OK to do as a seller in your opinion? What was your store/listings again, so i can avoid them with a 10' pole. 🤔

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I empathise with your situation, but I think this is a bad analogy to make - one is (at this stage, presumably) a misguided but possibly well-intentioned error, the other is a deliberate deceit (and a dumb one at that, since no one is going to actually pay the seller $1k when they only bought because they thought they were going to pay $10 for a $1k item). 

In other words, intention matters, at least to a degree. If the seller is deliberately advertising codes that are no longer valid, it's also a great way to end up with ticked off buyers who don't want to pay for the items they bought, regardless of whether the discount was going to be 5, 10 or 99% off, and that is just a bad position for a seller to put themselves in knowingly.

Why not contact eBay directly, explain the code was showing at purchase but failed at checkout, they may actually provide you with a code to use (they certainly have done this before when codes were showing in error, meaning they will honour their own advertised codes even if they fail at checkout, if you approach it the right way). 

Otherwise, you can ask the seller to cancel the transaction, since the basis for entering in to it was not upheld / available. Personally, while I don't necessarily think the seller needs to honour the discount (they can't, anyway) I think the seller is being irresponsible by including advertisements for something they themselves have no control over, and certainly neglectful, since they are still encouraging purchase on the basis of codes that expired up to a month ago - if they feel the need to encourage purchase on this basis, the least they could do is keep up to date with which codes are current etc and remove them when they no longer are - JMHO. Yes, it's eBay's code, and eBay's T&Cs apply, but the seller has made a conscious choice to advertise something someone else is offering in order to entice people to buy their items. 

[padi*0409]

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@imastawka wrote:

I see tears, and much stamping of one foot in the future     

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Not to mention Kimbies and dummies Stawks.........................

[sam22312]

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@padi*0409 wrote:

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@sam22312 wrote:

Understand your thinking RE:$500, but i have a message via eBay from the seller saying if i use the stated code I'd be only paying $475.

So them saying that is in effect a lie.

No, because in every code/coupon of eBay's I've seen, eBay reserves the right to cancel the offer at any time.

When i replied with the offer the code WAS current on my ebay summary page.

But by the time i went to pay it was not there.

Because eBay cancelled it. so the seller should not be puting the code in their description in the first place i guess, due to this fact.

If i go through with the transaction, i will get confirmation of it being an AU model first anyhow.

As said, you'd have no enforceable warranty with the seller, most respondants here will say to only buy items like mobile phones from reputable stores, be they eBay stores or B&M stores.

All the above has already been communicated to you here, so go your own way but be prepared for problems if you do.

If the seller gives me the IMEI and it isva genuine Samsung AU model i don't see any issue. I will be upgrading my wifes old Note 4, so couldn't see it being worse than the current.

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