Thoughts on eBay Issue-Seller Wanting to Back Out

[Lanternrouge]

Since I fully understand that one never has too many bikes, I bid on one (more than one, but that's another story). I wasn't the winning bidder, but got a second chance offer (one of the very few real ones), exchanged a couple of emails with the person and then paid for it via paypal. Now, he wants cancel the transaction because his girlfriend wants the bike.

I'm trying to decide how to respond to the email saying he wants to just cancel the deal because his girlfriend wants it. I don't want to be a jerk, but everything you get from eBay reminds you that a bid is a contract, etc. Plus, he had plenty of opportunities to change his mind before I "bought" it in terms of never cancelling the auction in the first place, sending a second chance offer, and not saying anything until after I'd paypaled and sent my FedEx info so it could be shipped on my account. It's not like he had another bike that was stolen or destroyed.

Any thoughts on how to deal with this?

[eddief]

people change their minds. Two different people on the ibob list had stuff up for sale in the last two weeks. I wanted the stuff. They both changed their minds.

Sounds like a shaky deal with all that's gone on. Get all your money back and keep shopping.

I take my ebay reputation seriously and bend over sideways to keep it clean. I bid on an older Serotta last week, did more research and realized it would be a pig in a poke for me. I emailed the owner and nicely asked him if he would cancel my bid. He was kind enough to honor my request.

[djg]

Well, for one thing, I might take a deep breath and ask myself whether I'm really keen to have the deal as bargained for. If it's a marginal case for you, it might really not be worth any hassles.

If you really want the bike, it seems to me that you can send him an e-mail pointing out just what you've said in the thread--that you had a bargain, that e-bay regards it as a binding contract, and that he had plenty of chances to change his mind before you'd paid and sent contact information. I'd be polite, but clear. If that works out well, fine, if not, you'll have to decide whether to report it.

[Ginger]

It was his girlfriend's bike. She just noticed him packing it up to ship it.

[ThasFACE]

Any thoughts on how to deal with this?

I say bail. Unless you _really_ want the bike, it's probably best to cut your losses (time, effort, etc) and look elsewhere. Even if you compel him to complete the sale, I wouldn't trust him to pack the bike nicely or do anything else that would make the transaction any less painful for you.

[trophyoftexas]

Bikes are like jobs, you were looking when you found this one, there will be another and you'll probably like it more, seems like that never fails. I take my ebay reputation serious, too, but sometimes it just seems easier to take the smooth road! Same with working with buyers/sellers on this forum....I haven't had one single person from this forum act like anything but a first class bike person! On ebay, I can't say the same thing....different type of people, not bad, just more like Wal-mart than Serotta-folks! Make sense? Or not?

My bottom line is to always do what I say I'll do....that is one of the reasons I don't do credit cards at all, if I haven't got it I don't buy it!

AND.....Ginger's probably right! IT WAS HER BIKE TO START WITH and he thought he'd get away with pawning it off and getting another for HIMSELF! BUSTED is what he IS!!!! :banana:

[dbrk]

Personally, I never care about the explanation or the situation or the eBay "contracts," I just pay for what I buy (hoping for the best that the person on the other end is honest) ...and I never hold people's feet to the fire or make a stink (I've never had to). If this fella' wants to back out, I would just let him, get back all my dough, and forget about it. While all of this is disappointing, mildly annoying, and can be something of a hassle, I never complain, harangue, or otherwise sully myself in a conversation not worth having. I have a keen sense of not wanting to be badly misused or ripped off but if no one loses money then I would just let it go. The more gracious you are the less there is ever to regret. Who needs the karma?

dbrk

[Lifelover]

Personally, I never care about the explanation or the situation or the eBay "contracts," I just pay for what I buy (hoping for the best that the person on the other end is honest) ...and I never hold people's feet to the fire or make a stink (I've never had to). If this fella' wants to back out, I would just let him, get back all my dough, and forget about it. While all of this is disappointing, mildly annoying, and can be something of a hassle, I never complain, harangue, or otherwise sully myself in a conversation not worth having. I have a keen sense of not wanting to be badly misused or ripped off but if no one loses money then I would just let it go. The more gracious you are the less there is ever to regret. Who needs the karma?

dbrk

+1

Seems like forcing someone to sell you something via mail is kinda like pissin off the cook who is making your meal.

Not worth the chance.

[Marcusaurelius]

The truth is he can't cancel the contract, he has to honour it. The whole premise of Ebay is built on people honouring contracts. If something sells too low for the seller--he has to sell it. You could let him off the hook but you don't have to.

Personally I could go either way on this one--if I really liked what I won I would demand he keep his end of the bargain--or file a complaint with Ebay. Refusal to sell an item will probably mean he gets the boot from Ebay. On the other hand if he's genuine and you are only mildly interested you could hint that a little grease quiets a squeaky wheel (just kidding). As many have said--on to another deal of a lifetime--hopefully.

[rwsaunders]

Get your money back and run. Maybe he'll include pictures of the girlfriend? Ask the former Mr. Britney who's boss.

[Lifelover]

The truth is he can't cancel the contract, he has to honour it. .


The truth is he shouldn't cancel the contract, he should honor it.


There is zero recourse.

[Lanternrouge]

I ended up responding saying that while I obviously cannot, and would not force him to consummate the transaction, I am extremely disappointed.

It's just a bike and I can live without it, but the whole point of eBay is that it's a contract. Assuming a seller changes his mind and actually refunds the payment, there's not much you can realistically do anyway other than leave negative feedback.

Grrrr. At least it's better than a buyer falling through.

[Ginger]

You know...when I look at a seller's feedback, the comments I pay attention to are the ones with empty neutral feedback...the buyer's mama taught them right and they didn't have anything good to say...