E Bay problem

[jimgriff]

Does anyone know if a seller is allowed to remove an item for sale after 7 days of bidding, and 20 bids, because he feels like it. I thought it was a contract?

I have tried to find out from E Bay, but it is nigh on impossible to get in touch with them regarding an answer.

[Tisme]

You can remove and item but it depends on what your reason is, I know some of the reasons are that the item is no longer available etc etc etc

[Pontius Navigator]

You can remove and item but it depends on what your reason is, I know some of the reasons are that the item is no longer available etc etc etc

An item may not be removed if it is in the final 24 hours of bidding. If it had already been on site for 7 days this suggests a 10 day listing which is legit.

If you were after a Breitling then it may have been withdrawn by eBay after Breitling complained. There are very active trades in Breitling, Rolex and others without 'papers or box' so bid accordingly.

If you look at the UK bids they top near £100. If you look at the US bids they are near $2 000. Someone is kidding someone.

[dantura]

Does anyone know if a seller is allowed to remove an item for sale after 7 days of bidding, and 20 bids, because he feels like it. I thought it was a contract?


It isn't a contract but an 'offer to treat'. You as the bidder are expressing an offer [to buy], only when the seller accepts your offer does it become a contract.

D

[Safety_Helmut]

Yes, you can remove an item from sale, it is covered in the ebay rules. Seems to allow a 'get out' if you don't like the price made.

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/end_early.html

S_H

[jimgriff]

The item wasnt a watch. It was an ejection seat. I was the high bidder and there was 18 hours to go.

The seller removed it as he was told that he had to remove it by a friend!!!

I have been told that he is now selling this privately.

[Pontius Navigator]

JimGriff, I am pretty sure that that is against the rules. If you try and contact a seller or vica verca ebay monitors and you get a message "If this is an attempt to sell/buy privately etc etc"

In ebay members area you will find a forum similar to this to pose your question. It also gives you the opportunity to sing the seller's praises.

[Tiger_mate]

Your wasting your time complaining. I "bought / won" an item, and it was subsequently not available for sale. Ebay did nothing in support and the b1tch gave me neg feedback for complaining.

Its a jungle out there

[BillHicksRules]

Jimgriff,

On eBay as in the rest of the retail world, you cannot be forced to sell anything should you not want to.

I learned this a few years ago when a local car dealership advertised a deal in a local paper which was too good to be true. I went to agree to it and they said they had made an error in the advert in the paper.

I disagreed with them and said that an advert constituted an a price they were legally obliged to sell it at. I consulted lawyer friend who said the same as Dantura said previously.

Cheers

BHR

[cobaltfrog]

I disagree. The complaints system on e-bay worked for me. Similar thing happened and I got compensation for the hassle! PM me if you like

Regards
CF

[Tombstone]

None of the rules are legally enforceable, I've seen many items removed before the end of bidding.

Be careful out there guys, fraud is on the up on Ebay.

[Fg Off Max Stout]

Sellers are perfectly within their rights (and ebay rules) to withdraw an item before the end of an auction for any reason. Most often this will be because the item has been advertised and sold elsewhere simultaneously. Once the auction ends, though, the highest bidder has a contract with the seller that both have accepted (whether they think so or not). If either party have a change of heart at this stage, they can be reported to ebay who will lean on them a little bit. It is, however, more trouble than its worth to enforce the contract and those users who threaten court action and that their brother, father, wife, dog etc is a lawyer, policeman, Lord Chief Justice, executioner etc are all cock and no balls.

If you were selling a car you might advertise it in Auto Trader and Exchange and Mart at the same time. If you sold it to someone who saw the AT ad and later someone who saw E&M ad contacted you, it would be ludicrous for them to claim you've breached some contract and are obliged to sell to them. They wouldn't have a legal or moral leg to stand on. Ebay is just another place for classified ads, really.

[Pontius Navigator]

Cobaltfrog, would you care to PM with your route in to eBay? Our wonderful Royal Mail did not deliver a package I sent. It was recorded delivery, all that proved was that th ebuyer was honest and RM a crock of sh*t, but of course we knew that already.

I got an email back from eBay promising a 24 hour response 72 hours ago :uhoh:

[ShyTorque]

Another scam is the postage. I bought an item recently; in the listing advert and invoice it said 48 hour special delivery postage, at a cost, which I paid for. The item didn't appear for 6 days, because the seller used a cheaper postage method (wrapped in an old carrier bag and roughly taped up) and didn't bother to post it until 5 days after the sale.

The item also turned out to be reconditioned, rather than new, as advertised. I've contacted the seller and been given a load of hassle so far. He has threatened to report me to Ebay for complaining! He has since offered me a refund, if I return the item, minus postage, minus his listing costs!

What says the panel?

[Pontius Navigator]

EBay can suck. For a low cost item you practically give it away.

One item I sold cost me 50p, 1st class postage 46p, eBay fee about 30p and PayPal another 27p. To give me just £1 profit I needed £2.53 from the buyer. You can see where the money went from that example.

[threepointonefour]

What says the panel?

Keep the item and forget about the hassle. Wait until the seller posts his/her feedback for you, and then stab them in the back with a negative comment. Snag is, they probably won't give you feedback until they see yours re them.

It would seem that you lose most ways, but at least there's a chance you'll have the last word if you do the above.

I've seena lot of 'fraud' on eBay recently ... always look at sellers' feedback and 'interrogate' the items sold - a camera I looked at recently had been passed on from his father (family heirloom etc) but on closer inspection it was the same one the seller had bought from someone else 2 mths earlier (same serial no etc). I chose to give the deal a miss ...