Seller wants to cancel sale

[lainey5164]

Hello. I was looking at an item for sale on E-Bay which had 2 options place a bid or make an offer. The starting price was £4.80. P&P £3.10. I placed a bid and then realised I could make an offer and get the item earlier as a gift for the end of the month. Listing was ending in 6 days. So I wanted to ensure I would receive the item asap, due to current postal issues, I messaged the seller, who advised me to retract the bid and then make an offer. He told he he would accept £6 as an offer. I retracted the bid and made an offer of £10. I increased it to £10 for messing him about. I paid £13.10 through Pay-Pal. He has now told me the Postage is £15 first class and £9 2nd class. He did not realise the cost until going to post. he has now sent a message saying: what do you want me to do might be best to cancel. I have told him I am not going to cancel as I believe it would go against me on my E-Bay account.  What should I do?

[rusticrye · Accepted solution]

Well, the seller is contracted to supply the item at the postage price listed, but Ebay can't make him ship the goods if he doesn't want to. You could sue him for breach of contract, but it's hardly a sensible option for such a low-value item.

So tell him to cancel the transaction (which won't affect your account in any way whatsoever). Cancellation will auto-refund your PayPal payment in full.  If you still want the items, the seller can relist with the correct postage cost so that you can buy again (paying separately for an additional postage cost is not sensible, as it would mean zero buyer protection for that additional amount - you would be covered for your original payment only).

@lainey5164 

[lainey5164 · Accepted solution]

Thank you rusticeye. This is helpful information for future reference. The seller has now found an alternative courier for a lot less cost, so it looks like I will receive the item. I am quite impressed that the seller has tried to sort the problem out. Thanks again. Lainey5164