Buyer increased price of an item by £61:00 when it was in my basket Is price gouging allowed

[dixo.kat]

I put an item in my basket the item cost £19:00

Other sellers had the same item for sale from between £20:00 and £28:00

I did not pay for the item right away I waited a few hours and when I came back to pay which was still in my basket the price had increased by £61:00 the price of the item was now £80:00

I thought price gouging was against ebays policy

I opened a report and ebay sided with the buyer ebay stated that what the buyer did was not in violation of ebays policy.

Has this ever happened to anyone else where an item has gone up 4 times its original price and 4 times what any other seller on ebay is selling the item for when its in your basket 

Also whay did ebay side with the buyer I thought price gouging was against ebays policy?

[m25jet]

If the seller has increased the asking price to an amount that you are not prepared to pay then check to see whether any of the other identical items that you previously looked at are still available.  If they are then select the least expensive one and buy it outright by clicking on the Buy It Now option if the seller has set the listing up using the Buy It Now format.  Once you have done that remove the other item from your basket and you won't have to worry about paying over the odds for the item, as you will have got it for closer to the price that you were willing to pay for it, albeit from a different seller.

[buffster1963]

Sellers can charge what they want for their items and change their prices whenever they want.the seller would not have known you had it in your basket waiting to buy it. Some sellers do this when they run out of stock to stop people buying before they get more rather than end the listing and start again. 
Either way, the seller did nothing for you to report them for, just buy from somebody else. 

[papso22]

What do you think 'price gouging' actually is?

[frontiermountman]

should have paid straight away 😉

[sagr2519]

Bear in mind that putting an item in your basket doesn't tell the seller anything about you. I think it counts you as a 'watcher' but the seller doesn't see your location, feedback score etc. The change in price could be the seller deciding to charge more, or going on holiday and not knowing how to set time away, or some other reason. Sometimes prices move down drasticly as well, when a seller comes back from holiday or realises that the price was unreasonable or the quality deteriorates...

Real price gouging was a bigger problem during Covid, when people were stockpiling some things and supply couldn't keep up. Then those who had it took advantage of the situation and charged a lot.

[bittyboy101]

Sorry but this is your fault for waiting !...  You should have bought it there and then whilst you could for that low price.

If you just watch or add stuff to your basket and not pay for it that means they are not yours, so any seller reserves the right to lower or increase the price of THEIR items that have not been purchased yet and you have no case because you didn't act when you should have !

Putting stuff in your shopping basket or on your watch list whilst you umm and rrr won't make it yours, You have to take the plunge and BUY THE ITEM THERE AND THEN AT THE PRICE YOU FIRST SEE IT then the seller can't change the price or ask for more as this would be breaking eBay's rules.

[papers-mate-420]

You should of bought the item when u had the chance it's not the sellers fault, u lost out that's it it happens sum times so next time be quicker and buy or lose out again in sum cases pressing the buy button instead of watch or put in the basket might help u next time like. 

[roger_roger_over_and_nowt]

It might be that between the time you added the item to your basket and when you went to pay the seller sold out,even if item shows as still available.

Some sellers then increase the price to an unsellable figure so know one buys to hold their place in the search order until they get more stock.

When new stock arrives they put the price back as it was before.

"I opened a report and ebay sided with the buyer" are YOU not the buyer ?.

[sistastroke]

This is still happening in Dec 2024. Price changed by over £80.00 AFTER the seller offered me a 10% discount.

I'm an Ebay seller too, and yes, it's price gouging. Don't let the below responses gaslight you into thinking you're wrong to complain or question those actions either - because you're not wrong to. 

Good luck!🙏🏽🩷

[bittyboy101]

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@sistastroke wrote:

This is still happening in Dec 2024. Price changed by over £80.00 AFTER the seller offered me a 10% discount.

I'm an Ebay seller too, and yes, it's price gouging. Don't let the below responses gaslight you into thinking you're wrong to complain or question those actions either - because you're not wrong to. 

Good luck!🙏🏽🩷

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Sorry to say but as long as the item remains in your basket or watch list and hasn't been paid for a seller reserves to right to decrease or increase the price according to market value and current competition.

You would only have a rightful case if you have ALREADY PAID for an item and the seller then asks for / requests MORE MONEY from you after the item has already been sold to you and paid for then what your had ALREADY PAID them when the sale went through.

Remember just adding an item to your eBay basket or watch list won't make it yours unless it has been PAID FOR.

[sml192]

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@sistastroke wrote:

This is still happening in Dec 2024. Price changed by over £80.00 AFTER the seller offered me a 10% discount.

I'm an Ebay seller too, and yes, it's price gouging. Don't let the below responses gaslight you into thinking you're wrong to complain or question those actions either - because you're not wrong to. 

Good luck!🙏🏽🩷

---

Price gouging relates specifically to the sale of essential items where the seller is attempting to take advantage of increased demand and reduced  supply resulting from emergencies, natural disasters, etc.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/price-gouging-policy?id=5106&st=3&p...

[papers-mate-420]

Remember just adding an item to your eBay basket or watch list won't make it yours unless it has been PAID FOR. I totally agree with you on this one if no payment is made it isn't yours!

[bittyboy101]

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@papers-mate-420 wrote:

Remember just adding an item to your eBay basket or watch list won't make it yours unless it has been PAID FOR. I totally agree with you on this one if no payment is made it isn't yours!

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Precisely.

So these people adding buy it now stuff to their baskets and watch lists and doing now't have no case or right to moan if the seller then decides they want to change/increase the buy it now price...

Well they had their chance... but instead of quickly putting their money where their mouth is, they just chose to watch instead of buying... so they only have themselves to blame for their OWN stupidity !

Sometimes, playing the watching and waiting game can backfire...  Next time these people should appreciate the buy it now price and BUY IT NOW !

[papers-mate-420]

True indeed i have done the same watch a item i want to buy when i got some cash (not silly £3 ones lol like a lot of people do) then suddenly it's gone so it pays to not watch items 4 too long or put into basket as you could miss out like. Also not long ago i had a watcher watching a ashtray i had 4 sale then suddenly a couple of days later or so i sold the last 2 i had left 2 one of my mates as he really liked them.

[bittyboy101]

I have to admit I'm also guilty of adding stuff to my watch list and not buying because I can't afford it right away... 9 times out of 10 I see it has ended promptly and been sold to someone else... but hey ho... It was my fault for not buying it right away when I first saw it and had the chance !

So my fault... and I have absolutely no right to moan lol 😀😁😎

[papers-mate-420]

That's life im afraid on here it's like a game got 2 be quick or miss out sum times. where i come from i like 2 have more options so if my sales are poor on here just like a Del boy lol, i ask around 2 friends or people they know and sell sum of my items that way.

[papers-mate-420]

    lovely jubbly.

[bittyboy101]

There's nothing like a bit of Only Fools & Horses lol

Rodney and Delboy were absolutely brilliant on telly ! 😁

[papers-mate-420]

The  luminous paint one they painted the chip shop i think and the grave stone was very funny lol 😀😂