Won item at auction but seller then cancelled citing inapplicable reason

[hxxa7771]

Several times I had orders or items won cancelled by seller. For non-auction items I can understand 'out of stock' (although this reflects bad stock accounting). But how can a auction item be out-of-stock (or damaged, also not applicable for a 'spares or repairs' item as was this)

[tressygirl]

This is bad selling,  but if the seller has quoted out of stock for the reason for cancelling, they will have gained themselves a damaging defect.

N o one can force a seller to send out their item, but if you wish you can leave appropriate feedback to reflect your experience.

@hxxa7771 

[hxxa7771]

bought item orders you can do feedback but not cancelled auction items (no
entry in Purchased items to do that)

[department28]

Yes, I had a seller cancel an auction before I'd had a chance to pay, so I wasn't able to leave feedback. Very annoying.

Make sure any seller that cancels doesn't give the reason 'buyer asked to cancel'. Some sellers do this instead of giving the real reason for the cancellation, so they can avoid getting a defect.

[m25jet]

Sorry - replied to wrong post in error!  Edited and reposted to OP.

[m25jet]

@hxxa7771 wrote:

Several times I had orders or items won cancelled by seller. For non-auction items I can understand 'out of stock' (although this reflects bad stock accounting). But how can a auction item be out-of-stock (or damaged, also not applicable for a 'spares or repairs' item as was this)

Perhaps the seller just used the "Out Of Stock" option as the reason for cancelling the auction due to the fact that there is no option to select "Sold Via Off eBay Deal"...

[Anonymous]

. . .A seller did this on me a couple of years ago for an oscilloscope – he/she claimed it had been purchased "off–eBay" by his/her dad and it was then listed for ten times what I won it for the following night – the seller got a –VE for cancelling the sale without good reason – I paid for it immediately on auction close!

[hxxa7771]

for the off-ebay sale they should surely have to remove the item listing,
otherwise, they are offering for sale an item they no longer posses,
technically that is fraud. Allowing an auction to complete is deceiving
potential ebay buyers.

[m25jet]

I agree, it shouldn't be allowed, but some sellers will still advertise their goods for sale elsewhere, even when the listing is still live on eBay.

A few years back I found myself in a similar situation where the seller cancelled the sale after I'd paid for the item.  In my case the item in question was being advertised via a Buy It Now listing, as opposed to being listed in Auction format, and the seller was even stupid enough to admit to me that she'd sold the item off eBay, stating that she had an offline shop of her own and had sold it for a higher price to a customer who had come into her offline shop and bought the item from her the day before I purchased it on eBay!  Needless to say I left her some negative feedback, stating that the seller had cancelled the sale of the item after having admitted that she'd sold the item offline.

[london-mac]

You can leave feedback. It's just that Ebay hides it from you.

Search by the item number etc, you will find it with a little effort.

[london-mac]

Actually, the courts can force a seller to complete or pay damages. I know that sounds extreme if you are just buying small consumer items but for high value or rare items it is worth remembering.