Buyer won't collect item, but has paid. What now?

[sebbelcher]

I sold a large heavy item on eBay which was listed for collection or courier at buyers expense.  The winning bidder sent a message asking me to generate an invoice based on collection (so £0 postage). 

Since then I've been in contact with them every 48 hours asking when they will arrange to collect as I need the item gone due to it being in a storage unit and costing me to keep it.  They responded often saying they just needed some time to arrange collection. Since then (10 days ago) I've had no response.

What happens next?  I don't want to relist the item as it's quite a niche item and took 10 re-lists to sell in the first place.  Can I legally give the buyer an ultimatum that they need to collect within X days or I will dispose of it and I keep their money?  What else can I do?

[**peaseblossom**]

You cannot keep their money.   All you can do is cancel with reason "something wrong with buyer's address", ie. too far away to collect, and a refund will be issued in the process.   You can give them a final collection deadline date before then and see if that helps.

[papso22]

You can give them a  collection deadline but you can't keep the money.  You will need to cancel which will then refund the buyer.

[*vyolla*]

Send the original buyer a message letting them know that it's costing you storage fees, and that the item must be collected before the next lot of storage fees are due (say, in 3 days).

In the meantime, you had a few bids on that - I'd contact the underbidder and let them know that the winning bidder is now unable to collect and would ask if they'd like it at their bid price. The you can relist it as a fixed price Buy it Now at the agreed price for them if you need to cancel the original sale.

[m25jet]

I agree with what has already been said on this thread.  Give the buyer a deadline as to when the item must be collected, stating firmly that if it has not been collected by that date then you will cancel the sale and refund his/her money.

In the event that you do have to cancel the sale and refund the buyer's money make sure that you add his/her User ID to your Blocked Bidders list so as to prevent the same buyer from purchasing anything else from you in the future and wasting any more of your time.

[zoomingmouse]

10 days seems a long time to have heard nothing.  It sounds like they can't get anyone to collect or have found the courier price too expensive, or are just messing you about.

Hopefully one of the other bidders wants it, but if you do end up listing it again, then I would add a line to the description advising a time limit for collecting, say 7 or 10 days or whatever you're happy with so the buyer is aware of what is expected.

[m25jet]

Sorry - there's another point to bear in mind that I should have included in my first post on this thread, but it slipped my mind at the time of typing my first response.

If you do decide to add the timewaster's User ID to your Blocked Bidders List and relist the item for sale again on eBay, then I would advise holding off for at least forty-eight hours from the point at which you added the timewaster's User ID to your Blocked Bidders list.  The reason I say this is because you have recently been in a transaction with this buyer, and therefore the blocks will take around forty-eight hours to kick in.

In light of the above the best option if you want to relist the item for sale again on eBay would be to relist it after forty-eight hours have passed since the time when you blocked the timewaster.  That way he/she will be unable to submit a bid for the item again, or purchase it outright if you relist it using the Buy It Now listing format.

[sebbelcher]

Yeah I'm very confused with this buyer.  Initially they tried to get me to do an off-eBay sale but I refused, so then they bid on it and won.  I was nervous thinking they would then try to use this as leverage to force me to do an off-eBay sale but to my surprise they then paid it immediately through eBay and I've already got the money in my bank account.   Since then they've gone back to being weird, they send me barely coherent messages with loads of irrelevant commentary.  Their 'story' is that they are setting up a new business (presumably a cafe!)  but their eBay profile image keeps changing to random things, if this was FB Marketplace I'd have assumed they were a scammer, but they've paid which is the weird thing.

[dancewithadingo]

Good Afternoon Seb

The moment that they mentioned an off eBay sale then that would have been a red flag to me.  On top of which there is absolutely no advantage to you in doing this as you no longer have to pay any sales fee. Clearly your buyer doesn't realise that eBay have abolished sales fees.

I would suggest that he paid straight away to stop you selling to anyone else while he shops around for a courier etc.

All of this suggests to me that he/she is a 'messer'.  Do as others have suggested ie give him a deadline to collect. If he fails to do so then refund and block.

Good luck

[martmarg41]

Has the buyer actually asked you for the weight, or your estimation of it?

Without that they will probably struggle to get a courier to price it for them.

I agree with other posters that you need to give them a 48/72 hour deadline and tell them you will cancel transaction and refund if not met.

Good luck.

[sumo604]

I'm currently experiencing one of these myself... but they just aren't replying at all after paying. So is this some new type of scam I don't understand? They buy it pay for it, then wait for you to cancel and refund... so... uh... they get their money back... nope, I don't understand 

I would completely understand if they messaged and said they'd made a mistake or whatever but no communication at all is really weird 

[martmarg41]

Hi Sumo, where is the buyer based? It will show on the order detail.

It is possible that they bought not realising how far away collection would be or they have gone away for the weekend (or possibly illness strook).

I would message them saying that unless they confirm a collection date, by say Tuesday, you will treat it as a 'buyer requested cancellation'. You can then cancel, issue a refund and re-list your item.

[sumo604]

I can't see any info on the order as to where they are? Not sure what I'm doing wrong. It just has order number, their name, user name, date sold, date paid, and a contact button to message them. I've checked their feedback and it's all positive but all from over a year ago. 

it's the first one of these I've had but from searching it seems to be happening a fair amount? 

[martmarg41]

At the top right of the 'Order Details' there is a box - 'Print Invoice'. Open that and the buyers registration address is shown.

[sumo604]

Thanks I'd never have found that! I was using the app but couldn't see anything. Logged in to the desktop and still couldn't see it. Thanks for helping me. Looks like he's an hour and half away... doesn't seem impossible/unlikely but I guess the reality of that round trip may have kicked in. I just can't understand why you waste everybody's time by paying for it and then ignoring messages?! 

I think I'll give him another message to put a deadline on it. The sad thing for me is I collected it from storage which was a major hassle digging it out, and it's now taking up space we don't have at home! I also missed out on a sale locally as a friend needed a PA system urgently it I told him this had sold! They've since bought something else!! 

anyway, I'll stop moaning now, thanks for the help and apologies for hijackibg the thread with my problems! 

[martmarg41]

Not a problem. I hope everything works out and they are genuine and do collect.

If they do don't forget to insist on them bringing the 'Collection Code' for you to complete the transaction and get your money released.

[sebbelcher]

This one just gets weirder.  The buyer eventually sent a courier to pick up the item, this went as planned and the buyer sent me the 'Collection Code' so I could mark the order as collected in eBay, which I did.  2 days later I get an email from eBay saying the buyers account has been deleted and all their open transactions have been cancelled.  It says NOT to send the item, but they have already collected it!  It also has some confusing wording about a refund: "If payment was processed, a refund has not been issued yet just in case you’ve already sent the item."  - that is a very ominous 'YET'.

Well I have already sent the item.  I'm confused about what to do here, am I OK because the sale was marked as collected?  Or is this a new type of fraud where the buyer will eventually get a refund because the sale was never 'completed' in eBay?  What a nightmare.

[martmarg41]

If the Collection Code was input before you got the eBay message you should be covered by 'Seller Protection' and receive your money.

Does your account show it as processed now the CC has been entered?

If asked do not agree to any refund, you acted on instructions given by eBay.

I don't know if this is another scam but either way the buyer can issue a Bank Chargeback (it's possible they have done this before and that is why their account is now closed).

Now that their account is closed the buyer should not be able to claim through eBay or make contact with you, unless you gave them any personal details.

Let us know how it all ends.

[sebbelcher]

The order is on my completed orders page 'Awaiting Feedback'.  It shows as 'Collected' and 'Funds Available' in the order details page.  The buyer has even left me positive feedback!

This was the buyer who kept sending me offers to complete the transaction off-eBay so maybe they've finally been suspended for that and this is unrelated.    Fingers crossed. 

[martmarg41]

I think you could be right. It looks as is you are safe from any comeback, enjoy your proceeds☺🥂