I had a car on auction the winner then appears to think it was an advert & could dictate his terms

[prluton]

Obviously we had some toing & froing before it became apparent the buyer was not prepared to even pay a deposit before seeing the car which I think he expected me to deliver to him. I should say he was in London and the car was to be collected from Alicante in Spain all made very clear in the original auction details eventually,  as I could not come to any reasonable solution with him I cancelled the deal. In the meantime the second highest bidder( a member in France) wrote to me, through ebay, offering to buy if the winner failed. We messaged through ebay and he offered a 20% deposit  via transfer and the balance on collection. All fine up to that point my reply to him accepting his offer and several messages since all seem to be being blocked by ebay because I have not had one single message from him or ebay can anybody explain to me what is happening and or suggest a way forward bearing in mind it is impossible to write to ebay direct for help in this matter. Ebay if you scan these messages your help would be much appreciated.

[red_magpie]

the buyer was not prepared to even pay a deposit before seeing the car

Sensible buyer. Would YOU pay a deposit to a total stranger for a car you hadn't even seen? And with absolutely no buyer protection. Especially on eBay, which is overrun with motor vehicle fraud and where a senior police officer reported that one criminal gang alone had registered "multiple hundreds" of fake accounts to place fraudulent listings for vehicles.

Car sales on eBay are as risky for sellers as they are for buyers. There is no place for deposits. We usually advise payment in cash after inspection as the method of payment that is safest for both buyer and seller.