[OT] eBay Bids

[Hippie]

It sux when you think you've snagged yourself a bargain, only to be told they want to welch on the deal, doesn't it?

You can file a non-performing seller complaint with Ebay/Paypal after offering the money via Paypal and they don't accept the payment.
It's a while since I was last in your position but I remember leaving a seller negative feedback without the transaction really taking place (I attempted payment but they didn't accept it) I don't know if you'll still be able to neg them, in this instance.
I filed a seller non-performance complaint but didn't hear anymore about it tbh. Internet acquaintances who've been the bad guy in similar situations say you get a strike against your name each time a complaint is filed, which might lead to their account being closed or suspended so make sure you file a complaint and leave them some negative feedback, if you can, to warn other ebayers and deter the seller from doing it again.

Other than that, if the seller isn't happy with the price and refuses the payment there's nothing you can do really, other than threaten him with the above and hope they honour the deal to protect their feedback and seller privileges.

[Lecko]

first of all he's not smart enough to put a reserve on it, then he's not smart enough to open another account an bid on it himself?

+1

[marc.elektro]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I was thinking of not going through the hassle of reporting him but I've decided to contact the seller again and give him a chance to fix it. If he doesn't I'm going to report him just so that future buyers don't fall into the same trap. Having people like that on eBay can really take away from the experience of finding a bargain.

[Ando]

He is most probably breaching eBay regulations but legally (from a UK perspective) it is merely an invitation to buy and he has not accepted payment for the item so it still belongs to him.

Thats odd, it is very different in Germany, the auction itself is a valid sales contract that both agree on participating. If one does not want to pay or to ship you can sue them to do so with almost 100% chance of success.

I am so happy that international law is nothing to worry about for me…