Won ebay auction - now seller claims item has been stolen from their house

boxty

Hi,

I recently won an ebay auction. My winning bid was below the market value but there was no reserve and only one other bidder so I got lucky. I then contacted the seller to confirm a collection time (it was a bulky item) and the following day I received an email stating that the sellers house had been burgled the previous night and the item taken.

It sounded suspicious but what could I do.

However, I have since seen the same item for sale on a well known classified website and the it's defo the same seller and the same item. The thing is the person is looking for considerably more than what they had secured through the ebay auction. This leads me to believe, the "burglary" was just an excuse. I think this is grossly unfair and sharp practice as if the seller had a minimum price they would accept, the should have set a reserve on the ebay auction. Have I any comeback?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

Rulmeq

You could try reporting him to ebay, but to be honest as long as you didn't lose any money you should just let it go.

MarkR

I would have reported it to ebay and requested a copy of the incident report in relation to the burglary. Too late now though I would imagine.

Sleipnir

I'd report it anyway. He's legally bound to sell it to you and I would certainly leave negative feedback. I doubt you'll get it but at least he'll think twice before doing the same to someone else.

enfeild

Report his as a non performing seller.
Tom.

jor el

Report it to eBay.
eBay will ignore you.
You have no comeback, and you can't force him to sell it.
Leave negative feedback stating ONLY facts. Anything else can be removed by eBay.

Bob Z

You could report it to eBay and they could force him to sell it if he still has it. But how long ago was this? eBay have deadlines for complaining.

JJ

eBay will not force the seller to sell the item if he has it but in that situation I would report the seller to eBay and leave negative feedback. I would also make sure I send eBay a copy of the email with headers included from the seller where he stated he wouldn't sell the item to me.