E-bay problem

[PeaveyFury]

I've got a dilemma that just came up with e-bay. I just received an e-mail from E-bay's Trust and Safety that a seller that I won an item from on Tuesday has had his selling privileges revoked and current listings cancelled. He had 100% positive feedback from like 500 auctions. Unfortunately, I've already paypal-ed my payment to this guy on Tuesday, and have yet to get the item. It's for a reasonably large sum of money (but not more than the paypal buyer protection limit), so I'd definitely like to get the item or my money back.

 

So, any ideas on what happened to this guy or what's going on here? I know I'm covered under the paypal buyer protection, but how long should I wait to file a claim? I figure I'll wait another week to see if I actually get the thing, then start looking at my courses of action. Am I on the right track? Has anyone else had something similar happen?

[sbrylski]

Well, can't you contact the seller to see if he's sending or has sent the item?

[PeaveyFury]

Yeah, I think his account still exists, in-spite of all of this. That said, I was figuring on waiting maybe this week for even that, as I haven't yet figured out how to say "Hey, I got an e-mail that e-bay suspended you. Just wanted to make sure you weren't planning on taking my money and running" without piling on.

 

But I think at this point with all things considered, I'd guess that a response is unlikely regardless.

[cbustim]

Paypal payments come directly from your credit card typically. If that is the case for you, You can and should dispute that particular charge on your credit card. Your credit card company will then investigate that particular charge.

[Paul77]

Yeah, I think his account still exists, in-spite of all of this. That said, I was figuring on waiting maybe this week for even that, as I haven't yet figured out how to say "Hey, I got an e-mail that e-bay suspended you. Just wanted to make sure you weren't planning on taking my money and running" without piling on.

 

But I think at this point with all things considered, I'd guess that a response is unlikely regardless.

If you want to inquire without addressing the subject of his suspension you could always send him an email saying, "Hey, I was having a problem with my paypal account, just making sure my payment got to you ok". That way you give him a chance to respond without embarrassing him.

 

Do you have any idea why he got suspended? If he made it through 500 transactions with positive feedback I'd say you have decent odds that he'll honor his end of the deal. At least I hope he does.

 

[PeaveyFury]

Not sure at all why he would have been suspended.

[JimH5]

Not sure what the item is. That might make it easier to "diagnose" the problem. . .

 

In the past, I've heard of eBay sellers being suspended for selling or listing fraudulent memorabilia, or unlicensed stuff when a license would seem necessary.

 

Or maybe they suspect that he's been participating in a shill bidding scheme.

 

I've also heard of eBay sellers doing stuff that if nothing else, irks people--like ending an auction early, or using other people's photos for items that they are selling. Not sure that those would result in suspensions, but maybe for a repeat offender. . .

[PeaveyFury]

My item was an auto, but a card company certified auto, as were the other items viewable in his history. Nothing unusual in the bid history of any of the other items that sticks out.

[JimH5]

That one's a puzzle. If his stuff is good, and he's using his own pictures, and the bids are really placed by people interested in buying the item, then I can't see why eBay would intentionally pull his selling credentials. I wonder if his other stuff will suddenly come up under a "new" seller's name. . .

 

I would hold on for a reasonable shipping time before going to PayPal for resolution.

 

I've bought a couple of things that I had problems with, but was always able to work things out with the seller.

 

I guess I'd do Google searches and whatever else to see if that eBay seller is doing business as a dealer in a shop or on the show circuit, to see if there's another way to get in touch with him.

 

I hope it all works out for you.

[Diskono]

I'm going to guess that the seller's account got hacked by some nigerian scammer. When this happens, ebay freezes the user's account so they pretty much can't do anything. It happened to my wife once, she just had to contact ebay to have them re-enable it, change her password, and everything was back to normal. You're probably pretty safe though, if you don't hear anything from the seller you can file a "item not received" dispute with paypal and get your money back.

[rwa12]

Tons of reasons to get booted from the bay. I would work at getting your money back, especially if the seller has not contacted you. I would feel better resending funds later, than losing the initial sum.