Item 'removed', but still sold to an early bidder!

[jellylegwobble]

During the last half an hour or so when I attempted to click on my item (tried phone, knidle and computer and both dh and my accounts) I got the message:

'this listing xxxxxxxx has been removed, or this item isn't available.
Please check that you've entered the correct item number
Listings that have ended 90 or more days ago won't be available for viewing'

I'm really really cross as in my ebay it has still sold to an early bidder, despite being 'removed' It's a buggy, one of items where bidding goes mad normally in the last 5 min. It had 400+ views and 30+ watchers and no last minute activity as it couldn't be opened. It's sold for less than others f the same kind.

If I try and contact ebay the item number is 'invalid' so I can't

[jellylegwobble]

oh an update, the item number is suddenly valid again.

I am 100% sure the correct number went in every time. checked by two of us many times.

[jellylegwobble]

I've taken a few screen shots of the item removed message, to show it was not online for last period of bidding.

[lljkk]

Oh wow, let us know what happens. the new indexing search engine is widely thought to be fairly faulty, but yours is one of the most alarming stories I've heard.

[nickstmoritz]

I think I would want to cancel this and re list. It sounds like you should have got a much better price. I guess you have to try and get through to customer support and follow this up. They should be able to ask the buyer to cancel? Did you put any extra brand names in your description? Ebay do remove listings if there are any keywords that they think should not be included.

[jellylegwobble]

It was a very straight up auction, accurate description with no embellishment. Even a picture of the only fault, nothing to note. I'm emailed but as yet no response.

The buyer now wants to collect and I'm not sure how to handle. ON the computer I can view it now but on my kindle and mobile I still get the removed message. It seems to be techinical rather than actually removed. I'm not sure how to say it to them.

It went for an ok price, but £40 behind a similar one last weekend, plus ebay's 10% which I refuse!

[SandyDilbert]

if they collect do not take paypal, cash only. Same for if buyer sends own courier.

[jellylegwobble]

I know Sandy. I don't think I'm happy to go ahead at all in the circumstances.

[3boys3dogshelp]

Just message the winning bidder and explain there wasa fault with the auction and it has to be relisted. My oh had a similar problem the other day where he couldn't bid on an item and lost it for less than he would have paid.

[jellylegwobble]

Surely they can refuse to cancel it? I mean why wouldn't they after getting a nice bargain?

[CajaDeLaMemoria]

They can't force you to send. They can leave negative feedback, but most people won't if they think you've been reasonable.

[jellylegwobble]

I might say stuff the feedback and leave ebay, really fed up with them. It's expensive shit.

[lljkk]

I would try customer service first & explain the auction wasn't getting full visibility (explain your evidence). Supposedly first thing Monday morning is a good time to get Dublin CS rather than the branch in Manilla who are said to be less helpful. I don't know if you'll get any sympathy, but try that path first. I am not sure what I would say to Buyer.

The rumour is that new Ebay seller conditions promise that you may not get any visibility. This is another reason why you should try to always start an auction at the minimum price you can stomach (look for FLW).

[jellylegwobble]

I got a reply, it's not great. I pointed out the listing was unviewable on a number of different browsers and that this, at a key point in the auction, impacted on the price. I just got technical advice on my browser, I think the lesson on this is to click on and check your listings are viewable:

Hello xxxxxx,

Thank you for contacting eBay with regard to your sold item that is appearing as removed.

I understand the importance of you knowing the reason why your listing appears as removed even though it shows as sold. I'd be glad to help you with this xxxx, and I also like to thank you for bringing this to our attention. I have checked your account as well as the item and I can confirm that the said item do not appear as removed. I can also verify that there are no records on your account indicating that there are removed listings from your account . And this means that the listing you are referring to is not removed and the transaction for this is still valid.

Moving forward, the issue you have experienced wherein the listing appears as removed might be a temporary issue on the browser. I would therefore suggest that you follow the troubleshooting steps I'll be providing so that the issue would be resolved should you are still seeing the listing as removed. Here are the troubleshooting steps that you can follow:

• Clear the cache and cookies of your browser. Doing this will not delete anything from your account, and this will only clear any corrupted internet log files saved on your browser. Please follow the below steps to clear your Safari browser's cache and cookies:
  
  

1. Click on Safari (beside File) > Reset Safari...
2. Check both Empty the cache and Remove all cookies, then click on the Reset button.

Note: In newer versions of Safari (v5.1.x), these two options have been replaced by a single checkbox, Remove all website data. Checking this will clear both the cache and cookies.

* Once done, close all the browsers you have opened. And then open a new one. Logged in to your account and then see if the said item still appear as removed.

* Another option that you have is to try to use a different browser, such as Internet Explorer. In this way, we'll be able to verify if the issue is within the browser.

If in any case that the item still appear as removed on your end after doing the above troubleshooting steps, you can get back to us and provide us a screenshot where the item is showing as removed.To take a screen shot of a page kindly follow the steps below:

1.Click the Print Screen key on your keyboard. The Print Screen key is on the upper right corner of most keyboards, though its exact name may vary.

1. From the Start menu on the bottom left your screen go to Accessories and select Paint.
2. In the Paint window, click Edit, and then click Paste.
3. When the image appears in the Paint window, click File, and then Save As.
4. In the Save As box, in the File name section, type a name for your screen shot, and then click Save.
5. You'll now be able to add this to a photo self-hosting site.

For safety reasons we're not able to accept attachments to our emails. This is why we ask you to use a third-party self-hosting site, such as PhotoBucket, to share the image with us. These sites are generally easy to use but, if you have any difficulty, their customer support will be able to help you. When you've added the screenshot, copy the direct link of the uploaded image into an email and send it to us.

Once we have this information, we'll investigate further and check on whey the listing appears as removed.

I trust that I've explained everything clearly. And we thank you for your patience and cooperation in allowing us to resolve this matter.

Kind regards,

Rose Arch
eBay Customer Support

[THREAD ID:xxxxxx]

[nickstmoritz]

oh dear. This sounds like a fob off with loads of technical guff. Has the buyer responded? I think I would try and ask buyer to cancel - if you have explained they might be reasonable and agree then relist. If the buyer is awkward, I'm not sure really...go through with the sale or be prepared for hassle from the buyer I guess. Annoyed for you :(

Ebay cannot be bothered to help a seller with this sort of thing and that does suck big time. There is a bit of a brick wall though. They will send you lots more of the same sort of non helpful stuff. Hope your buyer cancels.

[jellylegwobble]

right the update is worse... basically they agree with my point, but unless the buyer cancels I don't get credit, despite it being their fault! I don't think they are great with english, not only does the buyer not agree at this point but I offered a sale outside ebay! I'm sure they would have picked that up. Without ebay fees I'd give the buggy as it's not the buyers fault, I'm just not paying ebay fees for a cock up....

Hello xxxx,

Thank you for writing to eBay with regard to cancelling the transaction for the item "xxxxx pushchair".

xxxx, I understand your point and totally agree with you. I have reviewed your account and can see that you have open the cancel transaction case to cancel this transaction. Also, from the conversation between you and the buyer, it is clear that you both agreed to cancel this transaction.

I suggest you to once again remind the buyer via phone to accept the cancellation request because once the request to cancel has been sent, it cannot be sent again. As soon as the buyer confirms the cancellation (you will be notified by email), the case will be closed and you will receive a credit on your Final Value Fee. If they don't respond after 7 days after filing the case, you can manually close it and still claim your credit. If the buyer declines the request, you will not receive a Final Value Fee credit.

[SandyDilbert]

so you are still selling to the buyer but outside ebay?

[jellylegwobble]

No, I just offered to if they had a paddy about wanting it. Actually they didn't reply

[lljkk]

If you rarely sell on ebay then I think best recourse is to explain the problem to buyer, wait a few days to issue cancellation request, hope they accept it.
One lot of bad feedback won't hurt your account enough to be worried about.