Offer to sell outside of eBay - I didn't!!

[Fuzzyduck21]

I've just been hit with a final value fee for an item I didn't sell because ebay thinks i did a deal offline. A man asked for my number to arrange collection. I provided it assuming he wanted to discuss the collection before he placed a bid as he said he would offer £300 for the item. He didn't even buy the item! This is a rookie error as I hadn't sold anything on eBay until this point. Help!! I really don't want to lose £30 for an innocent mistake.

If they can't prove it, which they can't if you didn't do it. they can't charge you for it surely?

I mean they could warn you or ban you but they can't bill you!

I've never heard of this but then I haven't used ebay to sell for years.

Did you stop the listing? In this case I would relist (it should have the same item number) and then send ebay the new listing showing it has not been sold. I am also wondering if this is a scam. As a buisness seller I sometimes stop listings if the stock is not selling and I want to make space for new stock and have never been sent a bill.

As pp said just relish the item.

Phone ebay and speak to someone.

Ebay are awful for this. I got a warning from them after selling a buggy. I arranged to sell it to someone by message as they wanted to view it before paying. We then completed the sale through ebay afterwards but they still sent me a warning that I had broken the rules! In future don't share any details before a sale, ebay just don't allow it.

No didn't stop the listing and in fact relisted again when it didn't sell the first time! All before i knew they were going to charge me. Surely that's proof enough! I have called them and they are reviewing and I should receive a decision within 48hrs. I would find it so mean if they still charged me. What if I had sold it the second time I listed it? Woild they go after me for two sets of fees?! That's what I will query if it comes to it. It's only 30 quid but it is the principle. I realise it's my fault and certainly won't do it again but it's the first thing I ever advertised and have sold a couple of things successfully since. Just hope someone has some common sense and can see it was a genuine error. As you can probably tell as someone who suffers from anxiety it kept me awake till the early hours worrying about it! Silly I know , but I'm 30 wks preg and my mind is a mess at the min

eBay are really trying to crack down on anyone they think are doing 'outside deals'.
You are now no longer permitted to share contact information (address, phone number) with any Buyer who you are not in a transaction with - it is pretty ridiculous as, as you have found, Buyers do want to view certain items before purchasing - but now there i no longer any way to arrange this without the possibility of it being flagged up by the eBay bots.
This alone can get both parties a warning and/or suspension, but I have been advised that if they then notice the item in question has ended or being removed shortly after, they are assuming the item was sold outside eBay and so issuing final valuation fees based on the items price at the time it was removed.

Best bet is to ask the Buyer to bid or click the BIN button before giving contact details - although you can issue bid withdrawals / cancellations after, if the Buyer doesnt want it after viewing, it just makes it more work for Sellers.

I think you should be able to contact eBay and explain this - as long as they can see it was relisted after the fact they can see it wasnt sold outside eBay. :)

Relisting the item doesn't seem to prove the item didn't sell. Trading standards is your best bet with this one, and the more people that complain to them the better. Lots of people have been hit with this or similar. My business account received a seven day suspension during the busiest trading week of the year before Christmas, because a buyer wanted to collect a £12 cushion cover, so they were happy to lose £1000's in sales! Nothing like cutting off your nose. I only got the suspension because I had previously received a warning due to a buyer sending me their address along with a fabric sample request. Of course, I have absolute control over what complete strangers send to me in messages.

Any update OP?

maybe the whole world should stop posting on ebay all at once for one month . what would ebay do .. although i find ebay very good sometimes .only sometimes for instance it sells stuf thatwould never sell elsewhere . but . it should be more flexible in allowing contact .. they are very ready to ban you these days . and its no where near as good as it was years back ...but what else works ? on distance selling ?
also buyers protection now has gone of the scale .. of being fair .. buyer protection is needed but its getting that your worried everytime you sell .