Erskine Childers

Bruce I understand the importance of buyer protection. I understand the dangers but I also know that not everyone has Paypal account. My assessment of the seller was he had an unwanted gift and he just wanted rid of it. I genuinely believe, based on the facts, the seller did not have any bad faith intentions. Ebay is the bad guy here -it caused the loss not the seller. It is a bizare situation and frankly if payment by money transfer is so perilous then why allow sellers to pick that option? If we work with your suspicions then Ebay did not act in my best interests -they allowed a potential scammer to get paid and left me, the unwitting victim, high and dry. Ebay could simply call the sellers bluff by ensuring he has my mailing address. Wefalck From my own experience I often only take the details down when I need them otherwise they would get misplaced. Most ebayers could be forgiven for not expecting to suddenly have one's account shutdown. Still though, this seller may have recorded my postal address before his account was closed. It is a waiting game for now.

Bruce Ebay is at fault and it is documented, so there is no he said, she said, ambiguity. I am not persuaded by secret reasons argument as you suggest ... the entire transaction was openly made -no off site deals brokered. You state: " It was immediately after a sale that bypassed all buyers safeguards at the request of the seller." Wrong, when the seller listed the item for 7 day auction he selected money transfer as means of payment from the outset -ebay facilitated that and when bidding was finished ebay prompted payment from me by providing the sellers name and bank details. Ebay then had a button showing in my account for me to manually confirm when I had made the payment (like the feedback button), this part is usually unnecessary because it is automated through Paypal purchases and the payment icon goes positive -the seller had no control over ebay's process. ebay messed up on this one. I have a choice -try and get my money back or get the property I just purchased. The Proxxon is worth more to me and contract law is pretty basic in this instance. Ebay had no lawful authority to upset a contract already concluded -had I not paid as they attempted to suggest then they would have had law on their side. In addition ebay have acted unreasonably by repeatedly refusing to ensure the seller has my address -so they are knowingly acting with wilful obstruction of the contract and liable for the full amount of the lost property. Meanwhile Mr Cazzola (the seller) may be having his own difficulties with ebay and is not at fault because he does not know where to send the Proxxon. Incidently, there is nothing questionable about the price but it bolsters the sellers integrity. All bidders on ebay hope for weak bidding in auctions in order to secure the real bargains --some sellers might prefer to take bad feedback by not honouring the winning bid if they think it is too low -in this case the seller stated that he would honour the low price and send the item -that is impecable integritty for ebay sellers. This is what makes bad press for ebay because if bidders think that low winning bids will not be honoured by ebay then why bid at all -it defeats the chance luck of auctions of winning a bargain.

Bob you could be right. I have given them pre-action notice. within the EU you can sue companies locally even if they are based in another state. Once it becomes reasonably clear that the man does not have my postal address before his account was closed I will then start the process against Ebay. Unless they solve the problem they created. Wefalck Good point about suspending closure of accounts. Ebay contacted me today advicing me that 1) the seller may have posted the mill. 2) I should contact my bank to have payment returned. They could simply ask the man but wont. I told them I will not fix their mess by making another one myself --if the man has posted it I would not like to complain to his bank to get my money back.

Graetan, one other point. Ebay's conduct cost me the loss not the seller. Unless Ebay rectify matters I can see myself taking legal action for replacement of my property.

Gaetan & Roger Thank you for your posts. Ebay provided the seller with the option and a special button showed up on my account to confirm for Ebay when I had made the payment, so Ebay were aware at all times what method of payment the seller wanted when he listed the item. And Ebay was informed by me when I paid when I clicked on the special button to notify them. Graetan you are quite right about Buyer protection through PayPal, so I took a risk. However, Ebay has acted in bad faith not the seller. The seller messaged me that he received payment and would ship the item on Monday. However, Ebay have closed his account so he will be unable to access my postal address through no fault of his own. Ebay is at fault here, whereas, the seller acted impeccably and, as is obvious, was still prepared to send the item even after it sold for under market value. Neither I nor the seller deserve to be treated in the way Ebay has acted in this instance.

Hi Bob I have only ever used paypal myself -but the sellor had the option to be paid by money transfer. Ebay should not offer the option and then not honour it afterwards because it has second thoughts. Nevertheless, a contract was completed the sellor is being prevented from honouring it by Ebay. Ebay ought to be responsible for replacement of MF70. Only Ebay is acting unreasonably in this case -certainly not the sellor who was prepared to take a loss in the transaction which is commendable. Update; Ebay have informed me that they will give the sellor my address to ship the item but only if he appeals being blocked. I actually could not blame him if he decided not to bother with Ebay -I mean he was prepared to honour a deal that was much less than market value for the item.

Problem of a different kind: I won a new Proxxon MF70 (45 Euro) on ebay 12th September just gone. The Sellor wanted paid by money transfer rather than by paypal. Once the Sellor confirmed reciept of payment he emailed me the following evening (Friday 13th) that he would send the MF70 on Monday (Tomorrow). Today Ebay sent me a message incorrectly stating that I had not paid for the item and the listing is no longer available (that is usually what happens when a contract is struck). To my surprise Ebay has treated the sellor like a criminal and has blocked his account -I think because payment was by money transfer but why give sellors that option? The only impropriety involved in this transaction was Ebay jumping in 2 days after the contract had been sealed. I phoned Ebay and they acknowledge that the sellor provided his banking details and confirmed that he would ship the item as soon as the post office opens Monday. Yes I want my MF70 but I also feel bad in the heavy handed way they treated the sellor who has acted entirely above board in accordance with the payment options Ebay provides. This is not a case of a sellor reneging on sending an item. The MF70 is now my property and Ebay have severed communication between the sellor and myself and left my property stranded in Italy. Does Here are the screen shots of how ridiculous Ebay have acted:

Alterternatively, if you have a student card you can get a free 3 year student licence for Autodesk Inventor.