Are you sick of getting sent a refund message after you've just won a great book at a great price - and why does it always seem to be the power sellers!?!

Buying comics on Ebay is always frought with hidden dangers and problems but most of the time it is full of credible people conducting good transactions with each other. Lately though I have gotten a little peeved at the number of sellers with great satisfaction scores and huge buy/sell numbers who have for no apparent reason simply refunded my money after I won an auction. Take for instance a Showcase #30 that I recently won for $81.00 in fine condition. I thought I made a great purchase as the comic appears to be worth around $200 in its condition. It is, after all, the origin issue of the S.A. Aquaman. So imagine my surprise two days after I won the bid that I got a refund. I sent a message to the seller who has tons of book listed online and a good history and I got a perfunctory response - i couldn't find the book. WHAT?!? REALLY!!! You took a picture of it a week ago and knew you would be selling it, you expect me to believe that garbage. More likely one of two things happened here - he either sold it to someone else at a store or other location or he realized the price he was receiving was far lower than the book was worth.

I had the very same thing happen only a week earlier with another seller whose response was "this book was not in our inventory". Now granted, with that seller, after I totally blasted him and left negative feedback, he suddenly re-messaged me and said he had "found" another copy and he was willing to sell that one to me at the same price and identical or slightly better quality, but I still don't get what goes on with these larger sized sellers.

It goes without saying that Ebay makes alot of money off of these "power sellers" and I think they can get away with alot because of that. But one wonders why Ebay does not sanction sellers for not honoring an auction once an item is won. It is a legal contract where we have already paid the money and the item has not been delivered. A refund is not sufficient, the seller should be warned and if they do it again they should be suspended (a short time at first and then longer as the number of offenses increase). Maybe then sellers wouldn't list items for sale they aren't trying to sell somewhere else and then leave the Ebay buyer in the cold or maybe the sellers would protect their inventory of listed comics. I at he very least hope that Ebay is monitoring their listings for sellers who simply don't get the price they want and then re-list the very same item. I know I am policing my refunds to watch for just that kind of contact so I can notify Ebay if a seller is that unscrupulous.

If you are one of those sellers I'm talking about and just happen to read this post - do us all a favor, don't list an item for sale in multiple places and then disappoint people who thought they had the book they wanted at a price they deserved - don't be a jerk and try for a no reserve listing, fail to get the price you want and then rescind the deal with a refund - and don't think buyers like me won't call Ebay and complain. DO be like the seller who when he recognized his fault, got me a replacement that was as good as mine or better and for whom I left positive feedback when all our problems were worked out. This is an enterprise about which most collectors are passionate - don't make it all about money - sometimes with auctions you win and sometimes you lose. Accept your losses graciously and with honor and your feedback will gain you greater rewards in the future.

To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.