Jonesy recently bid on and won an eBay auction for a Redline framed Triumph Bonneville road bike located in Coffs Harbour for $6900.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220412443166&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:AU:1123After the auction he went through the normal process to setup paying for the bike via PayPal but couldn't get a reply from the seller. After numerous phone messages and emails he recieved the following reply...........
rwilly my boy u flogged on 2long pal shes gone home to good old usa n i got 10grand usa 4her lol Translation: "Willy (
part of Als eBay name) you waited too long and I sold it to someone in the USA for 10k LOL".
Naturally Alan was pissed off and decided to go through the eBay complaint process. eBay responded that they would take action by banning the seller from future transactions. Big f#*king deal, he was a newbie with no previous transactions so he got off scott free! What about all of the crap they tell you about transactions being legal contracts etcetera. It's all bullshit.
I once had a no reserve auction Cheney Yamaha pulled with only seconds to go when I was the top bidder by a couple of thousand dollars. He replied that he wanted more for the bike than I was about to get it for. I replied that he should have had a reserve if he wanted X amount and he told me basically to f**k off. I reported him to eBay but nothing ever came of it.
I believe that many dodgy sellers are using eBay purely to advertise their items to an open market. The little statement "this item is listed elsewhere and may be withdrawn without notice" is an open invitation to make an off eBay offer. I now avoid items with that little copout clause.