Can a eBay seller back out of a sale?

[MysticalGypsy]

Hi,

I won something on ebay... can the seller back out of the sale just because they said in the
shipping description (under where it says the shipping price) that they don't ship to Canada. But in the original listing when they were filling
out the form they didn't check off the boxes where it said they wouldn't ship to Canada?
Hope that makes sense.
Help greatly appreciated.
Thanks!   
~MysticalGypsy


[moving to Trader Support ~ Kiwi]

[shelvesofwhimsy]

Hi,
I'm pretty sure the seller can cancel a sale for a variety of reasons, but that does seem like a valid one. I know sometimes I've forgotten to check the US only box. Since shipping out of the country tends to be getting more and more expensive.
They could have also given a US only shipping quote, so they would end up paying out of pocket to ship to you. It sucks, but it does sound valid.

[tulagirl]

Yes they can.  It is in their description which can be read by the buyer.  Also you can't  force a seller to sell or a buyer to pay.  It would be nice if they would just honor the one sale, but some sellers do not make exceptions even with listing errors.  If you have paid already you may need to open a case if they do not refund you.  You may still be able to leave feedback if you were allowed to pay.

[Galactica]

I would say so, especially if it says somewhere else in the listing that they don't ship out of country.

Ebay has made it very difficult to opt out of international sales- even when you try to make it your default- the system tries to sneak it back in unless you specifically exclude each country.  It used to be easier- you could check a box that said "Domestic only" or "InternationaL" and then narrow by countries if you so chose.

Also-  there are very good reasons these days not to sell internationally. If the buyer decides they want a refund (for whatever reason) - you as the seller are on the hook to pay for the shipping of the item back to you- and international shipping has become VERY expensive.

[dragonfly]

Sure, the seller can simply not ship the item.
If payment has been made, they can refund the payment and refuse the sale.
A buyer can leave a negative; the seller can respond or refute.
But if a seller doesn't want to complete the sale, they can simply not do it and face the consequences.

If a seller doesn't refund payment then refuses to ship, it gets easy for the buyer. File a claim and get money back. That's when it's easy.

[LadyMoondancer]

Yes, they can.

[bluerose9978]

Yes, I have bought something and then the seller said they had no more in stock. And one other time my husband bought something and they said that they had accidentally put the wrong item up and just realized it after he purchased it (in a BIN) because apparently they had already sold that item. So, yes, the seller can back out with an excuse, refund all of the money, and state to eBay the reason why the sale isn't taking place that way they are able to protect themselves against negatives and neutrals.