"Sorry, I can't sell you that coin..."

Has this ever happened to you?
I was looking through eBay Great Britain and came across a coin that I really needed for my type set (1826 penny). Actually for an upgrade, but whatever.
It looked XF/AU and seemed really undervalued at a $49 'Buy it Now' price.
It was a pretty new listing but already had two members watching.
I figured there was an issue with the coin (cleaning) or something else wrong that they weren't including in the listing.
So I bought it.
The next day I received a frantic (OMG! OMG! OMG!) email telling me that it was supposed to be listed for $499 and that they had made a mistake and forgotten that other pesky 9 and 'so sorry but we can't sell you the coin and thanks for understanding'.

And I do understand that mistakes are made (I would never make a mistake like that).
I was courteous and canceled the transaction as they requested.
Tough luck, right?

I try to go through life not being a jerk, but I wonder had it been someone else, if they would have bullied them into selling the coin to them for the error price.

Oh, well. I did score a nice VF+ 1821 half crown at a great price today.

 

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Once you bought it with the buy it now they were legally obligated to sell you the coin for that price. I would have held them to it, or at least worked out a deal where I could get it at no more than their cost or pay their price and get a second coin on my want list thrown in for free.

 

There is no way eBay would enforce their own policy with this coin, so I believe the OP did the right thing and let them correct their mistake.

 

Somewhat, although not as much. I think you did the right thing myself. I would check for a relisting and if it had the $499, then you can feel morally superior. You wouldn't have received the coin at that price anyway. If he had refused , he might have had to explain your negative or ebay could sanction his account, but most likely it would cause you frustration, but for that much , I think he would have lived with a negative. Sleep well.

 

With newly listed buy-it-now, even if a negative feedback was left there is a good likelihood ebay would remove it due to the item being purchased before the seller had a chance to correct their mistake. They can even tell ebay they were in the process of revising the listing when someone purchased it.
I have had this happen several times with newly listed BINs, and also cancelled the transactions without giving the sellers a hard time. One seller mentioned getting a neg for the same type of issue and ebay removing it when they called and explained the situation.

 

The lesson learned here for eBay sellers.

Use the "preview" function and go over your listing with a fine toothed comb before going live with it.

That being said, I know it's very easy to make a mistake in a listing, especially when you are creating multiple similar listings. Regardless, one area to focus on in particular and double or triple check is the price.

I think you did the right thing as a buyer. We're all human and we all make mistakes. There are vultures out there waiting on eBay for seller's to make a mistake like that, then pounce, and try to take advantage.

You just put yourself in a moral category a cut above those slugs.

 

Agreed. I've been denied twice, by two different sellers, and in each case it was clear that the listings were a mistake. The asking prices were much lower than the actual market value of the coins. But in both of my cases, the sellers told me that they had lost the coin. Sorry, can't find it, oh well...

And I can't say I blame them for doing that. They didn't know me. If they had told me the asking price was a mistake, I would have said, "Hey, no big deal, I thought so anyway. You shouldn't get cheated out of a fair value." Unfortunately, as Race says, there are a lot of vultures out there just waiting to pounce on somebody's mistake and make a stink out of it.

 

Think you did the right, good thing Neil UK.

I had one seller tell me he couldn't find the token I won. It wasn't anything expensive or highly valuable. I wanted it (guess I still do) but he promptly refunded me so no issues.

 

Let's just say, sometimes good karma comes in your way when you do the right thing. I believe in it.

 

Since we're on this topic... anyone buy a newly listed BIN you had no desire for because you KNEW it was a mistake and wanted to help a seller out? (i.e. $0.99 BIN that was obviously meant to be an auction listing)?

 

(raises hand)

I still camp on the newly-listed BINs from time to time. I see a fair number of starting-price-as-BIN errors. If I'm bored, I'll pounce and then message the seller. I do that less often now, though, with all the "immediate payment required" listings -- going through paying and then getting a refund is more trouble than I'm willing to go through, usually.

The listings I'm really looking for are the ones that are underpriced on purpose. This does mean I get more than my share of bad sellers (not-as-described items, no communication/never ship, etc), but Buyer Protection is quite a solid backstop.

But if a seller messages me that the listing was in error, I always accept the cancellation, and never leave a negative or neutral for it.

 

Mistakes are made sometimes both ways.
I listed a group of coins a few weeks ago starting at £0.99 that always sell for between £5-£15 and I charge £2.99 shipping.
No one bid at all despite relisting 3 times, then I realised I had missed the decimal point out and shipping was shown as £299.

 

That's funny! For £299 shipping I would expect my coins to be delivered by Nubian slave girls riding elephants.

 

That's just wrong :O

 

The seller is not legally obligated to do anything other than refund whatever you might have paid and explain that the listing was in error.

There is no legal recourse.

 

True, but it can count against the seller's eBay status. Specifically, eBay says:

 

True but that's the cost of making mistakes.

Its really too bad that folks do not understand "mistakes" but choose to see them as "opportunities" to RIP someone else off. These are the same people that, given the opportunity, would not hesitate to steal from the ignorant knowing that they would not get caught yet feebly attempting to justifying it when they di get caught.

 

I think you did the right thing. It stinks, but it was the right thing to do.

If it was a coin I really wanted (and was willing to pay a fair price for it)...I would have contacted them and seen if they would make you a deal. Perhaps it could have been purchased for a mutually beneficial price.

 

I've done that at least one time. If I recall correctly, it was a newly listed proof WLH that was priced along the lines of an AU58 for the date. I hit the BIN and informed the seller so that they would not have to possibly deal with an unreasonable "buyer".

 

Thank you all for an interesting discussion on an issue that maybe comes up more than we think.
As a seller, I know that my listings need to be inscrutable.
As a buyer, I need to understand that not everyone has the internet skills and numismatic knowledge that I might have.
Everyone loves a bargain, though.
Be careful and mindful out there.