Item sold at wrong pricing

[jkm0644]

I see that one of my store items sold. Selling is always good - I thought!
Unfortunately there is a MAJOR error in the selling price.
The item was supposed to be listed at $250.00 but sold for $2.25!
How does one handle a situation as this. I really don't want to have to let a $475 SCV item go for two bucks!
Thanks for any advice,
Jim

[richd4549]

Jim, Sorry to say. "Yes you do." The mistake was yours and you are responsible for selling at that price. I once purchased a similarly priced at item for a $4.00 aution bid. I contacted the seller and told him that he could ignore my bid and relist for a more resonable price. He told me that it was his mistake and honored my bid. Two days later I received the stamp. Over the years I have continued to purchase from him and will continue to do so. I am sure in the end he will more than recoupe of what he lost on that transaction. That is what is called great customer service.

[RazzmatazzComics]

There are errors that a seller honors and then there are obvious, glaring errors that a buyer is simply trying to take advantage of the seller. I believe your error falls into the latter. I would send the buyer a message telling him how you regret the error and apologize for any inconvenience, and refund the money if the buyer already paid.

[RazzmatazzComics]

Jim, Sorry to say. "Yes you do." The mistake was yours and you are responsible for selling at that price. I once purchased a similarly priced at item for a $4.00 aution bid. I contacted the seller and told him that he could ignore my bid and relist for a more resonable price. He told me that it was his mistake and honored my bid. Two days later I received the stamp. Over the years I have continued to purchase from him and will continue to do so. I am sure in the end he will more than recoupe of what he lost on that transaction. That is what is called great customer service.

Sorry rich, but I disagree. It's great that you continued to make multiple purchases from that same seller over the years, so he could recoup some of his losses. But that rarely happens. If you made an online ad to sell your car, and put $2000.00 instead of $20000.00, would you take an $18,000 loss? This may be apples to oranges since you would not be selling more cars to the buyer in the future.

So how about a retail store. If ShopRite puts out a weekly circular advertising a can of peas for 39 cents when it was supposed to read 69 cents, I can see them honoring it for whatever quantities they have available. But if Lowe's advertised a vacuum for $19.99 when the ad should have read $199.99, there is no way they are honoring that error. What they would do is apologize and offer the buyer a 10, 15, or even 20 % off coupon for a single future purchase up to $300.

There is great customer service, and then there is foolish customer service.

[richd4549]

Razz once you list something on line for what ever the price and someone decides to purchase it at the listed price, it is a contract that legally must be adhered to. Do I feel for Jim, yes I do, but it is a lesson learned to recheck your listing after it has been completed. One always has a chance to edit the price once the listing is placed and before some one bids or purchases it.

[noernberg]

If the buyer concurs out of the goodness of his/her heart, then that's great. Otherwise I believe the site terms say you must honor the sale, mistake or not. Mark can chime in if he disagrees, but you can't start bending the rules for some (and not for others). Frankly, you're at the buyer's mercy right now. To categorically not honor the sale would (I believe) be a violation of the site's terms and conditions.

I highly suggest contacting the site admin for guidance if the buyer does not voluntarily give up the lot. By asking for lot cancellation, you also run the risk of negative feedback. You're call.

[Mark]

From our terms and conditions:

All bids, as well as purchases of any form, made on this website, are intended to be binding by both the buyer and seller. However, if we believe, at our sole discretion, that a significant error has been made in the pricing of an item, due to an error of any sort, the transaction is not binding until the seller ships the item to the buyer (regardless of if the buyer has paid for the item).

So, if a seller makes a very obvious significant mistake, such as listing a fixed price item at $2.25, instead of $225, the sale would not be legally binding. However, the buyer can certainly leave negative feedback against the seller, and if this were a repeated occurrence, the seller would be removed from our website.

However, in either case, the best course of action would be to contact the buyer and explain the situation.

-Mark

[noernberg]

Oh good! There's a hope for an out!

Best of luck!

[RazzmatazzComics]

From our terms and conditions:

Always read the terms and conditions!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=FZ ... &vq=medium

[noernberg]

[cocollectibles]

Oh good! There's a hope for an out!

Best of luck!

I just realized another "way out" of this problem. If the seller is fast enough, with the new shopping cart method for Buy It Now items, there would still be a chance to discontinue the item before it is actually purchased:

Seller lists the item and realizes almost immediately it is the wrong price.

Meanwhile, Buyer hits buy it now and item is added to their cart. In the "old days" buy it now meant the item is removed "from the shelf" as it were. Now, it sits in your cart and remains an active listing until you pay for it.

Seller deletes the item before it is paid for by the Buyer. It now does not exist although added to the buyer's shopping cart; it hasn't been paid for yet, so it is still "fair game" for others to buy it or the seller to delete it.

Or am I wrong?

[RazzmatazzComics]

Oh good! There's a hope for an out!

Best of luck!

I just realized another "way out" of this problem. If the seller is fast enough, with the new shopping cart method for Buy It Now items, there would still be a chance to discontinue the item before it is actually purchased:

Seller lists the item and realizes almost immediately it is the wrong price.

Meanwhile, Buyer hits buy it now and item is added to their cart. In the "old days" buy it now meant the item is removed "from the shelf" as it were. Now, it sits in your cart and remains an active listing until you pay for it.

Seller deletes the item before it is paid for by the Buyer. It now does not exist although added to the buyer's shopping cart; it hasn't been paid for yet, so it is still "fair game" for others to buy it or the seller to delete it.

Or am I wrong?

Peter Soprano?

An auction where the seller starts bidding too low, and doesn't get the value it is worth, is one thing. Live and and learn, and honor it.

But a buyer trying to take advantage of an obvious, significant, buy it now typo, is another thing. Common sense should prevail. The seller shouldn't have to worry about negative feedback either. Negative feedback for a typo? Again, common sense should prevail, and it should be removed. However, as Mark posted, repeated occurrences should result in the negative feedback remaining for all to see and/or the seller being removed from the site. Some sellers have hundreds of thousands of listings here. I'm sure there are mistakes somewhere in their listings. It doesn't make them a bad seller, just human.

[Mark]

Meanwhile, Buyer hits buy it now and item is added to their cart. In the "old days" buy it now meant the item is removed "from the shelf" as it were. Now, it sits in your cart and remains an active listing until you pay for it.

This isn't accurate. Once an item is purchased, whether it's paid for or not, it's sold, and that can not be changed.

Placing an item in your shopping cart however is not the same as purchasing an item. When you place an item in your shopping cart, it is not yet purchased, but you can commit to purchase at any time, regardless of if you've paid for it. If the item is not yet purchased, the seller could of course still change the price or end the listing. However, the seller only receives a notice that the item was sold, when it is sold (again if it's paid for or not make no difference).

-Mark

[RazzmatazzComics]

but you can commit to purchase at any time, regardless of if you've paid for it.

-Mark

Why would you commit to purchase something you already paid for?

[Mark]

but you can commit to purchase at any time, regardless of if you've paid for it.

-Mark

Why would you commit to purchase something you already paid for?

As in, you can commit to purchase and pay for it at the same time, or you can commit to purchase and pay for it later (not the other way around, which wouldn't make sense).

-Mark