I apologize, but this item has been lost. I am going to cancel the transaction.
At the same time I received an e-mail from ebay asking if I had agreed to mutually cancel the transaction, they needed my confirmation to return his fees. I sent this e-mail back to the seller:
I find it really hard to believe that an album that you have listed several times for a higher price happens to be lost now that I won the auction. When you listed the item last time with the option to negotiate on the price I tried to buy the album, but you didn't like my offer. You relisted the same item for a lower price and now it's lost? I also contacted you two days ago to ask about the option of picking the item up, and you never responded to me. The listing clearly states that insurance is not offered, but when I recieved the bill from you there was an automatic $5.00 fee for insurance. All of this is unacceptable. I will not consent to mutual agreement to cancel the transaction, because I do not wish to do so. If you do not plan on honoring the auction then I will let ebay know that. Thank you, Carol Lynn
Then I get these 2 e-mails in return, even though I never responded to him after the first e-mail:
Feel free to believe what you want, the item is not available for sale. It will not be listed again on the site I can assure you. The insurance is optional as stated in the invoice directly below it, regarding a re-invoice if you did not desire it. Additionally, I do not live in Fort Lauderdale anymore so pick up is not an option. I am offering you a no strings refund because the item is gone. I apologize for that, but I have nothing to sell you. If you do not consent, you are just wasting both our time. Sorry again.
And then this one:
I am sorry if you do not believe me, feel free to view my auctions every day for the next year and I assure you that this item will not be listed again. The listing was consistently posted b/c it never sold, and now that it did, I want through my storage, to retrieve the item, and I did not have it. The listing was in fact in error, no item is available. I see no need to become so perturbed regarding the transaction, especially when no money exchanged hands.
I responded to the second e-mail he sent me with the following:
I'm not really sure why you're writing again when I never responded to your last response, but whatever. It is your job when you list an item for sale on ebay to make sure that item is available. If there was even the possibility of it being gone then it shouldn't have been listed. The reason I didn't agree to the mutual cancellation of the auciton is because it wasn't mutual. I'm sorry you lost the item and couldn't complete the transaction, but that's your problem and you should have to pay the resultant fees. Also, I find it interesting that you say you no longer live in the area but when I got the invoice for payment I was told to send the check to a local address. Very strange.
I get home last night and had the following e-mail from him.
Yea it must be so amazingly strange that I am a college student who doesn't live at home with his parents, quite phenomenal. If you had taken the time to communicate in an amicable manner you would have learned that when I registered my account many years ago, that was my address and still is my billing address, so therefore it must remain on the account. You are by far the most ill mannered, ridiculous individual I have ever communicated with. Don't think for a second that I am backing out of this sale b/c "I got too little." I am an experienced ebayer with a number of quality sales. Do not ever bid on any of my records again, I would rather destroy them, than sell them to you. You give a bad name to ebay and music fans worldwide. I would not put it passed you to do something ridiculous such as offend my property. I know where you live in (insert community name here) and if there is ever an inkling of thought that you were involved in any kind of retaliatory action, consequences would be severe. Congratulations you proved a point and cost me $1.10. I cannot stand people like you.
Okay, what? I refuse to agree to cancel a transaction when you made a mistake and now you're threatening me? I don't believe that I was ever rude to him (although you can read the e-mails and tell me if I'm mistaken), but I was pretty shocked when I received the last e-mail. All I wanted was a freaking record!