Purchased an item online - Order Cancelled - Item reappears at a much higher price

This is a question for collectors.....What would you do?

Earlier this past weekend, I spotted a signed item online that was available through Biblio. As you probably know, dealers sell autographed material through platforms like that.

This is an oldtime dealer of ephemera and printed material and the item in question was at a bargain price, IMO.  I proceeded through the platform's checkout and purchased it.  I then received the confirmation email of the purchase from Biblio and that I would receive notification when the seller processed the order and shipped it.

The next morning, I received a standardized email from Biblio that the order was cancelled.   There was no added note from the seller.  Just a notice that I would not be charged.

When I went to Biblio, I saw that the item had apparently been immediately relisted for a price that was nearly triple the price I had paid for it.   This is not a "Biblio issue".  This appears to have been the result of the seller's action.

Should I just move on? 

Contact the platform and report (seller has perfect rating)? 

Try to negotiate a better price (it's still a relative bargain).  

Thanks for any input.  

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Permalink Reply by crazyrabbits23 on July 28, 2025 at 11:51am

Sellers canceling a "purchased item" has happened to me a couple times. Won a signed book from an EBay seller (a Canadian Goodwill location that listed the items along with a lot of their finds), and they canceled on me after the auction completed because they'd "listed it too low" (i.e. nobody else bid on the book).

I had won it for $20 CAD. I didn't contest it, and watched as they relisted the same book for the same starting bid, clearly expecting more action. No one bid on it, and I swooped in at the last minute to make a bid. This time, there was no argument from the seller, and the book was paid for (and shipped) without incident.

Same thing happened with an Abebooks seller who I purchased a book from for a good price. I tried to pay for the item, the payment was refunded, and the seller messaged me to state that he'd made a "mistake" listing the item, which was then relisted for a price 10x the original amount. ($15 vs. $150).

In both these cases, I just shrugged and moved on. Win some, lose some. I don't agree with the selling ethics of some vendors on sites like Abebooks and Biblio, but the game is the game -- they can decide what price to sell it at, but that doesn't mean I need to buy it at that price. Sometime, I'll talk more about the vultures that swoop in to buy signed books at bargain-bin discounts and then try to flip them for 10x the price.

Permalink Reply by eddy on July 28, 2025 at 12:29pm

Thanks for sharing that.  I

guess the thing that doesn't sit right with me is that, according to usual online checkouts, when a purchase is made a purchase is made.  The money was taken out of my linked account.  The item was mine.  Then it was refunded back into my account.   Then the item was relisted at the much higher price on the same platform.  Same description, same image (it's an autographed piece).

Permalink Reply by crazyrabbits23 on July 29, 2025 at 9:15am

I blame EBay -- years of that site running has convinced people that just because a few people list something at 5-10x market value, that means they should follow suit. Always check "Completed"/"Sold" listings first..

If a seller wants to arbitrarily raise their price 5 or 10 times, that's their prerogative, but that doesn't mean I need to get suckered into it too.

Permalink Reply by eddy on July 29, 2025 at 9:24am

I have no problem with a seller asking whatever they want for something.   As a potential buyer, I have a choice to pay it or attempt a negotiated price.

The problem in this situation is that an item was listed with a fixed price on a specialty platform. I bought it and then the sale was cancelled by the seller.

And then the next morning the seller relisted at a much higher price on the same platform.  

Permalink Reply by Findbooks on July 29, 2025 at 9:54am

Eddy, I do think it worth asking the seller for an explanation. If they are professional you may just embarrass them into conceding a sale on favorable terms. If they are hobbyists you probably won’t but it’s worth a try. 

I sold something very recently on eBay for £22. It was supposed to be £220 - I had a choice, of course, to decline the sale but I figured it was my mistake - a simple typo - but I should have picked up when reviewing. My mistake, I let it go.

Many years ago I remember getting an order for a book I had listed quickly without my usual due diligence. The selling price was £28 (it’s imprinted on my brain). I did a quick check and could find only one other  copy for sale online - at £1200! I sent the book off anyway, pretty confident I could acquire a further copy (I had bought it in a remainder shop for 50 pence or similar). Interestingly, you can probably buy that book now for 250 or so - I think I might feel worse about it now if I had sold it for a thousand or so.

Point is that if the seller has any principles or sense of shame you might still be able to get a good deal.

Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on July 29, 2025 at 9:58am

"I have no problem with a seller asking whatever they want for something." - neither do I, before they offer it! I never sell anything without extracting every cent and quality I can incover to offer. To sell something without knowledge will leave money on someone else's table. Unless you actually got the item at the first low price. in your hands. I have done that as well. Gleason for $50 on I Offer, and that 16x20 color Gleason signed by the photographer on the mount, bought for $65 on Etsy...

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