About 91,000 sellers on eBay.com got a rude surprise when they found that the San Jose-based online auctioneer had double-billed them for auction fees last weekend.
EBay Inc. spokesman Kevin Pursglove said the problem was discovered Saturday morning and affected sellers who had signed up for eBay's direct pay program.
Pursglove characterized the problem as "a snafu" but wouldn't offer any details into what exactly went wrong. "It's fixed," he said, explaining that that was all the company would say about the technical aspects of the problem.
After eBay discovered the problem, it notified its bank, which began reversing charges on the customers who had been double-billed. Pursglove said that if the double billing caused anyone to bounce checks or incur other banking fees those affected should collect the necessary paperwork and forward it to eBay.
If the fees were indeed eBay's fault, he said, the company will reimburse the sellers for the costs involved.
Pursglove said an e-mail has already been sent to all customers affected by the problem.