Re: Seller wants more for the item I won?

On Sat, 02 Aug 2008 13:54:55 +0100, Spacker
<spacker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Humbug <humbug@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:


On Sat, 02 Aug 2008 11:05:09 +0100, Spacker
<spacker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

There is no contract until I accept their offer of payment.

Up until recently I held a very similar view. eBay's rules ca'n't
override UK law, after all.
And in fact they don't.

In the ordinary way, a contract of sale is formed at the point when a
buyer makes an offer, and the seller accepts it.

But there are more ways than one to form a contract.

I've taken the time and trouble to read the replies and legal
explanations, which some people have tried very hard to make
understandable to anybody who can read and comprehend.

You can put just about anything you like in a contract, which will be
binding as long as the terms are not unfair or illegal.
A contract can be formed when parties agree to perform certain actions
dependent on future events.
If all of the conditions occur as specified, the contract becomes
binding.
If any of the conditions is not met, the contract will probably fail.

When you make a listing on eBay, you initiate a contract which will be
fulfilled by conditions described in eBay's T&C.
If all of those conditions are met, the contract becomes binding under
UK law.

By making the listing, you agree to the provisions specified in eBay's
T&C becoming conditions of your contract.
You can dissolve the contract at any time up to (I think) one hour
before the end of the listing, but if you fail to do so, you must
abide by the terms of the contract to which you have agreed.

Similarly, your buyer will be bound by the terms of the contract when
all the conditions are met.
The buyer also has the opportunity to pull out of the contract, once
again (I think) up to one hour before the end of the listing.

At the moment the listing ends, you have a binding contract whose
terms you agreed at the time of listing the item, provided that there
is at least one offer.

How can I
accept their offer of payment if I don't know what their offer is?

Have you ever heard the phrase "no reasonable offer refused"?
That is one of the conditions to which you agree when making the
listing.
If the offer is for less than you want for the item, then it is your
fault, and yours alone, that you didn't set the starting price high
enough, or set a reserve price.

How
am I supposed to know whether I am likely to get ripped off or not if
I don't know who the offer is from?

Of course you ca'n't know that in advance.
Once the listing has ended, you *will* know who the offer is from.
If they seem dodgy, you can ask questions before sending your goods.
If your buyer doesn't fulfill the conditions, the contract is void.

However, if you decide not to sell to a legitimate buyer who complies
with all of the conditions which you agreed to by listing the item,
you cannot argue against receiving negative feedback and/or a lawsuit.

So if it is all dependent on ebay's T&C all I would need to do to get
out of the automatic contract would be violate one of those T&C? Like
charge more than cost for postage or refund a Paypal payment?

No, that would not dissolve the contract.
It might make you in default of the contract, and you would be liable.

Nobody has explained yet how or why the newspapers print stories about
people buying buckets of water, but completely ignore all these
millions of cases where non-paying bidders and non-offer-accepting
sellers have been taken to court.

Never let the facts get in the way of a good story!
Everybody knows that, don't they?
If there were to be a NPB or NPS case that got to court which couldn't
be dealt with within ten minutes by a magistrate, *that* might be
News.
I doubt if many cases even get that far.
Hmmm ... where did you get those "millions" from?

Even ebay has no sanctions against not paying or not selling. Not that
they would, since they get their fees either way, but doesn't that
tell you anything at all?

eBay does have procedures for dealing with non-paying bidders and
non-performing sellers.
Those procedures are dealt with by eBay at eBay's discretion.
You may not agree with their discretion, but -

*This does not affect your statutory rights*

If you think that eBay have treated you unfairly or illegally under UK
law, then you are perfectly entitled to take them to court.

--
Humbug
.

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