Rip Off on E-Bay

This weekend I was the successful bidder on a part for my 911. When I got in contact with the seller, he backed out of the auction. (there was no reserve) He did offer to sell me the part for nearly three times as much as I bid. Most of the time when there is a problem with e-bay auctions or net purchases the two parties live in different parts of the country. Well in this case, not so, we live 45 miles apart in the same state. My question is: Am I a heavy if I sue for breach of contract and if so, what are my damages? Or should I just suck up and let it go? (Be glad I didn't loose any money. Are there any opinions out there?

Slope-nz

...need more details and depends on the state. I always advise people that you need to remove emotion from decision to pursue legal action. In other words, YOU answer the question of what damages you have sustained. If nothing more than pride (and not having the part!)just let it go. Warn all of us, call Ebay etc.

I would look into small claims court. In my state, (Oregon), it only costs twenty bucks to file, and there are no attorneys.

If it were me , I would probably just leave negative feedback on the guy. But then again , they say an ebay bid is a binding contract, and that should work both ways, for buyer and seller. I guess it all depends on how much you need the part, and on how pissed off you are.

Good Luck

[This message has been edited by Serge (edited 10-10-2000).]

Why don't you give us his name so we can avoid him in the future.

First I would send a firm but polite email to the seller asking him to honor his auction commitment. If you receive no positive reply send an email that tells him that unless he does so that you will be turning him in to Ebay and posting negative feedback. If he still refuses do so. You can go to user services and file a complaint on Ebay and they will try to get the seller to comply. If he doesn't and has had past problems they will kick him off, if this is first offense the next time he gets a complaint he'll be gone. I wouldn't waste any time tryig to sue as I doubt you'll get anywhere.

Getting this guy kicked off ebay is not going to change anything, since he can just re-register under a new name. I'd send him a series of gradually nastier emails, starting with polite and reasonable, ending with the mention of small claims court.

Serge, I think you hit the nail on the head.The thing that makes me the most upset is that if a bidder get cought up in the moment and over bids,he is expected to pay any way.I feel that what is good for the goose is good for the gander.I'm not exposing this person's name yet as I still hope he will do the right thing. slope-nz

I tried to sell a porsche project car on ebay last year. I even offered a web address where it could be seen in detail. For the 1st 3 weeks I got nary a bid, so I decided to withdraw and finish the car myself. Man was it dificult to withdraw. I ended up just adding a note that I had decided to withdraw and not sell the car. Then the bidding started. I had $13000 worth of stuff I was willing to let go in pieces for half that, but I got bids up to $9500. When the auction was over I thought " OK I'll sell for that" and would have taken less, but none of the top 3 bidders would contact me and 2 of them had an address that went nowhere. The 2nd highest bidder finally emailed that he declined. What gives?

E bay blows......

Slope,

Please make sure that you leave negative feedback for this jerk. Even if he changes his Ebay name, it is connected to his old feedback for a while and will follow him. As well, contact Ebay and send them copies of your emails back and forth and they will ban him for good.

Remember that you now have to enter a credit card at Ebay now, so once they ban you, unless you use another persons identity, they should not be on the service again.

JA

slope-nz,

In general terms, damages for breach of contract are equal to how much it would take to make you whole. In your situation, the damages would be the difference between (i) the price the seller promised and (ii) what you paid or would have paid if you bought from someone else, in good faith.

For example, your winning bid was $100 and the seller backs out (breach of contract). You buy the part from someone else for $130. Your damages would be $30 (130-100).

You may want to consider how much more you would have to pay to buy the part elsewhere (your "damages") to see how much trouble this is worth.

Was the seller a business or individual? Reason I ask is that most states have a consumer protection act that protects consumers against businesses (not individuals). These acts typically provide for payment of legal fees if the consumer wins. Thus, while a business may not care about having to pay $100 damages to a consumer, they will care about having to pay the consumer's legal expenses at $$$ per hour.

You could also call your Attorney General's office for help.

Sorry to hear about the trouble.