BaT advice needed. Seller is making excuses...
 

Good evening guys.

I was super excited to win my first car on Bat tonight. It went for a little more than I was wanting but it’s a dream car of mine.

Long story short I contacted the seller immediately, he is selling on behalf of a family friend. He called me right away with a story that they (the owner and family friend selling) tried to contact BaT today and raise the reserve. The owner wants more than I won the auction for and currently is refusing to complete the transaction...

I gave them a couple days to think this decision over before I contact BaT or escalate it any other way.

What say the marketplace?! What recourse do I have? I’m really bummed. They want another 20k.. it’s not worth it.

Move on.

Just report them to bat and let the car go. There are plenty out there. They are smoking.

They don't have any say in the reserve. Contacting BaT wouldn't have helped them. They are contractually obligated to sell the car to you.

Make sure you have their position in writing for your records.

I wouldn't wait, bur rather I'd contact BaT immediately. You don't want to be stuck paying the buyer's fee. It's also possible that when BaT leans on them and shows them the contractual language they signed that they might do the right thing. If they fight it, move on, like pmax and Matt said. Time in your life isn't worth arguing with idiots.

It would have to be a special car for me to still do the deal. Contract or not, they lack integrity. I’d burn them. If the car is worth that much let them go sell it.

Good point. I once bought a car from an ******* and thought about that prick every time I turned the ignition. No surprise it was misrepresented and cost me more than I expected to bring it up to par.

Yeah, I would call Mom, it doesn't sound like they are going to come around on their own.

---Adam

I’d imagine this could turn into a larger problem for BaT than for either a single buyer or seller if they don’t act to enforce their legal contract, based on that I’d think that BaT would do everything they can to help close this transaction. I couldn’t agree upon a reserve with BaT on a 930 I wanted to list, so I had to make the decision not to list my car with them for this very reason. This seller apparently took the gamble that if the hammer fell with the price in between their own internal set reserve and BaT’s actual set reserve, that they’re just going to back out of the sale even though they signed a contract. If sellers see that they don’t really have to sell their car at the conclusion of the auction if they don’t like the hammer price (because they never really agreed with BaT’s set reserve), then BaT could have much bigger problems on their hands. With cars not really for sale, the bidders won’t show up. Without bidders showing up, sellers will lose interest as well. I guess what I’m saying, is that BaT really needs to nip this kind of seller behavior in the bud before it becomes a serious problem for their platform. If they choose to do nothing, then sellers will see zero risk in listing their car for only $99 if they won’t really be held to closing the sale if they don’t like the hammer price, because it’s great exposure at the very least for the listing fee. BaT really can’t sit idle on this issue, they need to protect their platform, they need to enforce their legal contract. Otherwise it becomes worthless.

'85 Targa for $29K? That is a hell of a good deal.

And can a reserve be raised during an auction? I assumed once it was set, it could only be lowered or removed, but not increased.

BaT won’t let you raise their reserve before the auction, so there’s no way they’d ever allow a reserve to be raised mid auction.

Get your buyers fee back from BAT and move on.

What legal contract? You submit your car for auction, agree on a reserve and your listing becomes live in 7-10 days. A seller doesn't have to sell, like a buyer doesn't have to buy. BAT would just ban the seller for life and return any funds back to the buyer. That pretty much sums it up. Now with that said, if I was the buyer I would just walk away. BAT does not raise a reserve during and auction, so the seller is lying. What else is the seller lying about? If it were me I would list the sellers name all over the Porsche community and warn others to stay away. To the OP, there is always a better car around the corner. Personally I would stay away from a douchebag seller.

Yep. Good point. Do you really want to buy a used car from someone that shady?

Thank you all for the replies. You all made excellent points and many were echoes of the pep talk I already gave myself. To the sellers defense this is his first car on Bat and did not seem to realize how BaT worked, my first impression is not that of deception rather stuck between BaT and the owner's emotional attachment to the car.
Either way it sucks. I'll get a hold of BaT tomorrow and just ask for my buyer fee back. I suppose to keep somewhat of a reputation they will pressure the seller, and if he decides to honor the sale? I guess I will cross that bridge if the time comes..

That sucks. What a terrible seller. I would move on from the car and burn them to the ground any way you can for wasting your time, money and emotion.

Maybe start bombarding his phone with d*** pics?!?! :eek:

Speaking of which, wutz yer number, Nathan???

:D

They have already set a precedent, they have refunded buyers fees before for sellers who wouldn't honor the auction results.

Well that’s their first problem, wtf are they thinking without having the most basic of contracts with their sellers. That’s kinda dumb. No wonder this sh|t happens, they almost encourage it.

Is this the car?

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-porsche-930-turbo-13/

It's an online auction..like ebay is. There are no contracts with ebay either. The cars are not in their possession nor have they incurred any cost that are beyond the initial fee. Let's put it this way, how many people have signed a contract in a dealer and the dealer sells the car right under the buyer's nose? It happens often and there is really nothing anyone can do. Court? that's a joke. Not worth the time,effort or money. I learned that lesson years ago with a Rolex I purchased at a store. Long story short, the owner of the store wanted more money (after I had paid for it). I contacted everyone and their mother...including the state's AG. I was pretty much told the battle was not worth it. So I took my lumps (and my refund) and moved on.......the irony to my story is that the owner of the store was killed a couple of years later by a hitman in broad daylight. Apparently he was a dirty business man...Karma is a bit*h