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Posted By: Bob Casmer

Todd,

I agree with you as to the inability to get specific performance in my case. What I thought might be a more interesting question for Joann to raise would be the involvement of Ebay and their rules. The seller clearly enters into a "contract" with the bidders on his auctions. In subsequent emails to the bidders he informs them of his intentions to terminate the auctions and sell the items elsewhere. (He did not make this communication through Ebay channels either.) He then fails to properly terminate the auctions and ends up with various people thinking they won the auctions but, according to the seller, they didn't. Had the buyers just dealt directly with the seller and not through an Ebay auction, I agree he terminated the auctions and there was no binding deals. What happens though when you insert Ebay into the equation as a third-party go between? Can he legally terminate the auction without properly doing so through Ebay? If he can, then what good is Ebay's claim that their auctions are binding contracts? Does this somehow make Ebay liable to the buyers if they can't enforce what Ebay all along claims is a valid contract?

And finally, assume one of the auction winners decides to take the seller to small claims court. As you suggested, if the seller doesn't have the item anymore you can't get specific performance. Furthermore, assume the buyer never paid the seller when it was found out the items were already sold to someone else. Now the buyer isn't out any money so he/she doesn't need to sue to recover their funds either. So what would you be able to take the seller to court for? If nothing, what good is Ebay's claim that these auctions are binding contracts?

Bob