A very legit question based on the Ed Broeth (sic) thread

[Rich Klein]

I could have sworn that at one time that for any order; a company (or person) had 30 business days to ship out and send any order before any complaint can be made. Has this law been changed? If so, then the issue is a real one; if not; then we as a society need to slow down. Instant payment; instant shipment; etc.

I know we all prefer quick transactions; but isn't there a LEGAL part to all of this?

Regards
Rich

[Bosox Blair]

I doubt it. There is no such law everywhere. There could be some kind of local legislation that applies (I don't know about that).

But generally these are contract issues...What was the agreement between the parties? And if the agreement was silent, what would be reasonably understood by the parties in the circumstances?

Cheers,
Blair

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Rich Klein

I could have sworn that at one time that for any order; a company (or person) had 30 business days to ship out and send any order before any complaint can be made. Has this law been changed? If so, then the issue is a real one; if not; then we as a society need to slow down. Instant payment; instant shipment; etc.

I know we all prefer quick transactions; but isn't there a LEGAL part to all of this?

Regards
Rich

As far as being illegal I doubt it, though I am far from a lawyer, since the goods have supposedly been sent. There was a contract and all of the elements were there and were met. What I don't need to guess at, is this was way too long to let a transaction go after it was made on our BST. This is more of a customary issue at this point, imo.

edited to also clarify....other than the timing not being illegal, I do feel that not going through with the sale would be illegal as there was indeed a contract made, though it would be more hassle to deal with a lawsuit than the few hundred dollars involved.

[Fred]

I think in our community people expect an expedient transaction. I always try to ship within a week (at the latest) of receiving payment. If I know the purchaser then I'll ship without receiving payment (in some cases).

IMO, 30 days is a bit long to have to wait to recieve what was purchased. I think most of the hobbyists are not full time "dealers" and it's not like the transactions include items that are always easy to replace.

Even ebayer sellers ship faster than 30 days.

Communications is a huge factor in having a "clean" transaction. People need to let people know when items will be shipped. Also, how long does it take to send a courtesy email informing the buyer that their items have been shipped? One short "courtesy" email can save a lot of aggravation on both parties.

[jcmtiger]

With any of my ebay auctions, I let the buyer know in the auction listing that there is a 3 day handling period. I also ask for payment within 7 days. But, I normally package everthing I sell when the auction is over. Usually ship within 1-2 days of payment. I wouldn't like to wait for 30 days for an item, but if it is stated before the sale or auction I would abide by that time period.

Joe

[rdwyer]

New retail promo:

Pay now, get nothing for 30 days! Yeah, right!

Legit:

legal; conforming to the rules : is this car legit?
• (of a person) not engaging in illegal activity or attempting to deceive; honest : to see if he's legit, I call up the business.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Rich it's possible you are referring to old provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code, I don't know, but generally contract law would provide that the time for performance is as specified in the contract or, if none is specified, within a reasonable time. The latter would typically be determined by custom and practice. In the case of a baseball card internet transaction, I would think generally speaking that would be 7-10 days at the outset.

[birdman42]

AFAIK, the 30 day rule applies to back-ordered items. (And, by the way, it's a "regulation," not a "law." Though when it comes to the feds, you're probably better off actually breaking a law than violating a regulation, because as I understand it the burden of proof is much lower for regulations than for laws. IANAL.)

At work, if we don't have an item in stock, then at 30 days we have to send an opt-out letter/e-mail: If you want to cancel the order, let us know. At 60 days, we have to send an opt-in letter/e-mail: If you want us to keep the order live, let us know. I believe it's an FTC reg; at least, we refer to it as "the FTC letter."

If you have an item in stock, and you don't ship it within 30 days, that's just stupid business practice.

Bill