When an Ebay seller backs out...

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by UnVme7

Well guys, the seller refunded my money again. He said that someone sent him a message about this website and this thread.

So it got me thinking-- I never mentioned on here what item it was, nor my ebay username. So how would someone know, right? And there's only one person that follows me on eBay.

Hmmmmmmmmmm.....I wonder who it could've been....

That person, who obviously is a net54ember, contacted this seller and told him that he should get more for the item and sent him this forum page.

Talk about being bitter because you didn't get the item and decided to jump in the middle and tell the seller the price was too low of a price. Sorry, but that's a real douchebag right there.

FWIW, you don't have to "follow" someone on eBay to look at what they have bought. You do have to know their eBay ID, but that could be anybody you have ever dealt with on eBay before if they have a good memory and/or save their e-mails, not necessarily the 1 guy who officially "follows" you on eBay. Either way though, I agree that it's a pretty douchey thing to do.

Disclaimer: I have no idea what item we're talking about here or what Nate's eBay ID is. (I also have a terrible memory, so unless we do business on a weekly basis, your secret is probably safe even if we've transacted before).

[bobbyw8469]

I have no idea what the item is either. I still want to know what Ebay seller is selling $1000+ items for pennies on the dollar!! I have a huge student loan I need to pay off, and that would help greatly!

[steve B]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

I have no idea what the item is either. I still want to know what Ebay seller is selling $1000+ items for pennies on the dollar!! I have a huge student loan I need to pay off, and that would help greatly!

There are still deals out there. Mostly in mislisted items, or things where there's a common item and a tougher one with a small difference between them.

Last year or earlier this year I picked up a stamp that catalogs 2500 for 18 as a BIN
18 was a good price for the basic stamp, and the difference while catalog listed isn't shown in a picture. So knowing you have it isn't exactly simple.
Sort of like finding a Murr'y as a BIN at a decent price for a common.
Another was listed by a seller in Norway and ended at 8am est easter sunday. Not a common one, and listed at just under 10% of the catalog value. I was the only bidder.

With stamps some of the varieties are not well known and many sellers won't take the time to become knowledgeable about them- Even some of the bigger dealers. Although one I met said he didn't have the time to be bothered with small varieties that catalog under 1000 unless it was plainly marked in the collection it came from. (He often has stuff that's 5000+)

Steve B

[drcy]

2 things. If you sue in a dispute where something is physically stolen (not the case here) you only get what you paid for the item, and not what it would be worth now, what is its market value or what you would have gotten if you resold. The judge would look only at your receipt from when you bought it and have no interest in theoretical market valuations or how much (according to the plaintiff) it's gone up in value since then.

2, you're out no money. Considering the first paragraph, you'd have to convince the judge that you've been harmed. He (or she) may very well say you get the item in exchange for the price paid if you want because the sale was a contract, but he may, having little to no interest in theoretical resale speculations and market valuations, say you're out no money so he doesn't see the harm. You'd have to convince him. Realize that most people come before the judge in such suits are suing because they paid money, didn't get the item and want their money back. You'd be coming before him with having gotten your money back. You may indeed get the item (in re-exchange for the win price), but, if you didn't, you would not win any of paragraph 1's pie in the sky money.

[Peter_Spaeth]

When a good is unique specific performance may be available. I agree a court would not likely award damages on an expectancy measure here.

[thecatspajamas]

If the reneged item was subsequently sold to another party, or through another venue such as a major auction house, would that not give a clear measure of the damages to the shafted buyer?

[drcy]

Duly note that my working scenario is the case would be in small clams court, with a judge scheduling 10 minutes per case and the item in dispute being a baseball card or such that won't particularly stand out to a non-collecting judge as something of more significance than the stolen lawn chair set or the missing carburetor in the day's previous cases. I'm not envisioning the case involving the stolen relic of the Babylon and teams of lawyers and professorial expert witnesses.

If it turns out the eBay auction was for the Hope Diamond or the newly uncovered second set of Anne Frank's diaries, I will revisit my earlier post.