Ebay seller, sour experience

[drcy]

Originally Posted by Wid_Conroy

the seller was sitting on risk because the buyer was waiting to receive a payment. I get the handshake deal, but who know what happens over the course of a week - check might not arrive, buyer loses job, gets robbed, who knows. in any of those cases, the buyer would just walk away. I can't imagine a seller not acting in his financial interest in a market that is exponentially rising and might be over any moment. the seller offered an accommodation that probably works out most of the time, but I would not be 100% comfortable on the buyer's side of that deal, and consider myself fortunate if it got done.

They had an agreement and even agreed upon payment plan.

[Oscar_Stanage]

Originally Posted by drcy

They had an agreement and even agreed upon payment plan.

yes, and buyers should expect the deal to be at risk under those circumstances. perhaps i misunderstand what happened, But when I buy on Ebay, a sale is done only when a seller agrees to my offer or I won an auction. After that, the item then goes into my cart and sits there until i pay. that is an 'official' recognized sale by both parties. I then have some time to pay according to whatever the stated rules are. For some sellers, this is 7 days as they allow you to accumulate and combine shipping...

if a seller backed out when the item was in my cart, i would be annoyed and probably not buy there anymore. however, this deal seems to have been done through email exchange. which is just not the same thing, at least on Ebay

[Jim65]

If this was an Ebay transaction, once he accepted your offer, the listings would end and he would be obligated to sell to you. How did he receive a better offer?

[scooter729]

As a seller, I've had buyers come to me with similar offers. What I'll typically try to say is, I will accept your offer at that time, IF I still have the card by then.

I've had too many buyers commit to buying something, and then vanish - leaving me in a spot where I may have turned down another offer because I thought I had a deal in place.

So, I see where the seller is coming from - a sure thing buyer today is better than a likely buyer next week. But he shouldn't have said he would hold the cards until next week, if he wasn't fully planning to honor that commitment.

[ASF123]

Originally Posted by Wid_Conroy

yes, and buyers should expect the deal to be at risk under those circumstances. perhaps i misunderstand what happened, But when I buy on Ebay, a sale is done only when a seller agrees to my offer or I won an auction. After that, the item then goes into my cart and sits there until i pay. that is an 'official' recognized sale by both parties. I then have some time to pay according to whatever the stated rules are. For some sellers, this is 7 days as they allow you to accumulate and combine shipping...

if a seller backed out when the item was in my cart, i would be annoyed and probably not buy there anymore. however, this deal seems to have been done through email exchange. which is just not the same thing, at least on Ebay

Sounds like there was an offer, acceptance and consideration, which would make it a legally binding agreement. The seller communicated that he was going to breach as the buyer was attempting to perform his obligation (early, no less).

[Oscar_Stanage]

Originally Posted by ASF123

Sounds like there was an offer, acceptance and consideration, which would make it a legally binding agreement. .

there was no consideration.

everyone claims their word is "Strong as oak' like the guy from Jerry Maguire. That is, until circumstances change and they too will change their mind.
this is why the world invented contracts.

[ASF123]

Originally Posted by Wid_Conroy

there was no consideration.

everyone claims their word is "Strong as oak' like the guy from Jerry Maguire. That is, until circumstances change and they too will change their mind.
this is why the world invented contracts.

Consideration is something that is promised. It doesn't only become consideration when it's actually delivered. Otherwise we'd have no system of contracting.

As a seller, I've had buyers come to me with similar offers. What I'll typically try to say is, I will accept your offer at that time, IF I still have the card by then.

Exactly. That's how you avoid creating a binding agreement.

[Oscar_Stanage]

Originally Posted by ASF123

Consideration is something that is promised. It doesn't only become consideration when it's actually delivered. Otherwise we'd have no system of contracting.

there was no promise to accept.

[autograf]

But there WAS a promise to accept.......the OP said "He said no problem, that he'd hold all three until then." That is a promise to accept the offered amount at that time and to HOLD. HOLD.

If he intended to continue negotiating with someone else, that should be clear when he said he would HOLD. In my book, HOLD means cease all further negotiations because a deal has been consummated. Mar 1 is next Monday. It wasn't May 1.

I agree it's a shame that you can't trust someone who you've consummated a deal with.

[ASF123]

Originally Posted by Wid_Conroy

there was no promise to accept.

There was a promise to pay for two upfront, and then the third on 3/1. Those are the terms of the buyer's obligation. Future performance is perfectly acceptable in an agreement.