Is a seller on Ebay legally obliged to sell ?

Equaliser123

Woody...? Any update on your odd principles of contract law?

toffe

I think woody has a point, obviously an ebay sale is not in any way a writtten contract so it could only ever hold the weight of a verbal contract in terms of the law.

If i list my ipod touch for example at a 99p start price and you win the bid for £2 and i say sorry i'm not prepared to compete the sale, before you make payment, on what basis would/could you pursue me in court?

A bid is only an offer, acceptence of the bid forms an agreement.

In a normal auction house the autioneer will have an agreed discretionary margin by which he can accept a bid, be that by way of an agreed margin on a reserve or by the lack of a reserve meaning he can accept any offer.

ebay claim themselves not to be an auctioneer and so ebay then can not accept a bid on your behalf and so as far as i can see your bid is only an offer in the eyes of the law and if the seller refuses there is not alot you can do.

If you took a seller to court on a case like this what would you claim for?

1-That you have legal right and title to the goods? You don't the sale was never completed...

2- That the seller must compensate you the difference between your bid and the retail price of the item?...Good luck, it's not like you have to buy the item now at full retail, you are free to choose whether or not you spend the money so convincing a court that you simply had to, and therefore the seller exposed you to that loss, would be, in my view, difficult.

Ebay tell you the contract is binding, i'm not aware of any case law to support that claim though.

forgotmyname

The all bids are legally binding is rubbish, Ebay claim not to be a proper auction otherwise they would
be liable when you get scammed.

Buy a car from a real auction and you are covered if its stolen, Not on Ebay though. I forget what their
position is on it. But they are only a go between. Which makes the legal bit a farce.

You cant force them to sell they cant force you to buy. If you have the time or money you can try
to claim from them in court.
All Ebay can do is put a non paying bidder strike or a non performing seller strike. Leave negative feedback.

Get someone else to bid for you, Go and collect them put them in your car lock it and then pay the original amount?
Take a copy of your ebay winning details at the old price and wait for him to call the police or sell them at the old
price?

toffe

forgotmyname wrote: »

The all bids are legally binding is rubbish, Ebay claim not to be a proper auction otherwise they would
be liable when you get scammed.

Buy a car from a real auction and you are covered if its stolen, Not on Ebay though. I forget what their
position is on it. But they are only a go between. Which makes the legal bit a farce.

You cant force them to sell they cant force you to buy. If you have the time or money you can try
to claim from them in court.
All Ebay can do is put a non paying bidder strike or a non performing seller strike. Leave negative feedback.

Get someone else to bid for you, Go and collect them put them in your car lock it and then pay the original amount?
Take a copy of your ebay winning details at the old price and wait for him to call the police or sell them at the old
price?

Don't do this, you'll get yourself arrested.

Equaliser123

OK, chapter and verse.

The "fall of the hammer"is when the contract is concluded (Dennant -v- Skinner [1948] 2KB 164).

If the winning bidder does not pay, either the seller or auctioneer may take action to recover payment (Chelmsford Auctions Ltd -v- Poole [1973] 1 QB 542).

Terms and conditions set out in a sale catalogue (or in this case Ebay) are effective. Exemption clauses would, however, be subject to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (Southwestern General Property Co.Ltd. -v- Marton [1982] 263 EG 1090.

So, the buyer in this case HAS entered a contract. The seller CAN enforce it.

woody01

Equaliser123 wrote: »

Woody...? Any update on your odd principles of contract law?

I have put it twice now in terms that i hope you could understand.....unfortunately you are struggling, so at the bottom of this post i have tried one last time.

Equaliser123 wrote: »

OK, chapter and verse.

The "fall of the hammer"is when the contract is concluded (Dennant -v- Skinner [1948] 2KB 164).

If the winning bidder does not pay, either the seller or auctioneer may take action to recover payment (Chelmsford Auctions Ltd -v- Poole [1973] 1 QB 542).

Terms and conditions set out in a sale catalogue (or in this case Ebay) are effective. Exemption clauses would, however, be subject to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (Southwestern General Property Co.Ltd. -v- Marton [1982] 263 EG 1090.

So, the buyer in this case HAS entered a contract. The seller CAN enforce it.

No they can't. Jeeeezzzz....and your attempt at quoting case law is a monumental FAIL as it has no bearing on what the OP asked.

How can you BE SURE that the seller is legit? You can't, and this is the point in fact. It could be:
a). A hi-jacked account
b). A mis-print
c). A mistake in the auction

NONE OF WHICH you can prove.

The only time your argument holds any credibility at all is if it is a business seller, and even then, they could say they have run out of the item and refund.

If the seller refunds there is NO RECOURSE! Can you not grasp that?

Equaliser123

You are confusing proof with contract law. Your anger and frustration is, I think, masking your lack of knowledge.

You are wholly incorrect to say that there is no contract in existence.

woody01

Equaliser123 wrote: »

You are confusing proof with contract law. Your anger and frustration is, I think, masking your lack of knowledge.

You are wholly incorrect to say that there is no contract in existence.

There is a contract, but until delivery is taken, or non delivery proved, it cannot be enforced.
With this in mind, no-one can force someone to sell something else until money has changed hands.
If the seller refunds, this nulls the deal completely.

Dell is a classic example.
They make MANY mistakes in pricing on their website and NEVER fulfil the deal if purchased at the lower price.
Are they breaking the law? No
Are they looking to be sued? No
Have they lawyers that know an infinite amount more than you? Yes

Nuff said!

I think your aloofness in you incorrectness shows your lack of knowledge also.

Equaliser123

woody01 wrote: »

There is a contract, but until delivery is taken, or non delivery proved, it cannot be enforced.
With this in mind, no-one can force someone to sell something else until money has changed hands.
If the seller refunds, this nulls the deal completely.

Absolutely incorrect. With respect, you are making this up as you go along.

Oh, and refunding does not vitiate a contract.

It is up to the OP (who hasn't been seen since) to decide who to follow. My education and experience is, perhaps, a little better suited to speaking about contract law than yours.

OlliesDad

woody01 wrote: »

Dell is a classic example.
They make MANY mistakes in pricing on their website and NEVER fulfil the deal if purchased at the lower price.
Are they breaking the law? No
Are they looking to be sued? No
Have they lawyers that know an infinite amount more than you? Yes

Dell sells in auctions??

I may be wrong but i believe that you are confusing laws relating to auctions and distance selling.