Ebay problem.

[Johnboy]

I recently won an auction for a new SCMS on ebay but received the following message from the seller shortly after the auction ended.

hello, thanks for your purchase but theyre has been a problem we sold one of these out of our showroom today we were under the impression we had two of them but we actually only had one !! We can order you another one in but as you can appreciate the cost is dramatically more !! please accept our mutual agreement message !! many thanks

Can he do this? I thought that once the auction had ended it formed a contract between us. Anybody know what, if anything, I can do about this.

Thanks

John

 

[Gill]

No, he can't do this. As you say, a contract has been established and he must fulfill his obligations as agreed.

Gill

 

[LyNx]

No he can't, report it to ebay and see what they say. I think it sold for less than they originally expected so are trying to worm out of it. Was there a reserve on the auction? what was the auction number

Andy

 

[Johnboy]

No reserve was set. This is the auction http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7551400428&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

Good deal if I can just get him to honour it.

John

edit :- I have replied giving him until tomorrow to honour this or i will report it to ebay.

 

[Freetochat]

I notice that he only takes cheques, postal orders and bank drafts - cleared funds. Be careful of your money and poor comeback compared to CC's and Paypal.

As has already been said, the ebay contract has been made, he has to supply the goods as auctioned.

 

[Adam]

We can order you another one in but as you can appreciate the cost is dramatically more !![/i]

Just reply and say its not your problem, their stock control is their own issue. They have confirmed that they can order one to replace yours that they "sold" by accident and you will be waiting for the delivery of the one contractually agreed ASAP.

They have a contractual agreement to supply. Forget doing it through ebay, say you have informed your local trading standards.

Tell them the receipt clearly indicates that they have only got one- his "two in the showroom" story sounds a load of rubbish.

Adam

 

[Woodythepecker]

Johnboy, First of all reply to the seller giving him 48 hours to email you confirmation that he will be sending you the Elektra Beckum at the close of auction price, otherwise you will be informing Ebay. In the meantime get in touch with Ebay and ask them what you have to do if he does not supply you with the goods.

You are in the right here. The seller does not mention anywhere about the buyer having to pay extra costs in the event of him having to order in the product.
He states in his email to you that he thought he had 2 mitre saws in stock. So what, this is not your problem it is his.

If he does not do as you ask then complain to Ebay, but whatever you do, do not give up. You have to keep on nudging Ebay along, but if you are persistent you will get there in the end.

One thing that does smell to me is:

Seller wrote:

Hello, thanks for your purchase but there has been a problem we sold one of these out of our showroom today.

If he has a showroom why doesn't he take credit cards? It certainly sounds strange. As Freetochat warns he only accepts cheques, drafts, or postal orders. All of which means that you have to wait for your goods until they clear.

Finally he has admitted you have a contract by stating in his email " Hello, thanks for your purchase"

Edit, My post crossed with Adam. His advice of going straight to trading standards may in the end be the better option.

Good luck

Woody

 

[Howjoe]

Sounds very suspect.

It's like going to a shop ordering an item, paying for it and then when it's due to be delivered, they say they want more money!?!

I had a friend who bought an iPod from a dealer on ebay. Similar sort of story, as he said that when he started the auction, he had 12 of these in his retail shop. By the time the auction ended, my mate who won it, was told that they had all sold out but they could get another one in for him.....at an increased price. He drove to the actual highstreet shop of the seller and found 4 of them on the shelves!

The seller was pulling a fast one. He just didn't want to let it go for nearly £50 under it RRP. :evil: He came away with the iPod at the price he won it for.

I hope you get the right result.

Cheers

Howard

 

[mudman]

This does look well dodgy. Even if you get your item, you may want to be careful it is in good condition.

What also smells bad is that the reciept says it is a replacement for a defective one. Why wasn't the defective one replaced? Or, and I reckon this is more likely is that it was replaced and that this is the defective one.

Personally, I'd tell him to stuff it, leave him negative feedback and inform eBay.

 

[Mcluma]

Can he do this? I thought that once the auction had ended it formed a contract between us. Anybody know what, if anything, I can do about this.

Yes he can do it, and no you cannot do anything about it

THAT IS UK EBAY for you, it is all based on mutal acceptance, no law can force you to OBAY UK EBAY

Read the small print

GERMAN ebay is different there you are bound by contract and is therefore enforcable by law etc.

UK EBAY is all about mutual acceptance

And you are not the first one that it is happening to

I had it loads off time that i bought something cheap and the guys either replyed by saying you got it to cheap you have to pay more, or they just said I was selling it for somebody elso who already sold it in the mean time

And it goes also the otherway arround, sold items on EBAY and people do not want to complete the transaction.

And what can you do... NOTHING. telling ebay doesn't do jack all

I am really sorry for you

McLuma

 

[Mdotflorida]

Sad to say Ebay seems to be a victim of it's own sucess. Bargains are getting rarer and rarer and unscrupulous traders seem to be on the increase.

Having done a fair amout of trading on Ebay, I too would smell a rat and be extremely unhappy with this situation.

Just one word of advice about leaving -ve feedback though. Many people just base their feedback on yours and ignore the facts and whether you have a point or not. I see you have 100% and leaving -ve may jeapordise this if he just gives you -ve out of spite.

I have on occasion resorted to waiting the maximum 90 days to leave -ve so that my comments get recorded but there is no time for the other person to respond.

I wish you all the best in getting it sorted.

Jeff

 

[wizer]

It is against the law to increase the price after sale, but I think you will find he is not obligated to supply at the purchase price. You are of course entitled to a full refund.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Johnboy,

Look here http://www.crowleysaws.com and you will find the company behind the ebay store.
Maybe a direct approach to them will sort things out? They are a reknowned supplier of machines and saw services, so may not want their reputation tarnished...

Andy

 

[Adam]

Look here http://www.crowleysaws.com and you will find the company behind the ebay store.

I've been and had a look - his feedback is pretty good. Sadly, they should have bit the bullet and told you they would ship one brand new and swallow the cost immediately, as this thread has done more damage to their reputation than a hundred quid or whatever the difference was.

Adam

 

[Freetochat]

I think possibly some wrong guidance is being given. The bidding process does have the elements to form a contract (offer, acceptance, payment, supply). The breach obviously occurrs at the supply point.

In Section 4 of ebays rules:-

Bidding and Buying.

As a buyer, you have a legal obligation to complete a transaction with a seller:


a. if you purchase an item through one of our fixed price formats; or


b. if you are the highest bidder at the end of an auction-style listing (meeting the applicable minimum bid or reserve requirements and including any bid that becomes the highest after a valid bid retraction) and your bid is accepted by the seller, unless the item is listed in a category under our Non-Binding Bid Policy or the transaction is prohibited by law or by this User Agreement.


Section 5.3 states that a seller:-

5.3 Binding Bids. A seller who receives at least one bid at or above the stated minimum bid price (or in the case of reserve auctions, at or above the reserve price) must complete the transaction with the highest bidder on completion of the listing, unless: (a) the item is listed in a category under our Non-Binding Bid Policy; (b) the buyer fails to meet the conditions of the seller's listing (such as payment method); or (c) the seller cannot authenticate the buyer's identity.


I would consider forcing the purchase high risk, but as Andy quite rightly points out, this company will not welcom negative feedback, however it occurs.

 

[matt]

From memory, I think UK law states that a contract is complete if the seller sends you a receipt for your payment. This has been where the law has drawn the line when a retailer has mistakenly put an item on their web site at the wrong (lower!) price.

If the supplier did not send you a receipt, then the contract is not complete and they have no obligation to supply at the price quoted.

Nevertheless, they should have just taken it on the chin given that the sale was made via eBay (i.e. acted in the true "spirit" of eBay).

Like I say, all from memory!

 

[wizer]

I think in terms of law they are not obliged to supply what they promised, just obligated to refund you. A reasonable claim for costs might be possible.

 

[Woodythepecker]

I have complained to ebay on 2 occasions about buyers trying to up the price and on both occasions the sellers relented and sold me the goods. Granted this was about 2 years ago, but i cannot think that they have changed their policy that much.

Johnboy if you still want the saw i would not give up without at least trying to get ebay to force him to sell it to you.

Regards

Woody

 

[Jake]

Ebay is a binding contract.

The "receipt" issue applies to sales on websites, which is a different situation.

If it is a really good deal, you can threaten (or even use, if you can be bothered) a county court action to make them honour the contract or pay you the difference in price to the price that you now pay to someone else for a replacement (as long as that is a reasonable price).

 

[Johnboy]

Hi all, i received an invoice for the saw today so presume they intend to supply. I live just down the road so will collect and can check to make sure it is OK. The email contact on the invoice is Harvey Crowley, presumably one of the owners.

As others have said it is suprising that they don't take credit cards and want the cheque made out to an individual rather than the company. My suspicious mind wonders about sales not going through the company books, VAT etc.

I will let you know the result and hopefully be able to do a review of the saw!!

John