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What will happen here ? Can I make them sell ?
zilspeed - 12/4/09 at 06:59 PM

Browsing through ebay, I have just hit the BUY IT NOW button on this item.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?V iewItem&item=150338641365&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBSA:UK:31

Followed with an email.
"Hi, I would like to arrange to come and collect the Audi and pay you. When is convenient ?"

What do you all reckon will happen ?

Is this me out bargaining myself ?



Cheers

JF

[Edited on 12/4/09 by zilspeed]

Flamez - 12/4/09 at 07:01 PM

shouldn't this buy iy now be followed by a "commit to buy"?

theconrodkid - 12/4/09 at 07:02 PM

zilspeed - 12/4/09 at 07:04 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Flamez
shouldn't this buy iy now be followed by a "commit to buy"?


Oh, it was.

And I did.

Can I enforce this ?

Benzine - 12/4/09 at 07:09 PM

lol

Hellfire - 12/4/09 at 07:13 PM

Sadly, you can't enforce this. I think he'd sooner take negative feedback than sell it for 99p

I once did a similar thing on a beautiful Porsche 911 that was advertised with a Buy It Now price of £6,000. Hit the 'Buy It Now' button and almost instantaneously the owner replied and told me he had made a genuine mistake and it should have been £60,000.

I figured there was no way on gods earth he was gonna sell me the car for £6K so didn't pursue things further. Would have been nice though................

Phil

mad_dogpompey - 12/4/09 at 07:15 PM

nope sorry mate much as you think you could you can t. pretty funny though mate!

Simon - 12/4/09 at 07:18 PM

I think, in law at least, that this would constitute a) and offer for sale, and b) because there was no reserve, a sale at the noted price.

If it was me, I'd persue it

ATB

Simon

zilspeed - 12/4/09 at 07:19 PM

That's the thing though.
If this was a real life car auction, it would be my car now.

I've had two emails now from the seller.

Mistake is the explanation rather predictably which if I'm honest I knew anyway.

Had to hit buy it now though - you would.

Now, let's see what else I can find.

[Edited on 12/4/09 by zilspeed]

mad_dogpompey - 12/4/09 at 07:30 PM

sorry forgot to give the reason why it won t stand up. although by buying it you have a contract. ie he s offered the contract with the price and you ve accepted. however for any contract to be legally recognised there has to be an intention to be legally bound. so mistakenly putting it on there at the wrong price doesn t really count! shame hey!!!!! but oh well!

mad_dogpompey - 12/4/09 at 07:32 PM

oh and if you really want to read up on it i ll sell you my ou law degree books for a buy it now price of 99pence!!! pmsl!

Hellfire - 12/4/09 at 07:34 PM

Quite right;

When a retailer displays a product for sale, legally it is giving you 'an invitation to treat', which means it is inviting you to make an offer to buy. The retailer can refuse that offer if it decides that it doesn't want to sell you the goods. To have a legally-binding contract the retailer must have accepted your offer to buy. So your rights depend on where in the sale process you are.

Phil

zilspeed - 12/4/09 at 07:58 PM

This isn't a retailer.
This is a private individual.

As I'm sure you are aware, the conditions are quite different.

If I could just clarify, I am under no illusions as to what will happen here. I won't be getting the car.

blakep82 - 12/4/09 at 07:59 PM

hmm, 94.1% feedback. wonder how often he's made the same mistake

mad_dogpompey - 12/4/09 at 08:14 PM

yeh know it was just a what if question! good thing with ebay now though they can t give the buyer negative feedback!!!

Bigheppy - 12/4/09 at 08:22 PM

Its already relisted with a 99p start price

[Edited on 12/4/09 by Bigheppy]

Theshed - 13/4/09 at 08:12 AM

IMHO placing an item on e-bay with a buy it now option under e-bay terms and conditions is a clear offer to sell at that price. That offer is accepted - forming a binding contract when the "confirm" button is pressed. Ordinarily that would be enforceable.

In the present case the contract could clearly be set aside for "mistake". A contract may be set aside for mistake if one person makes a mistake as to the terms of the contract and the other party knows that the first party is mistaken - that is the situation here.

Generally setting aside a contract for "mistake" is a bit tricky - how can you show that the other party knew of the mistake? Not so tricky when a £60,000 Porsche is advertised for 60p!

Staple balls - 13/4/09 at 08:47 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Bigheppy
Its already relisted with a 99p start price[Edited on 12/4/09 by Bigheppy]


A 99p start price is a smart thing, I've seen a study somewhere showing that you're likely to get a higher price if you start with a really low start price, doesn't matter if there's a reserve price if you hide it, IIRC.

On the subject of buy it now, I suspect, if you're feeling mean, you could take it up with ebay and cause no end of hassle, but you're unlikely to get the car at the end of it.

JoelP - 15/4/09 at 06:57 PM

i think it would be unfair to hassle him over it, its a genuine mistake. Have some charity!

Mark Allanson - 16/4/09 at 07:54 PM

quote:
Originally posted by JoelP
i think it would be unfair to hassle him over it, its a genuine mistake. Have some charity!


Joel, are you losing your sense of mischief?

MikeRJ - 16/4/09 at 08:35 PM

quote:
Originally posted by zilspeed
This isn't a retailer.
This is a private individual.

As I'm sure you are aware, the conditions are quite different.


In what way are they different? Are you perhaps confusing contract law with liability?

stevegough - 20/4/09 at 08:07 PM

I see what you mean - DREADFULLY overpriced for an audi