If a seller's 'buy it now' price was VERY underpriced...

[kybo]

...and i bought it, where would I stand?

I noticed a Buy it now price of £40 for a lens I've been looking to get (the lens retails for around £250-£300) so obviously i bought it. The seller (business seller in HK) advised me this was a system error and obviously doesn't want to sell it for this price but, later in his email, politely asked: "Is it Ok for me to cancel your order and refund you?" Does the fact he's asking mean he is legally obligated to sell it to me for that price? Anyone know where I stand, legally? Has this happened to anyone else?

Many thanks
Scott

[Steve Evil]

With it being in Hong Kong I'm not sure, I'd pressure him and threaten to report him to Ebay, he may buckle this once and save himself the hassle.

[N10k]

Steve Evil said:

With it being in Hong Kong I'm not sure, I'd pressure him and threaten to report him to Ebay, he may buckle this once and save himself the hassle.

Big saving but is an honest/easy mistake to make when selling lots of stuff at one time.

Id accept it was worth a punt but not worth rowing over. after all he did email asking if he could cancel the bid, he could have said that there isnt a chance of letting it go for the price you got it.

[Simpo Two]

N10k said:

Id accept it was worth a punt but not worth rowing over. after all he did email asking if he could cancel the bid, he could have said that there isnt a chance of letting it go for the price you got it.

It wasn't a bid, it was a Buy it Now. According to eBay law (which is sort of parallel to real law) that's a 'binding contract', but of course that doesn't reckon with human nature. You have him over a barrel in that he cannot leave you negative feedback, but that's rather unsporting and I don't think he deserves that.

ETA: Also, put yourself in his position - would you think 'Oh well, silly me' and ship it for £40?

Edited by Simpo Two on Tuesday 2nd December 13:05

[dhutch]

Certainly generally i was under the impression if something is advertised at a price it must be sold at the price advertise.
- Further to that, if you have bought it, at a price. You've bought it. Havent you?

I think its yours, for £40, becuase they cocked up.


Daniel

[Steve Evil]

Simpo Two said:

N10k said:

Id accept it was worth a punt but not worth rowing over. after all he did email asking if he could cancel the bid, he could have said that there isnt a chance of letting it go for the price you got it.

It wasn't a bid, it was a Buy it Now. According to eBay law (which is sort of parallel to real law) that's a 'binding contract', but of course that doesn't reckon with human nature. You have him over a barrel in that he cannot leave you negative feedback, but that's rather unsporting and I don't think he deserves that.

ETA: Also, put yourself in his position - would you think 'Oh well, silly me' and ship it for £40?

Edited by Simpo Two on Tuesday 2nd December 13:05

If it was an individual I would probably understand, but it's a business seller and they should really know better/have better checking in place.

I'd judge each case on its own merit, but if they looked like they had a fairly high feedback rating suggesting a lot of sales then I'd be inclined to push my luck.

[andy-xr]

If you do actually want the lens and would have been prepared to pay full retail, why not ask him if he'll do you a more sensible deal instead?

[_dobbo_]

dhutch said:

Certainly generally i was under the impression if something is advertised at a price it must be sold at the price advertise.

Daniel

Items priced in a "real" shop are an "invitation to treat" which effectively means you are inviting an offer but aren't obliged to sell at that price.

On ebay of course as Simpo points out, real laws are irrelevant and the law of the 'bay applies.

[Simpo Two]

dhutch said:

Certainly generally i was under the impression if something is advertised at a price it must be sold at the price advertise.
- Further to that, if you have bought it, at a price. You've bought it. Havent you?

I think its yours, for £40, becuase they cocked up.

Unfortunately it doesn't work like that. If you advertise a car for £9995 and the paper misprints it as £99.95 you're not obliged to sell the car for that amount. Legally I think it's called an 'offer to sell' and can be declined.

But I do like Andy's idea of negotiating a middle-ground.

[kybo]

The seller (don't think I'm allowed to put who they are, am I?) has several accounts on ebay, numbered XXX1, XXX2 etc. The one I bought from has a score nearing 13000 and 99.6% feedback.

The lens in question is a Sigma 24-70 F2.8 EX DG. I would love to get it for the buy it now price but then conscience kicks in and, like it's been pointed out - what if it was me? But then I think, hang on, they're a big business seller (with 10's of 000's of feedback spanning several accounts) so maybe they can afford to take this hit more than I can afford to pay RRP.

I do like Andy's middle ground - seems a fair compromise. Maybe I'll offer then a 'gesture of good will' payment to maybe half the value of the lens. But then I'm thinking am I being too nice?

As always - I've had a mixed bag of results from here (which I like btw) but it was interesting to read that buying 'buy it now' makes it a legally binding contract. I think Ebay may respond asking for common sense but if rules is rules...

I'll let you know what Ebay's response is and what happens RE this transaction.

Thanks again,
Scott


Scott

[andy-xr]

kybo said:

The seller (don't think I'm allowed to put who they are, am I?) has several accounts on ebay, numbered XXX1, XXX2 etc. The one I bought from has a score nearing 13000 and 99.6% feedback.

The lens in question is a Sigma 24-70 F2.8 EX DG. I would love to get it for the buy it now price but then conscience kicks in and, like it's been pointed out - what if it was me? But then I think, hang on, they're a big business seller (with 10's of 000's of feedback spanning several accounts) so maybe they can afford to take this hit more than I can afford to pay RRP.

I do like Andy's middle ground - seems a fair compromise. Maybe I'll offer then a 'gesture of good will' payment to maybe half the value of the lens. But then I'm thinking am I being too nice?

As always - I've had a mixed bag of results from here (which I like btw) but it was interesting to read that buying 'buy it now' makes it a legally binding contract. I think Ebay may respond asking for common sense but if rules is rules...

I'll let you know what Ebay's response is and what happens RE this transaction.

Thanks again,
Scott


Scott

I think you might need to be a bit more sensible about it than that!

At £40, you're not going to get a lens at all
At £125, you'll probably get a smashed up lens and will have to pay postage back to get a refund.

How about £180+?

Personally I wouldnt involve ebay, if you go waving bits of paper at a seller, they're less likely to do a deal with you (I would be)

[Nurburgsingh]

I thought ebay rukles were clear... you win it you've bought it. The example of a newspaper misprinting a value doesnt count here. There is no 3rd party entering details in the auction details and a "system error" would have impacted every single auction that was created with a "Buy it now" option.

The seller has made a mistake and he has to live with it. You've won. have you paid?

I'd get ebay straight on it and let him live by his mistake.

[Simpo Two]

kybo said:

I do like Andy's middle ground - seems a fair compromise. Maybe I'll offer then a 'gesture of good will' payment to maybe half the value of the lens. But then I'm thinking am I being too nice?

In almost 20 years of running a business I've met lots of nice people, but I've also met a few nasty ones - people who think it's big to stamp and shout. Naturally, the nice people get a better deal and better service than the nasty ones. They're also much better placed if they later need a favour.

As a former boss said to me: 'Friends come and go but enemies only accumulate'. I know this guy is in HK and you'll never neet him and don't need him again, but by choosing 'nice' you'll stand more chance of getting what you want (the lens at a discount) and finishing the deal amicably.

Nurburgsingh said:

The seller has made a mistake and he has to live with it. You've won. have you paid? I'd get ebay straight on it and let him live by his mistake.

Result: He won't ship, buyer leaves -ve FB, buyer then has to pay £250+ for the lens somewhere else. That's not a win in my book.

Edited by Simpo Two on Tuesday 2nd December 14:22

[mrmr96]

Bwhahahahahahahahaah!!! What a stupid funt!! Lets take him for as much as we can!! I love taking advantage of other peoples mistakes. I, myself, never make mistakes, or when I do I live and die by them. Hey, he'd screw me if he could!




Or, be reasonable and accept that mistakes happen. Whether you can 'force' him to sell at that price is not as relevant a question as whether you should.... Some people say what goes around comes around. Why can't we all be a little bit nicer to each other?




Screw that hippy!!! Take, take, TAKE!!!!! Leave nothing behind. Where there's fault there's someone lurking to take advantage.




But I thought that all those people 'ambulance chasing' were bad? Just becasue you can screw someone, doesn't mean you should? Does it?





Feck, what do I know. Are you going up or down when you die?

[kybo]

Cheers Andy for your comments.

I think it was sensible, TOTALLY 'wishful thinking' on my part, but sensible. Why does it have to seen as their misfotune, not a stroke of luck for me?

It's never happened to me before so I posted on here for advice/comments as I value all comments and have learned a lot here.

FYI, I only emailed Ebay to ask for advice on where I stood with this transaction. I didn't go throwing my toys out of the pram and neither am I going to go to the seller and cite references to chapter such and such and demand my prize!! I appreciate what you've said about the condition of the goods if 'I take theP155' and I'm sure they could take a negative feedback point, having nearly amassed 13000 points

I have no idea what a reasonably priced 'gesture' would be, hence my post here. Now i do, thanks.

I think I'm gonna ask the seller, by way of mutual compromise, what he'd be prepared to take for the lens. Seems the fairest, and most 'SENSIBLE', course of action.

Thanks all,
Scott

[kybo]

Nurburgsingh said:

I thought ebay rukles were clear... you win it you've bought it. The example of a newspaper misprinting a value doesnt count here. There is no 3rd party entering details in the auction details and a "system error" would have impacted every single auction that was created with a "Buy it now" option.

The seller has made a mistake and he has to live with it. You've won. have you paid?

I'd get ebay straight on it and let him live by his mistake.

I left nothing to chance and paid immediately

Thx
Scott

[kybo]

mrmr96 said:

Bwhahahahahahahahaah!!! What a stupid funt!! Lets take him for as much as we can!! I love taking advantage of other peoples mistakes. I, myself, never make mistakes, or when I do I live and die by them. Hey, he'd screw me if he could!




Or, be reasonable and accept that mistakes happen. Whether you can 'force' him to sell at that price is not as relevant a question as whether you should.... Some people say what goes around comes around. Why can't we all be a little bit nicer to each other?




Screw that hippy!!! Take, take, TAKE!!!!! Leave nothing behind. Where there's fault there's someone lurking to take advantage.




But I thought that all those people 'ambulance chasing' were bad? Just becasue you can screw someone, doesn't mean you should? Does it?





Feck, what do I know. Are you going up or down when you die?

LOL at mrmr96.

You've said nothing sensible at all, yet told me everything I needed to know.

"The fence is strong beneath this one"

Scott

[mrmr96]

You're welcome. :-)

[Nurburgsingh]

Definatly a stroke of luck on your part.

I once bought an item from Argos and instead of giving me a single item they gave me a case of them! ( beacuse the cat number was printed on the side of the big brown box) did I rush back to the store once I noticed their mistake? did I f£$K as like!! I used one, kept the rest as spares!

If You employ monkeys don't complain that your house is full of monkey pooh!

Good luck in your quest...

[miniman]

There's no way you are getting that lens for £40. If he has a feedback score of 13,000+ why would he care if you neg him? 0.007% of his feedback is not going to break him.