Big Ebay problem - what would you do? UPDATED

[disneysteve]

Someone I know got themselves in a huge mess. They listed a vehicle on ebay motors. They thought they had listed a reserve price. The auction ended for $1,100 and the winning bidder contacted him to arrange getting the vehicle and making payment. Only at that point did the seller realize he had failed to put the reserve on the auction. He doesn't want to sell the vehicle for that price as he paid about $3,000 for it. I realize it is totally the seller's fault for not checking his auction terms before listing, or at least right after listing, but what should he do now. He tried to explain his mistake to the buyer but the guy said he's not paying a penny more than his bid and if seller won't sell the car, buyer will contact his lawyer to pursue this.

He doesn't care about the negative feedback at this point but he can't afford to take a $2,000 loss on the car.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[disneychrista]

While I can sympatize with this friend, I think the only thing he can do is take the loss and chalk it up to a very hard lesson learned. I am guessing he did this as a 7 day auction which gave him 7 days to pull the auction or make the necessary adjustments.

 

[sanibelover]

It might be worthwhile talking to a lawyer to see if he has any recourse because he made an honest mistake.

 

[hulabird]

Please contact an attorney, sometimes they will consult with you for free or a small fee. I am studying to be a paralegal and will try and see if I can find case law on this type of thing on my service that lawyers use. I know that when you have a "contract" you have 3 days to get out of it, and there must be some type of protection for making an honest mistake, after all you have done nothing that has really hurt anyone or caused them to lose money, all you are saying is you won't sell that low. Have you contacted ebay? Do that as well and see what they say. I will check what I can and get back here asap. If ebay says you are stuck, a lawyer is definitely in order.

 

[dreams91]

I'd say let him leave bad feedback. He is probably just saying he will get an attorney. Although I'm not sure how he could because laws differ in each state. He'd have to find one that could practice in your state. I'd say call his bluff. Honest mistake on your part.

 

[hulabird]

From what I am finding, he would have to sue you, and he would have to prove that by you not selling the vehicle to him at the price he bid, that he was harmed, physically or monetarily, which would be super super hard to do and he would have to prove that you committed fraud, but all you did was make a mistake, and he could never prove fraud against you. This case from Wisconsin, Zuhak v. Rose, 264 Wis. 286 (Wis., 1953), says that it would be different if you advertised something like "Hey, no reserve on this auction!" that could make you liable, however, all you did was fail to click the reserve and type in a price. An oversite and mistake, but an honest one. I would contact ebay and explain to them what happened, so you don't get a bad mark from them, but the only way this person can do anything is if sues you and if that happens, just contact a lawyer. In this case, I doubt he has a leg to stand on and you will likely just get bad feedback...oh well, live and learn. Good luck to you and let us know what happens.

 

[disneysteve]

Thanks for all the input. I'll pass it along. I don't really know the guy who did this. He is a friend of my cousin. My cousin called me because he knew I was an ebay regular.

 

[Brian Noble]

I've got to believe the lawyer is a bluff to bully the seller into closing the deal. Lawyers (even bad ones) charge $100 per hour. For a $3K car, it just isn't worth it to involve a lawyer, unless the purchaser isn't rational (or, is a lawyer him/herself.)

 

[Dancind]

And Ebay won't help the seller out by protecting them in any way. But sounds to me like a negative feedback is worth $2000. He can always neg back.

 

[mep319]

I've got to believe the lawyer is a bluff to bully the seller into closing the deal. Lawyers (even bad ones) charge $100 per hour. For a $3K car, it just isn't worth it to involve a lawyer, unless the purchaser isn't rational (or, is a lawyer him/herself.)

I agree...or has a friend/family member as a lawyer. Personally I wouldn't provide too much additional contact as you would give that person amunition if he chose to take legal recourse. I'd close my ebay account and take my changes. The person would probably first provide a letter from a lawyer demanding the vehicle, prior to any actual court action. I'd send a email just stating that you made a mistake and the vehicle is no longer available and leave it at that. Good luck.

 

[disneysteve]

Guess what. I spoke to my cousin tonite and he gave me a very interesting update on this situation. The seller contacted ebay to find out what went on and what could be done. Ebay said they would research the auction and get back to him. Ebay later responded and said that there had been a system glitch that day and all the auctions that were listed during a certain block of time didn't have the reserves entered properly, but there was a record of him placing the listing WITH a reserve.

So it turns out it wasn't the seller's fault after all. It was ebay's fault. Ebay agreed to remove the negative feedback and contact the high bidder to explain what had happened and that the seller was not at fault.

Nice to have a happy ending now and then.

 

[BethR]

Wow Steve! Glad to hear that there was such a positive outcome for your cousin's friend!

 

[Luv2Roam]

Good to read! And an interesting lesson to us all.

 

[Cass]

Wow.. a glitch caused all that heartache!! Happy ending for all.

 

[disneysteve]

Happy ending for all.

Except for the guy who thought he had won a conversion van for $1100.

 

[hulabird]

Glad to hear of the happy outcome!

 

[summersfam4]

Whew! I'll wipe the sweat off of my brow for your friend. I know that would have made me sweat buckets, as I probably would have had to keep the van and accept the negative feedback (with a response that there was a major mistake in the listing)! Glad to hear everything worked out!

Kelly

 

[FLORIDAFUNFAMILY]

very interesting story!! glad it turned out ok

 

[OceanAnnie]

That was an interesting story. I was wondering how it turned out.

A glitch! Who would've thought? I bet the seller must've thought he was crazy thinking, "I could've sworn I put in that reserve!". I'm glad ebay had a record of it and it came to a good conclusion. Not such a good conclusion for the "buyer", but then he really didn't lose anyting like the seller would have. What a headache all the way around for those two!