Hi,
What are your thoughts on this recent transaction? I think all that can really be said is that there are a lot of sellers on there who stupidly refuse to use the Reserve function, the item then sells for less than they were looking for and they simply cancel the contract for some specious reason. Ebay does little about it. They know they can get away with it.
Anyway, I bought a bike off ebay and it went for around two thirds of what similar bikes are going for on there. The seller clearly was not pleased what the sale amount, and seemed to be trying to wriggle out of completing the transaction.
The seller then cancelled the transaction. He initially said that he damaged the brake whilst tinkering with the bike. The component that he claims to have damaged is the caliper, which is a relatively inexpensive one. A replacement part can be easily sourced and it would be around a half hour for a mechanic to fit it. I suggested that we complete the transaction, and that he reimburse me for the cost of a second hand brake and along with the cost of installing it. The brakes fitted to the bike were described as new, and looked spotless in the pictures, so I think I was being quite reasonable in only asking for the equivalent reimbursement for used ones.
He responded thusly. "Unfortunately the bike is now damaged and not in a usable state, and I'm not prepared to sell it in that state, nor in a position to repair it in any reasonable time."
Essentially, I am in the position, because he reneged on the sale, of having to buy another similar bike, which are presently selling for considerably more than the amount I obtained the bike for. The seller then clearly stated afterwards that he can sell the bike for parts and get far more for it that way, and that is why he's not prepared to sell it to me. I am happy, more or less, to complete the transaction with him, as I need the bike in a rush and I've been looking for that model for a while. I'd rather not deal with this person, but I need the bike.
I have no idea why I persist in buying things from ebay.
Not worth your time, move on.
You have his name and address.. sign him up for all sorts of unwanted mail order crap. If you have his phone number.. just fill out one of those just had an accident claims online. He'll get pestered to death.
Otherwise just find a different bike to buy and leave him negative feedback.
Had similar, a lovely Whyte got for a really cheap price. Seller pulled out (can't remember the reason they gave, but it was pretty obviously because they thought they could get more). As you say, nothing you can do, move on, find another bike. Hope it's not being sold by a similar arsehole.
I know people say don't waste your time, and in general i agree, but i got messed about in a similar situation a year or two ago over some wheels, to the extent I wondered if you could use a small claims court to get them. After all, when you click on the place bid you enter a 'contract' to buy, and I guess similarly when you post something for sale, so a contract has been breached when they refuse to sell, no?
Do people get away with it because 'it's not worth the effort' or is there a legal reason - for example contract to buy is with ebay so you don't actually ever have a contract with the seller themself?
Morally (and probably legally) you're in the right. But no-one can force him to sell you the bike.
eBay will hide behind their T&C's, and if he claims it's damaged (an old eBay trick to wiggle out of sales) then he can get away with it.
Life's too short to deal with dicks, do just move on.
Negative feedback, and if you're vindictive use his email and/or name abd address to sign him up to loads of crap. If you have a mobile no, then put up a few adverts for cheap, dodgy stuff on gumtree. That'll learn him.
Realistically there is nothing you can do about it. It's not like he took your money or anything. Doubt any court is going to help you.
Do people get away with it because ‘it’s not worth the effort’ or is there a legal reason
Thing is, what if they've sold the bike outside of ebay anyway? What can ebay do? Bike is no longer available, so you've just lost out. Ebay aren't going to ban them, because they'll just be losing a potential source of income!
If you wanted to be vindictive - another good way is to open a fake ebay account - bid/win their auctions and don't pay up. (I wouldn't do this myself, obviously 😀 )
At least ebay will still charge him fees even though he cancelled the sale.
I am interested in where I stand regarding breach of contract. Ebay told me that my contract is with the seller and that they are merely the platform for the sale. The annoying thing is that the only other model of this bike on the site at the moment is well over £500 what I shelled out, and there are upgraded components on top of that which bumps my effective loss up all the more. As I understood it, because he breached the contract, he's obligated to put me in the position I would have been in had the contract been performed, namely with my having the same model bike in my possession. I might be wrong though. I really am not sure where I stand legally, and I’ll maybe find some sort of English law forum to ask the question on. It’s infuriating.
You’ve already spent faaar too much time on this. If you want an easy, smooth ride, deal with a shop and buy new.
Really?
Guy made a mistake not putting a reserve on, no one is any worse off. If he had you still wouldn’t have the bike.
Move on.
Not sure how it works with auctions with no reserve, but a contract of sale is normally not complete until money has exchanged hands.
I had this with a computer component that was miss-priced on Amazon, they hadn't taken any money, so the contract wasn't complete.
You can deal with this through the civil courts. You would take him to court for the difference in price between what you would've paid and what the cost of a similar bike 2nd hand is. I've done it when buying something new and the seller withdrew. I personally would do it, but then I'm a git who believes people should be held accountable.
It may be worth asking for photo's of the damage etc to build up some more evidence.. Small claims court is relatively simple and you can already show you've tried to remedy the situation without success.
You guys are gits.
How would you find a 2nd hand bike that was identical (age, condition, components) to claim the difference? Easy with new stuff, less so with used.
Tell him exactly what you think of him in a private message, leave negative feedback, find another bike to buy.
Life is too short mate and ultimately you would be wasting time and possibly money chasing a ghost when you could be looking for another bike.
Leave negative feedback and concentrate your efforts on finding an alternative bike.
Wish you all the best in your search and sorry to hear you have been messed around like this.
Not worth your time, move on.
This plus lots. You're only pissed because you thought that you'd bagged a bargain below market value. Move on and find something else.
So to sumarise:
by your own admission the seller made an error.
Now you want to force them to live by the outcomes of that error solely because you're (not since you've not paid for it or actually lost anything) out of pocket?
EBay doesn't give the seller the option of cancelling the sale because "ah bugger", hence "damage".
Essentially you want them to be shafted so you can have a bargain.
If you'd missed the decimal point in your bid and ended up bidding way over the odds, would you expect them to take you to court for the money?
People make mistakes, sometimes you might be involved in it. 99% of the time, like now, you'll be completely unharmed by the experience, on those occasions don't behave like a petulant child and move on.
Leave bad feedback, that's what it's for then find another bike. It's only stuff.
[I]<span style="display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 22.4px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I am interested in where I stand regarding breach of contract. Ebay told me that my contract is with the seller and that they are merely the platform for the sale. The annoying thing is that the only other model of this bike on the site at the moment is well over £500 what I shelled out, and there are upgraded components on top of that which bumps my effective loss up all the more. As I understood it, because he breached the contract, he’s obligated to put me in the position I would have been in had the contract been performed, namely with my having the same model bike in my possession. I might be wrong though. I really am not sure where I stand legally, and I’ll maybe find some sort of English law forum to ask the question on. It’s infuriating.</span>[/I]
I'll save you the effort. You will get nowhere. Move on.
Really! neg feedback if you must then just move on.
I think you need to continue to chase up this person for the rest of your life.
OP, did the guy you bought the collection only bike off of take you to court to get you to drive down the country to collect it, or did he accept you'd screwed up and bought it in error? It's not the same bike is it?
Guy made a mistake not putting a reserve on,
Unlikely the seller made an error. There is a (not inconsiderable) fee to have a reserve, it's not something eBay provide for free! He is (most likely) simply trying to cheat the system to maximise his profits. Very common.So to sumarise:
by your own admission the seller made an error.
I would still be in the move on, life's too short camp though! Although leave neg feedback if possible.
Negative feedback if you can. You've not lost anything. Move on.
It's the same bike. I (among others) offered to collect it and arrange postage for him, not that it's relevant.
IMHO - there's 'screwed up' and there's playing the system. If there's a minimum you'll take for something put a reserve on it. But that seems to put buyers off (because they won't get a bargain?) and it costs more in ebay fees. Seller didn't, it went for less than he wanted, now he's inventing excuses why he won't sell. Cake and eat it.
As to "Essentially you want them to be shafted so you can have a bargain"
Nope - just reasonable that when someone enters an auction process, accept that sometimes you get more than you wanted, sometimes less.
I also say drop it, move on, life's too short FWIW, but it is wrong that sellers (and buyers) can do this and ebay allows it by and large. And i also think it's wrong that some people seem to be making the buyer out to be the bad guy when as far as I can see all he did was follow the rules, get lucky, and now want what he made a deal for.
If you ever sold something on ebay and got more for it than you expected - would you refuse to take the extra because the other guy was unlucky?
Hmmm sold a few things that went for way less than worth luck of the draw I guess, never anything serious though.
Had auctions cancelled on me a couple of times on bikes and a few times on parts that I have won the auction for a very cheap price. Last one was a mint Brooks Pro Ti for £60 which the seller cancelled straight away. It is annoying, but I tend to think that the Seller is expecting a fair price for what they are selling, so if it is seriously below that, and they dont want to go ahead then fair enough. That's their option. Personally I just move on and look else where (after maybe fuming for a bit...).
you see Andy, letting people off with it just creates the environment where it becomes OK to do that. You seem like a level, reasonable person, but you actually are the root of the problem. We need more anger and pitchforks. Grrrrrr! 😉
Find where he lives, start buying the pineapples:
May be negative feedback too
Hang on Otherjonv, my mob have already crossed from Berkshire into Surrey with burning torches and pitch forks out, to deal with your outrageous self entitlement that you should be getting a bargain and screw whoever is selling as they are just objects to be swept aside on your path to cheap tat domination..... 😉
Seriously though...Ebay doesnt help in this situation as the fee structure is bollocks. 10% final value fee whether is £1 or £1000, and on top of that if want to put a reserve on thats another hefty fee on top. I wonder how much activity has increased with the recent £1 final value promos
it's not even my cheap tat. That's how angry I am.
PS, anyone want a pair of Shimano road shoes, with Shimano road cleats. Hardly used. No reserve (it's not even on ebay yet)
It’s the same bike. I (among others) offered to collect it and arrange postage for him, not that it’s relevant
FWIW and this thread not withstanding, as soon as "i can't collect but..." came up I'd have cancelled assumed the OP was a scammer, and (if you still can) left bad feedback.
Contents of this thread considered I'd have counted my blessings and cancelled the sale.
My post does read harshly admittedly but, ultimately the OP knows hes under paying.
£50 or so, I'd think the seller really should just suck it up, but a third of the average take home monthly salary? No I'd have expected them to have vanished in seconds. (I'm guessing it's a fairly huge chunk of the actaul "value" too?)
Personally i wouldn't have deliberately listed anything for less than I'd take but i do know i geniunely couldn't afford to loose £500, if i were the seller at that point I'm really not sure what I'd do.
(It is easy done, I've got a listing up at the moment with an or best offer where I've got eBay's suggested figure for the rejection threshold instead of the one i know i typed but clearly didn't save, it only became apparent when i got an offer a few hundred less than the threshold i should have set. eBay suggests some very low figures indeed and you can't alter some of them once the auction is live, if you notice (i can't imagine they didn't, everyone watches their own auctions i assume) you have to either cancel and relist or wait it out and hope for the best)
Sounds like the seller sensed a pain in the arse buyer and cut him loose before getting into a string of post purchase grief.
The pineapple suggestion is good, but doesn’t really go far enough.
Kill yourself. And when your tainted spirit finds its destination, you will topple the master of that dark place. From your black throne, lash together a machine of bone and blood, and fueled by your hatred for the seller, this fear engine will bore a hole between this world and that one. When it begins, he will hear the sound of children screaming - as though from a great distance. A smoking orb of nothing will grow above his bed, and from it will emerge a thousand starving crows. As you slip through the widening maw in your new form, he will catch only a glimpse of your radiance before he is incinerated. Then, as tears of bubbling pitch stream down your face, the dark work will begin. You will open one of your six mouths, and sing the song that ends the world.
On the other hand, forget it and move on.
As has been said above. Setting a reserve is bloody expensive on Ebay. They want things selling cheap to attract more buyers to their service. Not great for sellers though especially durable things like bicycles
Essentially, I am in the position, because he reneged on the sale, of having to buy another similar bike, which are presently selling for considerably more than the [b]amount I obtained the bike for.[/b]
So you are in exactly the same position as you were before then ?
And you didn’t obtain anything, you just kept all of your own cash
The annoying thing is that the only other model of this bike on the site at the moment is well over £500 what I shelled out,
You didn’t shell out anything.
...and there are upgraded components on top of that which bumps my effective loss up all the more
You don’t have any “Loss” at all, effective or otherwise.
Seriously, I get that it’s a bit annoying , but you are carrying on like you’ve had your bank account emptied by some scammer 😳
Just move on, you’ve lost nothing.
To balance this I got a wheelset with a rohloff rear hub for quite literally pennies a couple of years ago. Reason - the bloke selling could not spell rohloff and I was sneaky enough to set search alerts on variations of the spelling as I know it's a brand name we brits struggle on and I was the only person to bid. He was gracious enough to sell it for what was quite a ridiculous price.
Getting too stressed about someone pulling out of an ebay purchase does mark you out as a bit of a twit*. Life is too short.
* I used another word, but hell I'm on holiday and in a good mood. Also have not used 'twit' for about 30 years and thought it needed a run out.
I'd have been more honest and just cancelled it because the buyer dicked me about by bidding on a collection only item that he wasn't in a position to pick up. Soz OP.
I sold a non-functioning Genelec monitor on eBay a while ago. It went for way over what I thought it would (sold for £200 when I expected £100ish).
I emailed the buyer to double check he knew it was broken, and I offered to meet him halfway on price, as I felt a bit guilty.
He just paid the full final price by paypal, and didn't even reply! Gave me good feedback too.
otherwise just find a different bike to buy and leave him negative feedback.
If he has cancelled the sale nobody will be leaving any feedback.
Not sure about that. I sold some forks cash on collection recently but the buyer paid PayPal the. Wanted to come and collect. I smelt a rat and cancelled transaction refunding him. He then started becoming abusive demanding I send him the forks at my cost ‘or else’ he then left me bad feedback, which eBay kindly removed for me when I pointed out how abusive and threatening he was being. I sold the forks for significantly less via Singletrack. I have since given up selling on eBay. Too many scammers and questionable activity.
I would say to the OP...just move on! eBay won’t do anything.
I’ve just realised (possibly a bit slow?)
is this the same bike deal that you said this about a few days ago...
I’ll likely have to ditch the transaction, and my spidey senses are telling me that it’s for the best
I presume, if it was, you would have been more than happy to be taken to the small claims court by the seller for the full sale price?
Because...
As I understood it, because he breached the contract, he’s obligated to put me in the position I would have been in had the contract been performed...
You can’t have thought that just applied to other people, and not you surely ?