Ebay seller reneging, any legal recourse?

gaillimh2010

I have a little Ebay drama unfolding as we 'speak'. On the look out for a small boat for summer fishing, I have been keeping an eye on Ebay and donedeal.ie for something affordable. On Saturday, May 15th I had a bid of €1,820 accepted as the winner for a boat (item 270577250536) on Ebay from a seller in Waterford.

Delighted, I e-mailed him on Sunday - no reply. E-mailed again on Monday - no reply. His number was on the listing, so on Tuesday evening, I rang him. He never got my e-mails, of course! Then, "I didn't even know it was up on Ebay, they didn't tell me they were putting it on". "Who didn't tell you?", I asked. "Ebay never told me they had it up", he said. Well, needless to say, I suspected already I was dealing with a bluffer. He added that "they were sorting out contact details or something. Anyway, I sold the boat on Wednesday as I had it advertised somewhere else". I knew that because I had seen it on donedeal.ie for €2,950. I politely informed him that I would check his story with Ebay and leave appropriate feedback, which I did.

It was no surprise, of course, to log on to donedeal.ie again on Friday, May 21, to discover 'my' boat for sale again, now at €2,750, by the same fellow. Now, the guy is obviously out for profit and no harm there, but clearly has no regard or respect for Ebay and its users. I understand that Ebay buyers and sellers undertake a legally binding contract when they list and bid, but how binding really? Do I have any recourse to the courts, even the small claims court, given that I have clear evidence that he wilfully reneged on his contract as a seller?

gaillimh2010

I should add that there was no payment made as his listing specified cash on collection. Indeed, he added 'no Paypal' in bold! So, the only communication that occurred after I won the item was the phone call, as he had ignored my e-mails.

jor el

you have no legal recourse, as this is a private sale and not covered under consumer protection. All you can do is report the seller to eBay and leave negative feedback.

gaillimh2010

There's a little subplot too! On Friday evening I had bid on a similar size boat from a seller in Mayo. I was beaten by a bid of €2,000. Still a good deal for the buyer, I thought. Well, guess what? On Monday, that particular boat materialised for sale on donedeal at €2,800 (it's now down to €2,600). Guess who the seller was? My friend in Waterford! My point here is this: he clearly is not the Ebay greenhorn he made out to be with nonsense about not knowing they had put his boat for sale, when he was bidding and winning another boat on the very same page one day before I won his listing. Both boats are up now side by side on the donedeal page.

gaillimh2010

jor el wrote: »

you have no legal recourse, as this is a private sale and not covered under consumer protection. All you can do is report the seller to eBay and leave negative feedback.

But it states all over Ebay that there is a binding contract between a seller and bidder. Meaningless guff then by Ebay?

RasTa

He still will have to pay €180 in ebay fees for that sale.

jor el

gaillimh2010 wrote: »

But it states all over Ebay that there is a binding contract between a seller and bidder. Meaningless guff then by Ebay?

Largely, yes. It is a legally binding contract, but who's going to enforce it? eBay won't get involved, past telling the offending party to go through with the deal, which said party can choose to ignore. In a private sale, there are no laws to protect either side, and no one to enforce the sale.

Same goes for a buyer that pulls out of a purchase. No one can force the buyer to pay up, all you can do is report the issue and leave negative feedback (which a seller can't even do any more).

gaillimh2010

RasTa wrote: »

He still will have to pay €180 in ebay fees for that sale.

How so? Thought there was a maximum of only $50 or so on final value fees for sellers.

CJhaughey

Not saying you should do this, but if enough people won the Ebay auctions he lists the FVF's will quickly mount up.

gaillimh2010

CJhaughey wrote: »

Not saying you should do this, but if enough people won the Ebay auctions he lists the FVF's will quickly mount up.

Sorry, I don't quite follow...

CJhaughey

If enough seperate ebay accounts win his auctions he will have a lot of fees to pay.