Ordering items by request through a shop.

Remmy

Hi guys.

If someone was to request an order of a book from a shop and then subsequently realised they could get it cheaper somewhere else would the original bookstore have any recourse to insist payment because they are now out of pocket ,albeit marginally, for ordering something from their supplier that might not sell?

dermot_sheehan

Distance selling regulations, if they apply would allow you to cancel
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2001/en/si/0207.html

Remmy

dermot_sheehan wrote: »

Distance selling regulations, if they apply would allow you to cancel
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2001/en/si/0207.html

Thank you Dermot that has clarified some points for me. Just on that, in section (4) sub section (c) Where it states,

''for the supply of goods made to the consumer's specifications or clearly personalised or which, by reason of their nature, cannot be returned or are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly,''

Would that apply more to perishable goods i.e fresh produce ? Could someone requesting a certain edition of a book be construed as a 'consumer specification' would you think ?

Also if someone was to merely request that a bookstore order a book orally while in said bookstore and an employee of bookstore mentioned what the price of said book was in the country that it was originally sold in (lets say pounds sterling for illustrative purposes) but did not specify what the price would be to the consumer would that be likely to constitute a valid offer and would the consumer still have to cancel the order within 7 working days as under the act in your opinion?



Ps I read the charter and I think this post is okay but if not apologies and I will edit it.

Shelflife

They may not have any legal recourse or none that would be worthwhile chasing you for, but at the end of the day, they specifically ordered a book that you requested and obliged you by doing so, imo it would be a poor show if you didnt honour your side of the bargain.

coylemj

Shelflife wrote: »

They may not have any legal recourse or none that would be worthwhile chasing you for, but at the end of the day, they specifically ordered a book that you requested and obliged you by doing so, imo it would be a poor show if you didnt honour your side of the bargain.

+1 I can't say I sympathise with you if the shop is threatening to sue you. A bricks and mortar book shop has it bad enough competing with Amazon and the Kindle without someone ordering a book and then trying to weasel his way out of it by exploring section (4) subsection (c) of legislation to do with distance marketing.

You walked into the shop, looked someone in the eye and asked them to get you a book. While you may not have entered into an enforceable contract, morally I would say you have a duty to complete the deal, otherwise the bookshop will be asking everyone for a deposit for fear they will be left high and dry with a book they can't sell.

You said in your original post that the difference is marginal, swallow your pride and just buy the damn book.

Remmy

coylemj wrote: »

+1 I can't say I sympathise with you if the shop is threatening to sue you. A bricks and mortar book shop has it bad enough competing with Amazon and the Kindle without someone ordering a book and then trying to weasel his way out of it by exploring section (4) subsection (c) of legislation to do with distance marketing.

You walked into the shop, looked someone in the eye and asked them to get you a book. While you may not have entered into an enforceable contract, morally I would say you have a duty to complete the deal, otherwise the bookshop will be asking everyone for a deposit for fear they will be left high and dry with a book they can't sell.

You said in your original post that the difference is marginal, swallow your pride and just buy the damn book.

Well that is a fair point. I didn't view the issue like that beforehand. I'll purchase it from the original bookstore and treat it as a lesson to price an item from a few different locations before acting in future. No harm done.:)