OnlineBiddingFrenzy.com
Can somone sue me over a not paid item on ebay?
I recently bid on an auction, and wanted to try out an ebay sniping program called JBidwatcher. I entered how much I wanted to bid, and selected the right auction, and then in the last 10 seconds it bid for me, and I won the item. Unfortunately, the program bid way more than I had entered! I explained to the seller that the software had glitched or something, and he threatened to sue me! I realize it is an inconvenience, but there is an option to offer the item to the second highest bidder for their maximum bid. I don't know why he isn't willing to do this. Would he have a chance in court over an issue like this?
Public Comments
- No. The worse he can do is file a complaint with eBay to get your account canceled. And/or leave negative feedback.
- No he can not take you to court over it. He will have to file an unpaid item with ebay and you will get a negative comment from him and possibly a bad strike from ebay but that only means you didn't pay and that's all it means. You can also leave him feedback that say's something like.. "The bid was out of my control and he didn't listen to me"
- I think he would have a chance. I would not back down if it had been done to me and I don't think most people would since the object is to make as much money as possible. That is why when I bid on something, I am very careful and don't try to game the system (because sometimes when you game a system, you can loose).
- Maybe you did accidentally put in the wrong max bid on the sniping program, but if it was a mistake and way too expensive no he can't sue you, but like the others' said he can file a complaint and leave negative feedback. I would offer to pay for his listing fees so he can re-list the item and not have to pay twice to list the item. It is fairly inexpensive and would be a nice gesture. EDIT: the person above me thinks he would have reason to sue. You can sue anyone you want but it doesn't mean you win. He wouldn't get anything if he sued you, maybe if he sent you the item and you did a chargeback on your credit card or something. Even though you are basically in a contract when you bid on ebay all contracts can be broken if there is not a meeting of the minds and since you did not mean to bid as high as you did, I don't think you would be legally bound. I think it would be a waste of time and he is just threatning you.
- He might be able to file against you in small claims court; a man in my town was not only successfully sued for nonpayment on eBay, he also ended up facing criminal charges because he was selling items (and accepting payment) for things he didn't actually own.
- your bid is a legally binding contract.....if he sues...he wins.... Unlike others here whom have obviously not bothered to read the fine print...it states that by bidding you are entering into a legally binding contract......the fact that you chose to try and work the system and it burned you...is NOT an excuse..nor a reason to void the contract...actiually he may be able to offer it to the second highest bidder and come after you for the difference between the two prices...
- Yes he can sue you - and more importantly he can win. If you read the language on the eBay site you'll see where it plainly says that a bid is a binding contract. Now, what he can sue you "for" is what he's out. He's required by contract law to mitigate his damages. That means he has to make reasonable efforts to limit how much he's out. At the most his actual damages would be his re-listing fees, and the amount by which your winning bid exceeded the winning bid in the new auction. The bad news - for him - is that he would have to sue you in YOUR State, not his, and travel costs etc are not recoverable. Richard
