What would you do???

Ok so I won't get into many details because we don't know where this is heading yet, and a legal matter may very well be the outcome.

So my buddy stubled across an auction on eBay, and ended up being the highest bidder winning a bike for an EXTREMELY killer deal.  Now, this was a no reserve auction meaning the highest bidder wins the item in question.  Well now the seller is trying to get out of the deal as the bike went for a lot lower than he was expecting, and said he would only let the bike go for triple the total winning price. Now my buddy being a good guy, wrote an email stating that he was aware the bike sold very cheap and offered an substantial extra fee if the seller was willing to help drop the bike off to the shipping company. Now my buddy isn't quite sure what to do as a next course of action. I keep telling him to keep the pressure on the seller, and he wants to and will, he is just unsure about how to go about it, and has to wait the mandatory time period with eBay.  We know eBay is a legal binding contract, and it states in the user agreements what the penalties can be for failure to abide by the contract. 

So my buddy is now looking into legal options, and going to contact the Federal Trade Commission  and the Attorney General for the State that the seller resides in.  Also contact his lawyer and see what his options are here, as an eBay auction is a legal contract.

What would you do in that situation? Anyone have any experience in this kind of matter?  Thanks in advance for any input or suggestions in advance.

happen to a guy buying a BMW a while back (a couple months)....don't know the outcome but there was a HUGE thread about how he went about handling it....

yeah i was browsing that thread lastnight he ended up winning the case. the head office made the dealership go through with the sale.  But this is a private seller, not a dealership, or we'd contact the head office of the dealership

Legal action...report the situation to Ebay, and leave bad feedback. Only hope that he can find another steal of a deal.
 
I'm under the impression the Ebay is based mainly on mutual agreement terms from seller to buyer. The seller clearly doesn't agree to the event and sounds like he may take a fall on bad judgement. May be kicked outta ebay for what happened, but I doubt that your friend is going to make out if the seller isn't "in agreement" with the transaction.

true, but i would forward that thread to the seller and tell them that you would obviously win in light of that case and that if you went forward legally, a court of law would find the same....it's just a tactic to make him comply with the contract...

edit: Northern...actually, that is a legal offer for sale...once accepted, he cannot just say "nope, i don't like it"....it's governed under the Uniform Commercial Code....

If it came up here, I would rule for the plaintiff (the buyer) and instruct the seller to deliver the goods within a specified period, or he would be in direct contravention of a court order. If he failed to make good on the contract, I would have him arrested, and I would fine him for contempt of court, probably end up getting far less for his bike then. e-Bay contracts are enforceable at law. There's abundant legal precedent for cases of this type, irrespective of which country you live in. A contract is a contract, and its BINDING on both parties. If the buyer didn't put a reserve on, he has only himself to blame.....

exactly my thoughts, and buddy has sold over 500 items on ebay, and seems to be running a business so he clearly knows how to use ebay and has other items listed with "Buy It Now" so he def knows about the usage. 

And ebay is a legal contract hence the reasoning for the statements that "you are entering into a legal binding contract once you confirm your bid"....same goes for the seller.  He has a lot of other items listed, and if i were to buy one for triple the selling price, do you think he'd let me out of the deal for just the cost he was hoping to get......DEFINITELY NOT!!! so this principle is the same, just in reverse. I mean I thought about buying everyone of his items, then deciding to tell him "Hmmm don't really want any of these unless you'll sell them at 1/3 the price..." and of course then he'd contact eBay....but I can't be bothered lowering myself to that level, or killing my 100% feedback.

BTW thanks for the input Shadow, I was hoping someone of your stature and experience would speak up!  I'll def be informing my buddy, and we will most def be pursuing this to the fullest extent, I mean the auction was at a VERY VERY low price at the 12 hr mark, and he didn't stop the auction, or apply a reserve price.

Damn, sounds like the seller better fess up and deliver or else grab his ankles. Best of luck

Sounds like alot time and money is going to be spent to get the bike. Is it worth it? and if he is forced to give it up, what did he do to it out of anger?
 
Not that you gave the price but if the bike was worth 6G and he won it for 2G I would go for it.

yeah, well its a better deal than a 6g bike for 2g's.....like i said, it was literally an AMAZING deal, and he won a next to new bike for less than 2g's.......so he is serious about taking this to a legal level.

And the bike is 100% working, with title, and new tires on it in the description, and has pics to prove that. so it has to be delivered the same way, or the seller will have to compensate for any damages.

That's an unfortunate deal right there. I wouldn't try to get the bike now. Imagine what a pissed off, ignorant seller would do to a machine that auctions for a third of its value: they put sugar in the gas tank or drain the brake fluid almost all the way so they don't feel as badly for losing so much money...yeah, report the problem, leave a red negative frowny-face, but don't try to collect on the item...all that bad energy goes straight into the bike. It's the same with dogs, really.

I hear you, Spirit, bu as a matter of priciple I'd still demand the bike be released to me - It'd be the easiest thing to tear down the brakes, drain the tank etc out of what you're saving - and if it goes to court, you could get an order as to legal costs of the action as well. which, given the circumstances, I'd be inclined to grant......
ALSO, if it could be proven, based on the original description, that he had maliciously attempted to damage the bike out of pure spite, you could claim for that, too, and any subsequent repairs and costs thereof......
It's sad that  he didn't take the precaution of setting a minimum price, or reserving his right to remove the item if sold elsewhere, but given the fact that e-Bay clearly WARNS you both that this is a BINDING contract, AND that he appears to be running a business on e-Bay, he would have no excuse for refusing to honour his end of the deal. Life is hard, sometimes. But that's why we have laws.
Oh, and by the way, your friend should make all reasonable attempts to pay for the bike, as per the advertisement, and have proof (if possible) that payment has been refused, then he can't lose it on a technicality of not paying within the time frame allowed. KEEP ALL CORRESPONDENCE in writing BETWEEN YOU, TOO. Hope this helps you, whatever you decide to do.

I second what Shadow said. You need to have your friend follow through with the sale on his end. Pay for the bike and if the guy refuses then there is even more proof that the guy is breaking a legal contract. Put legal pressure on this guy and don't back down.

I'd probably just leave negative feedback and move on. Not worth the hassle IMHO.

My buddy full out plans on taking this as far as he can now for sure, and for the cost of flushing all fluids, or rebuilding brakes....he is still coming out WAY ontop.  He wrote a very polite, and professional, but stern email lastnight as he hadn't gotten a response from the seller in days, and surprise suprise withing a few hours he got a response that was basically a big old **** off kinda deal. 

The email he sent back to my buddy said "you better get good counsel then!" and then went into how he doesn't even own the bike, his "buddy" owns it, and couldn't stop the auction because his computer was broken, and all this nonsense....so my buddy is basically going to write back "so you're admitting fraud then?  You attempted to sell an item you don't even own?  because that is an even bigger offence of eBay user's agreement and the law! and you live in XXXXXXXX(I'll keep the location out of this, but it is a very populated and modern place) and there is internet cafes everywhere you couldn't have gone to one to end the auction?"

At this point just have a lawyer do his thing. If need be file in court.

As a lawyer...i concur...i know you heard from shadow....and i completely agree with him....

there are few things that really "irk" judges...one of which are people attempting to weasel out of unfavorable contracts....the legal system is based on the idea that people, as consumers (commercial contracts are a little different), are able to freely contract with one another on their own terms and the court will only step in to prevent the performance of a contract under certain circumstances including such things as fraud, forgery, unconscionable, etc....here, there was no disparity in power between the parties and both entered into a contract for sale having the requisite state of mind needed to create an enforceable contract....because one person did not end up in a favorable position is not a concern of the court, but rather are the legal requirements met for creating a binding contract absent any legal situations that might remove the responsibility of one party from having to perform...

here...everything is in order and a valid contract was made...i see no reason not press forth as you you SHOULD be able to enforce the contract....or at the very least....obtain the fair market value of the bike (not necessarily the sale price)....

NOTE: this is not legal advice in any way. I may be off in some details as well as my contracts and commercial law is a little rusty...but overall, you SHOULD have a winner on your hands....just play it cool and work through the system....i am sure this guy doesn't want to go to court....just follow the process and he'll cave, he knows he's in the wrong...

Those excuses won't float - if the guy who advertised it did so with the permission of the owner, then he's the owner's agent, and is as responsible for what happens as the owner who's now out of pocket."broken computer" my ass -won't hold water - they are trying to wriggle out of it .
Only way would be if the bike was advertised without the owner's permission, and he's a minor, otherwise he's a gone scone. If owner didn't know (which is bull) fraud and theft come to mind, so sue the guy who advertised it. Gets a bit technical at that point, buy I'd go for them both in court, and maybe go for a writ of seizure by the court, pending a final judgement.

Go national
http://peoplescourt.warnerbros.com/contact.html
 
or maybe this would be fitting too
http://www.jerryspringertv.com/be_a_guest/be_a_guest.php

Wouldn't cost more to get a lawyer, pay the court fees, and the maintance on the bike? Why doesnt your buddy just say whatever and look for another bike?

well for one, he would likely get all his attorney costs and fees awarded back to him, so i wouldn't necessarily say that he would lose anything on this...

I see a lot of people stating: "Let it go, not worth the hassle"
 
I say Fight it with all you've got. If not for the bike, then because of the principle of the matter.
 
If we don't have the rule of law, we have nothing. A man's word should be his bond, and anyone who undermines that willingly is making humanity lesser as a whole.
 
Your friend recognized he had gotten an incredible deal, and that the seller might feel that he got screwed (he screwed himself) and he did the honorable thing by offering a bonus to help with the delivery. he didn't even have to do that.
 
Yes, a less than honorable person (which this seller seems to be) might yet do some really spiteful things that might even end up with you never getting the bike in the end, but it would end him up in jail for fraud or something similar.
 
I would take this thing all the way if I were you.
 
Contact EBAY and a lawyer ASAP, and definately attempt to pay the purchase.

Yeah my buddy is in the process of contacting eBay, but they want him to wait their specified times and all that non-sense.  But he is in contact with a few lawyers, and they are all laughing because they know its an easy case for them.  At this point, his offer of a bonus....has expired to say the least. He is already speaking with a shipping company and has arrangements starting. 

Mt buddy said the exact thing tonight, he could care less about the bike at this point, just the principle (I care about the bike lol...i was standing to benefit from this deal aswell  as we were going to trade bikes as his wife wanted an F4i, not the bike he purchased, and I would have been more than happy with this newer model ). 

But at this point, the seller should just make good on the deal.  He is claiming that he doesn't even have the bike, its a "buddy's" and it doesn't even have the same plastics on it as last time he saw it and all this non sense. But he showed pictures of the bike in near immacualte condition, showing VIN #'s, gauge cluster showing miles,  tires, and the only 2 scratches on the bike (both being VERY negligible). He also stated that "got rid of my woman, now the bike has to go", and that "i put new fairing on it last summer as girlfriend dropped it in the driveway", and he has the clear title, waiting to be registered in buyers name, and the bike runs 100% in the auction on eBay.  So he is pretty much hooped at this point, and my buddy is ready and willing to fight this out to the end.

Thanks to everyone that has posted so far, regardless of what was said ! I'll keep everyone posted as new developments arise.

My dad won a vette on ebay the guy backed out it was a big deal wound up not being able to do anything about it. We contacted the police did everything but It didn't work out. My advice from experince don't bother. If you pay enough for a lawyer you might win it but how much would it cost?