serenius1221
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? PA
I'm a first-time Ebay seller - recently put my very first item (my brand-new, water-damaged iPhone) on auction after I was pushed in a pool with it in my pocket less than 24 hours after buying it. I saw that similar phones were selling big, so I put it up for auction.
During the auction, a buyer e-mailed me and asked if I would sell to him outside Ebay - me, not knowing how Ebay frowns upon this, called this person and spoke to them and said I would think about it. Then, after hanging up, I researched Ebay's policies on this and decided it would be better to cut ties with the buyer and let the auction end naturally.
The night before the auction ended, I hosted a party at the apartment I'm staying at - sometime during the party, the phone (in the box) disappeared. I know, I know, my bad luck. I must have been an axe murderer in a previous life or something.
Anyway, the next morning, the auction ended before I realized the phone was gone - the top bidder? The previous buyer who I spoke to on the phone.
I sent him a cancellation request as soon as I'd figured out what happened (after tearing the place apart) and he immediately wrote back saying he did not "believe my story" and that he'd be suing for non-performance if I didn't complete the transaction. Since then, I've been writing back and forth, trying to explain and conveying how I hope that, since I'm a first-time user, he can go easy on me and cancel.
He asked if I filed a police report, which I didn't (it was a broken phone that disappeared from a party, it seemed pretty futile to file a report for it, you know?).
Anyway, long story short: I have received NO money for the iPhone (the option to send an invoice still appears). I've explained that I have nothing to send him. Now, he's stopped writing back, but there's been no change in activity on the phone - no payments given, etc. I'm worried he's moving ahead to sue or at least researching his options, so I'm trying to research mine.
(Also, Ebay was not totally helpful - said that I basically had to work everything out with him and encouraged me to communicate only by the Ebay messaging center, so they could keep track of our conversations)
Can he sue me in small claims? What kind of legal recourse does he have? What kind of legal recourse do I have? Again, I have not received ANY of his money and have no item to send him.
I appreciate the responses in advance - I know this is a long, BIZARRE story, but THANKS!!!
I'm a first-time Ebay seller - recently put my very first item (my brand-new, water-damaged iPhone) on auction after I was pushed in a pool with it in my pocket less than 24 hours after buying it. I saw that similar phones were selling big, so I put it up for auction.
During the auction, a buyer e-mailed me and asked if I would sell to him outside Ebay - me, not knowing how Ebay frowns upon this, called this person and spoke to them and said I would think about it. Then, after hanging up, I researched Ebay's policies on this and decided it would be better to cut ties with the buyer and let the auction end naturally.
The night before the auction ended, I hosted a party at the apartment I'm staying at - sometime during the party, the phone (in the box) disappeared. I know, I know, my bad luck. I must have been an axe murderer in a previous life or something.
Anyway, the next morning, the auction ended before I realized the phone was gone - the top bidder? The previous buyer who I spoke to on the phone.
I sent him a cancellation request as soon as I'd figured out what happened (after tearing the place apart) and he immediately wrote back saying he did not "believe my story" and that he'd be suing for non-performance if I didn't complete the transaction. Since then, I've been writing back and forth, trying to explain and conveying how I hope that, since I'm a first-time user, he can go easy on me and cancel.
He asked if I filed a police report, which I didn't (it was a broken phone that disappeared from a party, it seemed pretty futile to file a report for it, you know?).
Anyway, long story short: I have received NO money for the iPhone (the option to send an invoice still appears). I've explained that I have nothing to send him. Now, he's stopped writing back, but there's been no change in activity on the phone - no payments given, etc. I'm worried he's moving ahead to sue or at least researching his options, so I'm trying to research mine.
(Also, Ebay was not totally helpful - said that I basically had to work everything out with him and encouraged me to communicate only by the Ebay messaging center, so they could keep track of our conversations)
Can he sue me in small claims? What kind of legal recourse does he have? What kind of legal recourse do I have? Again, I have not received ANY of his money and have no item to send him.
I appreciate the responses in advance - I know this is a long, BIZARRE story, but THANKS!!!
