Ebay Seller in a bind.... Need Advice

[ricker5]

What is the name of your state? NJ

The company I work for just sold a Limousine on Ebay. The problem is that the woman that put up the auction (as per the request of our boss), forgot to put a reserve on the bid. Boss (computer illiterate) just knew it was posted but without the knowledge of no reserve on it and now the car just sold for 20k less then the boss wanted. Well needless to say, the womans job is on the line. She is a single mother with 2 children and would hate to see her loose it over this.

Any suggestions on how the boss should handle this. He has already mentioned that he is not letting the car go for the price won at. Thanks for the help.

Buyer is in CA...

ps. just happend and the company hasent contacted the buyer yet. And when I say company it is a 4 person office staff.

 

[kevinfor]

ebay seller in a bind

I'm not an attorney. so standard disclaimers apply

when the lady posted the auction on ebay. I assume she was acting on behalf of the company as an employee.. and made an honest mistake. so the good news is she probably cannot be held "personally responsible" (meaning the buyer could not sue her directly ) but she would be subject to being fired with cause (although some states have "at will" employment meaning no reason is needed) it also depends on how the ebay account was setup.. in her name, the bosses name (or the company name etc)

when you sign up for Ebay it's a legal agreement..a binding contract.. Your Boss is legally required to sell the item to the seller at the winning bid price.. if he refuses. the buyer could file a lawsuit against the company. say the winning bid was $20k for a 2005 limo.. that has a blue book of $40k the buyer could either get a judgement to order the seller to give legal ownership of the car to him.. or be awarded $40k to buy a similar type car + court costs, legal fees.. etc.

what I suggest you do here is do NOT contact the buyer.. let time pass.. after awhile you can file a "non paying bid notice" on ebay.. if the buyer does not reply, ebay will allow you to cancel the auction.. your off the hook.. and you get back some of your fees.. You could also try contacting the buyer after 7-10days.. saying something like the auction had an error it was actually a 1983 Limo instead of a 2003.. but if he still wants to pay $60k for a 1983 car he's welcome to .. otherwise your happy to release him from his obligation to buy it.. then go on ebay and send a "both buyer/seller agree not to complete transaction" you both electronically sign (reply to the email) and your off the hook..

Kevin

 

[BelizeBreeze]

Nor for some CORRECT advice.

What is the name of your state? NJ

The company I work for just sold a Limousine on Ebay. The problem is that the woman that put up the auction (as per the request of our boss), forgot to put a reserve on the bid.

She was an agent of the seller.

Boss (computer illiterate) just knew it was posted but without the knowledge of no reserve on it and now the car just sold for 20k less then the boss wanted.

Although the boss MAY have a case of undue enrichment, it would be precarious at best. A lot depends on his contact with the buyer and how long the auction was in progress. In other words, did he know of have the opportunity to know.

Well needless to say, the womans job is on the line. She is a single mother with 2 children and would hate to see her loose it over this.

Her job can be 'on the line' if the boss got more than $50,000 above his price for the car. There is no legal issue here. He can fire her for this or just about any other 'non-protected' reason.

Any suggestions on how the boss should handle this. He has already mentioned that he is not letting the car go for the price won at. Thanks for the help.

That decision is NOT up to him any longer. It's up to the court should the buyer sue him for breach of contract.

Buyer is in CA...

Then the buyer would have to come to NJ to sue and, depending on the merits of the case and the amount of 'savings' forcing the sale would engender, it might be worthwhile.

ps. just happend and the company hasent contacted the buyer yet. And when I say company it is a 4 person office staff.

And this, if the buyer decides to sue, goes to motive of the seller. That the seller knew the price 'reserve' was not posted, that the sale was not cancelled and that by not contacting the buyer the seller did not attempt to 'mitigate' damages.

All a lot harder to explain to a judge than 'well I tried to tell the buyer it was a mistake.'.

 

[JETX]

I'm not an attorney. so standard disclaimers apply

Obvious from your post.... and now the CORRECTIONS!!!

when the lady posted the auction on ebay. I assume she was acting on behalf of the company as an employee.. and made an honest mistake. so the good news is she probably cannot be held "personally responsible" (meaning the buyer could not sue her directly ) but she would be subject to being fired with cause (although some states have "at will" employment meaning no reason is needed) it also depends on how the ebay account was setup.. in her name, the bosses name (or the company name etc)

A lot of 'assumptions' there.
The FACT is... the seller (employer, company, her, mail clerk, whoever) is responsible for completing the contract. 'Personal responsibility' has nothing to do with this.

when you sign up for Ebay it's a legal agreement..a binding contract.

Not really. When a person places a 'for auction' post on ebay, they are making an OFFER to sell. A contract isn't created until the auction closes with a BUYER making a qualified high bid.

Your Boss is legally required to sell the item to the seller at the winning bid price.

Correct.

if he refuses. the buyer could file a lawsuit against the company.

You are assuming the 'company' is somehow involved. We don't know that. The buyer could file a breach of contract suit against the SELLER (whoever that is (employee, employer, company, mail room clerk, etc.).

say the winning bid was $20k for a 2005 limo.. that has a blue book of $40k the buyer could either get a judgement to order the seller to give legal ownership of the car to him.. or be awarded $40k to buy a similar type car + court costs, legal fees.. etc.

[
That is flat out NOT correct. A plaintiff cannot sue for 'imaginary' damages. The seller would have to go out and find a comparable vehicle and purchase it. Then the 'damages' would be the difference between the 'deal'... and what the buyer actually had to pay for that comparable item.

what I suggest you do here is do NOT contact the buyer.. let time pass.. after awhile you can file a "non paying bid notice" on ebay.. if the buyer does not reply, ebay will allow you to cancel the auction.. your off the hook.. and you get back some of your fees..

And that is complete crap. There is NOTHING in this post to even suggest that the buyer won't contact the seller. In fact, if the 'deal' is as described, I will bet the buyer has already made contact... or will as soon as the sun rises in California.

You could also try contacting the buyer after 7-10days.. saying something like the auction had an error it was actually a 1983 Limo instead of a 2003.

Yeah, great advice.... LIE!!
Of course, that bit of 'advice' is crap also. All the buyer has to do is say... Tough!! You are responsible for the content and accuracy of YOUR ebay post.
And yes, the courts would agree.

Bottom line....
1) Your friend is likely to lose her job over HER mistake.
2) Your boss is an idiot if he holds his 'underling' liable for HIS failure to review her 'product'.
3) The buyer is likely to piss and moan a lot..... but will end up doing nothing other than filing a 'bad seller' complaint with eBay.
4) Ebay will send the seller a 'non-performing strike' and could cancel his seller account for his 'breach'. From my experience, this is not likely as their main goal is to KEEP sellers (that is where they make their money.... NOT from buyers). They normally give a non-performing seller THREE such strikes.

For more, go to: http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/inr-snad-process.html
and
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/seller-non-performance.html