sale of merchandise

[jfj77tx]

texas.. i have 25 gumball machines. a business aquaintance
said he had a buyer. he took my machines to him. approx. two weeks later, i received a letter from the company that took my machines, stating that some of them needed repair, and they would send my money to me when they found the parts for the machines, and they were fixed. the machines were in working order when they took them.

this man took possesion of my property. doesn't this mean he does owe the money? there was no contract. he was going to take them as is. because he took/and has possession, isnt he obligated to send the money to me? thank you in advance.

 

[JETX]

This could have been a very simple issue IF you had a written purchase or acceptance agreement. Instead, it has become very complicated and, very probably a loss for you.

In order to answer your questions, we would have to have been a 'fly on the wall' during all the conversations and verbal agreements that you both made.

With that in mind, let me try to answer your questions:

Q1) "this man took possesion of my property. doesn't this mean he does owe the money?"
A1) Not necessarily. You could have said, "Take this junk. I don't want it", or "Give me $3.00 for it", or "I will never sell this", or any of the thousands of possible scenarios in between. Without any ACTUAL understanding of what you were delivering, and what the 'buyer' was paying, how could anyone determine either of your obligations?

Q2) "there was no contract. he was going to take them as is."
A2) Your statement basically says it all.... there was NO contract and he was going to TAKE them as is. Where is their any agreement that he was going to PAY for the items? And when he was going to pay?

Q3) "because he took/and has possession, isnt he obligated to send the money to me?"
A3) You say, 'obligated'. By what?? Your own admission is that there was NO contract, so what would make him 'obligated' to do anything???

Basically, unless you have anything you haven't told us, the 'buyer' can simply claim that you GAVE him the items and he has no obligation to pay you anything!!!! Or that you never owned them in the first place and they have ALWAYS been his!! What do you have to prove to the contrary???

 

[jfj77tx]

texas... steve, thank you for your quick response. in the letter they sent back to me, the gentleman does state that he will send the 250.00 when he fixes the machines. thanks again