I sold my guitar on ebay...and dont wanna go through with it...

[Oaksong]

If you fail to honor the agreement, which IS a legally binding contract, should the buyer REALLY wish to pursue it, a small claims action for breech of contract could be filed and won for very little money.

 

 

Yeah they could win. But I checked - damages is limited to the costs incurred, no lawyers fees, etc. Oh wait... that is what the refund handles.

 

If he refunds the money, it is OVER.

[etawful]

Yeah they could win. But I checked - damages is limited to the costs incurred, no lawyers fees, etc. Oh wait... that is what the refund handles. If he refunds the money, it is OVER.

 

 

Actually, if the buyer was expecting the item to use for a gig, those costs could include lost income. The reason there are no attorneys fees in small claims is because there are no attorneys in small claims (you knew that right?). Costs incurred would include filing fees for the complaint, fees for serving the complaint, lost wages from the time you spend preparing the complaint (and, for that matter, appearing in court), cost of the transaction, etc. Costs = real tangible costs of the breach of contract. When they say costs incurred, they mean you can't claim punitive damages (which you could in a higher court which in many cases would be triple the actual damages), etc. If you really want to know how I know all this, ask me how many years I worked as a paralegal.

 

Your whole argument boils down to exactly what I said "me first, {censored} everybody else". Your ethics are abysmal and are, as I said, a perfect example of what's wrong with E-Bay (and, as I also said, the country as a whole).

 

People with integrity abide by the deals they voluntarily agree to or they work in cooperation with the person they made the agreement with to change the terms of the agreement. They do NOT unilaterally decide "{censored} the other person, I don't want to abide my agreements and obligations".

 

Anyone with the slightest bit of ethics and/or morals would follow through on what they agreed to, not find a way to weasel out of it. Obviously, that leaves out a few individuals in this thread doesn't it?

 

Little hint: Saying "someone screwed me in the past so it's okay for me to do whatever the {censored} I want in the future" doesn't make you a good person. It just makes you as low as the person that screwed you.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

Eh, not it's not his guitar. Once it sold on ebay, it became the buyers guitar. He merely is the person responsible for shipping it now.

 

 

Ebay would not agree with you, the closure of an auction and payment from the buyer does not constitute a completed sale. If you contact the seller and refund and cancel the transaction the ownership is never transferred until you carry out an act that constitutes your agreement to transfer ownership.

 

Merely paying for an item does not constitute transference of ownership, the owner of the in this personal property has to acknowledge transferral of ownership, and the owner of the personal property is fully entitled to cancel any transaction regarding personal property simply by returning in full any monies or other goods gievn in payment against such a sale.

 

Laws surrounding chattels, as a guitar would be, are heavily in favour of the owner and have been for a long time, so that people are not easily coerced, tricked or in any other way parted from their personal property without their full consent.

 

Try forcing a shop the next time they mis price something to accept your money when they realise they have incorrectly priced it.......you'll get done for theft before they'll get done for not carrying through a transaction

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

Your ethics are abysmal and are, as I said, a perfect example of what's wrong with E-Bay

 

 

Ebay is wrong in so many ways anyway, and a lot more than a simple owner not wishing to complete a transaction which if you look in your Bill of Rights or Constitution, you should find that is not compelled anyway.

 

Capitalism is all about rights of ownership, your country lives and dies on it

[etawful]

Merely paying for an item does not constitute transference of ownership, the owner of the in this personal property has to acknowledge transferral of ownership, and the owner of the personal property is fully entitled to cancel any transaction regarding personal property simply by returning in full any monies or other goods gievn in payment against such a sale. Laws surrounding chattels, as a guitar would be, are heavily in favour of the owner and have been for a long time, so that people are not easily coerced, tricked or in any other way parted from their personal property without their full consent.

 

 

I would agree, if not for the existence of a contract (which both parties entered into via their user agreement with E-Bay). If you have a contract between parties stating that property x will be exchanged for $Y. Once $Y is received by the seller, the contract binds him to deliver the property. Failure to do so places him in breach of contract unless the buyer agrees to a modification of the original contract.

[knotty]

Oh and Knotty, my eBay name is oxygene23. I've been there for ten years and have over 300 positive feedbacks. I bust my ass to keep my buyers happy, and if there's a problem on either end, I work with them to solve it. I've also done thousands of dollars of good business with the members of this forum. That's my real name on my Soundclick page too, just in case you want to cross the line into full-scale creepiness.

 

 

So whats your problem? (apart from the sanctimonious attitude).

[foppy]

Sold for less than you were hoping for, eh?

[etawful]

Ebay is wrong in so many ways anyway, and a lot more than a simple owner not wishing to complete a transaction which if you look in your Bill of Rights or Constitution, you should find that is not compelled anyway. Capitalism is all about rights of ownership, your country lives and dies on it

 

 

And hell, what does it matter if people follow through with their agreements or not. Hell, using your standards, the French could have just said "{censored} You" after they got paid for the Louisiana Purchase and just given the money back right?

 

Capitalism is reliant upon parties to contracts complying with their contractual obligations. Without that, you don't have capitalism, you have a bastardized system. Little hint: Rights of ownership are conveyed to other parties via contractual obligations, and you can and do transfer ownership via contract. It's done millions of times a day with everything from purchasing a multi-billion dollar business to buying a car.

[BryanMichael]

As a long time Ebayer with a stellar reputation, I would say that your should honor your deal- it "waters down" Ebay when people don't.


THAT SAID,

The bottom line is that this person is some stranger and you don't owe anyone {censored}. Your happiness is ultimately what matters. Take this as a lesson learned, tell the buyer you are sorry, refund their money ASAP and keep your beloved guitar, but also be prepared for the consequences of negative feedback.

Your happiness>than some anonymous business deal on the internets.

KEEP THE GUITAR.

[knotty]

I think a surprising number of people on this thread forfeit their right to complain about bad deals or buying counterfeit. If you can condone breaking a deal so easily where do you draw the line?
If you deliberately break a deal your 'word' is useless forever.
Or it is where I was brought up. ( Camden Town, London)

[ArKay]

Yeah, this thread is pretty scary.

[BryanMichael]

I think a surprising number of people on this thread forfeit their right to complain about bad deals or buying counterfeit. If you can condone breaking a deal so easily where do you draw the line? If you deliberately break a deal your 'word' is useless forever. Or it is where I was brought up. ( Camden Town, London)

 

 

What are you a {censored}ing knight of the round table? My brother is an honest guy, but I'm sure if I think about it, he's probably broken his word to me once or twice in the last 40 years- doesn't mean I don't trust him. Same with girlfriends, bosses, friends, bandmates, and....people and general! How old are you? {censored} happens. The OP had all intention of selling this to solve his problem. Now he's found a better way to solve it. Unfortunately it involves "breaking his word" to some stranger that he has never met. In a perfect world.......

 

I say your own happiness is greater than what amounts to some capitalist obligation to some stranger. End of story.

[mistersully]

I say your own happiness is greater than what amounts to some capitalist obligation to some stranger.

 

 

it's my experience that people who put 'their happiness' above doing the right thing, are seldom happy

[Engl Kramer]

In the mean time the OP has made a sound decision based on the advice he asked for, acted on the advice and subsequently lost interest in the endless bitching and pompous one-upmanship that will doubtless carry on until everyone has had a go of the last word.
He said he was gonna do the right thing - end of.

[ac30guy]

Man up. Not sending it is not acceptable. If they bid, you wouldn't be accepting of a "i changed my mind and am not going to pay" after the auction. Grow a pair and send the dude his guitar.

[BryanMichael]

it's my experience that people who put 'their happiness' above doing the right thing, are seldom happy

 

 

Not in my world. People that "did the right thing" married people they didn't love, stayed in abusive relationships, stayed "trapped" in jobs they hated until they were bitter, gave up things they loved for others, wasted years upon years in college because it was "the right thing" to do, etc... instead of once asking "does this make me happy?"

 

In a perfect world, none of this would happen, but all of this "legally binding contract" nonsense is bull{censored} really because states have their own contractual laws and most states have a "cooling off" period for any contract wherein the parties can reconsider. In this case, it's really no harm, no foul. The buyer will get their money back and be out NOTHING except being disappointed. The seller knows his reputation might take a ding, but he will keep his guitar, and ultimately be happier in the long run. If that buyer has the money, he will find the good one way or another.

[mistersully]

Not in my world. People that "did the right thing" married people they didn't love, stayed in abusive relationships, stayed "trapped" in jobs they hated until they were bitter, gave up things they loved for others, wasted years upon years in college because it was "the right thing" to do, etc...

 

 

that's not what i meant... at all

 

anyway....

[Yavin]

Either choose good or evil OR send the dude an email, the most honest factual report you can muster up. Don't pour your heart out, just explain and ask if he'd accept a refund. Just make it abundantly clear that you are still cool to sell it, don't put any guilt on him, see if he'd take a refund and if not, happily and graciously send it to him, you are under a contract.

 

 

This. You are contractually bound to sell it and your good name is on the line. If he is gracious and will understand, fine. If not box her up and ship her away. I would always be thinking of how I hosed the buyer every time I played it from now on if I backed out of the deal.

 

Sucks though, and I hate it for you.

[etawful]

I think a surprising number of people on this thread forfeit their right to complain about bad deals or buying counterfeit. If you can condone breaking a deal so easily where do you draw the line? If you deliberately break a deal your 'word' is useless forever. Or it is where I was brought up. ( Camden Town, London)

 

 

This, +1,000,000.

 

Hell, I was brought up in Arizona and I was taught the same thing. You either have honor and integrity in all of your dealings, or you have none at all. It's that simple.

 

At least I have a list of people I know not to buy from on the spam thread.

 

And I'll say it again . . . the same people saying it's okay to just back out would be bitching the loudest if a seller backed out on them and talking about how bad E-Bay sucks, the seller sucks, anyone who disagrees with them sucks, and so on.

[Oaksong]

Actually, if the buyer was expecting the item to use for a gig, those costs could include lost income. The reason there are no attorneys fees in small claims is because there are no attorneys in small claims (you knew that right?). Costs incurred would include filing fees for the complaint, fees for serving the complaint, lost wages from the time you spend preparing the complaint (and, for that matter, appearing in court), cost of the transaction, etc. Costs = real tangible costs of the breach of contract. When they say costs incurred, they mean you can't claim punitive damages (which you could in a higher court which in many cases would be triple the actual damages), etc. If you really want to know how I know all this, ask me how many years I worked as a paralegal. Your whole argument boils down to exactly what I said "me first, {censored} everybody else". Your ethics are abysmal and are, as I said, a perfect example of what's wrong with E-Bay (and, as I also said, the country as a whole). People with integrity abide by the deals they voluntarily agree to or they work in cooperation with the person they made the agreement with to change the terms of the agreement. They do NOT unilaterally decide "{censored} the other person, I don't want to abide my agreements and obligations". Anyone with the slightest bit of ethics and/or morals would follow through on what they agreed to, not find a way to weasel out of it. Obviously, that leaves out a few individuals in this thread doesn't it? Little hint: Saying "someone screwed me in the past so it's okay for me to do whatever the {censored} I want in the future" doesn't make you a good person. It just makes you as low as the person that screwed you.

 

 

Good to know.

[turdadactyl]

My take...you put the guitar up for sale and it sold. It's no longer yours. Therefore, the discussion needs to be "Mr. Buyer, would you be interested in selling your new guitar back to me? If so, how much?"

 

Maybe he says "give me the same amount I gave you." Maybe he says "no thanks. Send me my guitar." Either way, you need to honor it.

 

If you go about it that way, fine. On the other hand, you're scum if you do any of the things the other people suggested like:

a) Lying in any way shape or form

b) Just saying "nevermind I'm keeping it."

[poolshark]

[token and unnecessary moral outrage]

[Yavin]

The bottom line is that this person is some stranger and you don't owe anyone {censored}. Your happiness is ultimately what matters.

 

 

Hmm. Actually he does owe him something. A guitar he paid for and bought in good faith under the ebay contract.

 

Also, where is it written that your happiness is what ultimately matters? If everyone lived by this we would be in a huge mess where everyone is in a free for all to get what they want regardless of who they hurt. This attitude is so self centered and selfish that it causes a wake of broken relationships where ever it is applied. There is a big difference in not being selfish/self centered and being a doormat for others to take advantage of.

[etawful]

Due to the way ebay works, I have a hard time seeing the ebay thing a 'contract' on the same level as say.. buying a house. I am probably wrong legally, but whatever.

 

 

The only real difference is the dollar amount and which court it would be litigated in.

 

Hell, under many circumstances if you verbally agree to sell an item at a given price or to perform a certain task for a certain amount of money, you still have a legally binding contract. It's harder to prove, but verbal contracts can be as binding as written ones if there is sufficient proof that both parties made the agreement willingly.

[Oaksong]

Ok people, I think this is getting out of hand. People are calling each other scum and evil and such. This is the INTERNET, you don't know the people, and communications are never as clean and elegant as we might want them to be.