Sue Ebay non selling seller in small claims court

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rrdr

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I won an auction for an expensive piece of equipment ($4,500). The seller had listed this numerous times before at a higher price, which attracted no bidders. The seller started the auction I won at 4k and I won the listing for $4,500. I contacted the seller about scheduling pickup and was told that he would not sell me the item and some bullshit about the item being sold earlier that day (the auction ended at 8am in the morning, the seller is full of it). I can buy a near identical item buy it now on ebay for $4,500 over the final price of the auction I won ($9000). Can I sue the seller in his home state for the difference in what it would cost to purchase a nearly identical item, $4,500. Please let me know if you think I have a case I can win. I am located a few hundred miles from this seller, so I have no problem driving to their home state.
 
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It may be worth a shot but I'm not sure the ebay rules will support you. I'm not sure the seller has to sell.
 
Thanks for the reply, can you please let me know why you think the seller is not obligated to sell. The terms and conditions of the ebay user agreement state that the auction is a binding contract.
 
It seems it happened to me once and I was made as hell. Check the terms and conditions of the ebay site.
 
I am seeing binding contract language in numerous places, please let me know if you dont think this language will compel the court to issue a judgement in my favor.

Bidding is meant to be fun, but remember that each bid you place enters you into a binding contract. All bids are active until the listing ends. If you win a listing, you're obligated to purchase the item.
 
I'm not going to read the TOS for you, you make that decision. However, you might want to look at the section that talks about withdrawing an item, or stopping an auction. You may be able to get a judgment of liability. The real question is going to be how much did you actually lose. Showing that someone else sold that item for $9,000 is not necessarily going to set a loss amount for you. It think you are going to find establishing an "actual" loss amount is going to be difficult.

All that said, I'm not sure you will lose. Did he sell the item to someone else or just not sell it at all? I can see a Judge giving him the choice of selling you the item or getting hit with "some amount" of judgment.
 
Thanks again for you insight. In my opinion the ebay user agreement says this is a binding contract. Approx 14 hours before the listing ended the buyer added to the description "must meet my min bid". The seller could have set the min price higher or used a reserve price to set his "min bid". After the seller told me over the phone he would not sell me the equipment he filed a cancellation request through the ebay system, which I rejected. He claimed to have sold the item at a higher price to another buyer hours before the auction closed (8am). I highly doubt he sold the item to someone else. This was the 3rd time the seller attempted to sell the item over the last 3 weeks, the market would not pay his min bid of 6k the week prior and he added to the description hours before the close.

In regards to how much I actually lost. I would argue that by not selling me the item for my winning bid amount I will have to purchase a similar item (nearly the same machine, model, condition) from another seller at an additional cost of $4,500. I googled "some amount judgement", but could not find a definition, would you please expand on what that means. Thanks.
 
That means I didn't write it very well. In other words I have seen a judge say, "Sell them the item or I will decide how much you owe them for not doing it."

You very well may have a case. I still question how much you can recover. I can definitely see the Judge forcing the sale if he has equity power. Adding that line to the description AFTER the beginning of the sale or after your bid does nothing to the "contract." If he didn't make it a reserve auction he can't have a "minimum" price.
 
Ok, thanks again for your help. I think I have a reasonable case and the loss of time/filing fees are minimal.
 
No, I wish I could have but he was too far away and he had a better argument than you. I won a Ronald Reagan hand signed White house menu for $169. I was new to ebay and had no rating. He had in his offer a line that said he would not accept bids from people who had no rating. Even though I immediately contacted him at the end of the sale and offered to pay him right then and there he would not sell the item to me. I can't tell you how mad I was. I actually worked for Reagan and love memorabilia from that time period. Oh well.
 
Yes, from what I've read, i think I have to sue the scammer in his state, if anyone knows a way to file the case that allows me to sue scammer is my state please let me know.
 
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