Lost bargain on ebay..

[steve99]

I've won an ebay auction and the seller won't complete - can I take small claims action?

I've been watching a really nice car that has been listed on a few classic car sites at about £3.5 - 4k; it hasn't sold and I think it is only worth about £3200.

The car came up for sale on ebay with no reserve and I won, a fantastic bargain price of £2000 !
A cancellation came through after the auction finished and ebay had emailed me to say that I'd won - the seller immediately re-listed the car for £4000 with a private plate that they claim is worth about £800 alone.

I think I've really missed out on a bargain as assuming the seller's price is right on the plate the car looks to be worth the £3200 I estimated. :(

Can the seller just decide not to sell me the car after an auction with no reserve has ended? If they'd completed the sale that profit would have been mine and I'm sure they'd be pursuing me if I agreed to buy and the didn't?

What is the likelihood of a small claims action for the difference between the auction price and the current market value based on the sellers adverts and sale price of other similar cars?

[pink-kittens]

The action eBay will take is a mark against the sellers account. I think it's 2 marks and your account is given sanctions such as restricted selling or buying. I'm not sure with the quoted text why eBay are saying they are dealing with it but I suspect you have received an automated response worded exactly the same as if you had bought a dress.

Imagine you went to look at the car because the seller accepted your bid. Imagine that when you arrived to collect the car there was a massive dent in it or it wouldn't start or a huge oil leak wass apparent, would you have handed over your cash? No, so that clause is effectively the buyers get out one, and is just letting the seller know that. But it also works for the seller too.

There is a Cars and Motors discussion forum on eBay itself and you may find that very helpful, but seriously, I would stop letting this spoil your day and move on. You're miffed because you missed out on a bargain through someone else's inefficiency and whilst unfair, it is not something you should dwell on

Good Luck

[Notveryhappy]

As you have declined the sellers request to cancel the transaction, they will not get their final fees back.

So they are lumbered with a bill of 10% of the final selling price, plus his original fees for actually listing the car.

That has to be some comfort :-)

[citylaw]

Contracts concluded on eBay are legally binding and enforceable (http://www.e-sue.co.uk/recent_work.htm).

A binding contract is formed with the highest bidder when the time is up, similar to the fall of a hammer in an auction.

The seller's promise to send the goods coupled with the buyer's promise to pay the price bid forms the binding contract, whether or not the goods are sent or the payment is made.

If you 'win' something valuable for a small bid, but the seller refuses to part with the item, you can sue in the county court for the loss of bargain suffered. However if you are selling and your buyer refuses to pay, the court would expect you to mitigate your loss by relisting your item and getting what you can for it. Technically you could then sue for any shortfall, but this is likely to be a smaller claim than a seller refusing to sell a valuable item to a low bidder.