Buying on Ebay

[pcatterall]

Just agread to buy a small cheap yacht on ebay. I know the model and will be happy with it as long as it is generally as described. Its in the water and will be trailered out for me to collect. The buyer wants me to pay in full I just want to send a deposit and pay the balance in cash when I am certain that the hull is in acceptable condition. I dont expect it to be perfect but it could be full of osmosis and dropping to bits for all I know.
I have assured the vendor that I am not a time wasting tyre kicker and asked him to see it from my point of view. At this stage I cant be sure that he even owns the boat, I could part with my dosh and never see it or the boat.
What does the panel think?

 

[TRH]

When you said you agreed to buy do you mean you bid on it, or was it a Classified add. If you bid, you bid to buy, that means you must be happy to bid blind or view the boat first.My idea of Excellent is not yours or anyone other person's so be sure of what you are buying.

 

[Jaytac]

Congrats! You've bought a boat

Bit late now to make a conditional offer. The time to do that was before you made an unconditional offer. and it was accepted

Good news #1 is that you know it floats Good news #2 is that it is re-saleable on e-bay

If the deal was delivery onshore I would only pay at that time - otherwise you might be trying to borrow a dink..........

Ownership? I guess you could argue over only a simple receipt being offered and use that as an excuse to back out. If you do that once the boat has come ashore onto the trailer don't forget to kick a tyre on the way out...........

E-bay, it's not dating - it's marriage

 

[jack_tar]

Hi

Well it all depends what you have agreed on in the first place, if it states in the advert, to be paid in full at the end of the auction then I guess you are under some obligation to do so. or at least you can not plead ignorance.
Did you make it clear to the vendor that you wanted just to pay a deposit and the rest subject to your satisfaction once the boat is out of the water ?

What if you are not satisfied when you get to see the boat. do you expect the vendor to say. Ok mate no problems and let you walk away, after beating his other bidders. I know how i would feel about it.

A difficult situation, from both sides i suspect. as usuall in these things it pays to know what you are bidding for and what the arrangements really are. I suspect that everything will work out fine. Perhaps you can offer to go and help get the boat out of the water, or something, or even up your offer by a couple of percent if he will accept a deposit prior to inspection, and the balance in cash on the day

 

[Richard10002]

How soon are you going to see it? I've often bought things on ebay and agreed to collect in person, paying cash on collection - sometimes a week or so after the sale is agreed. What's he going to do if you dont send all the money? Has he got a queue of buyers?

As long as it's within a reasonable period, I'd be telling him you'll pay the lot when you have seen the boat and made sure it's as described.

Just my 2 penn'orth.

 

[sailorman]

Just agread to buy a small cheap yacht on ebay. I know the model and will be happy with it as long as it is generally as described. Its in the water and will be trailered out for me to collect. The buyer wants me to pay in full I just want to send a deposit and pay the balance in cash when I am certain that the hull is in acceptable condition. I dont expect it to be perfect but it could be full of osmosis and dropping to bits for all I know.
I have assured the vendor that I am not a time wasting tyre kicker and asked him to see it from my point of view. At this stage I cant be sure that he even owns the boat, I could part with my dosh and never see it or the boat.
What does the panel think?

assume you were offered inspection prior to a bid

 

[graham]

Ebay

You can see the sellers point of view. He has sold the boat to you and wants paying to ensure you are genuine.

If i were you I would pay a deposit now via paypal then take the rest in cash on collection (Point out to the buyer that this will save him money in paypal fees).Provided you collect the boat quickly ie within a week the seller wont have time to do much about it.

Good luck. We recently bought a small boat on ebay and are very pleased with the boat and the way the transaction was done.

We went to look at the boat before bidding. Personally I wouldnt gamble hundreds of pounds on a few photos and a sellers description.

For years I wouldnt do ebay but recently changed my mind on it and have bought and sold some stuff without any problems so far.

 

[Fire99]

The reality is that you are entering into a contract with the seller once you place a bid.

You are agreeing to pay the price you won the item with. However, that is dependant that the seller has advertised the item correctly and the information given is a fair description of the item.

It is reasonable for more expensive items, to pay a deposit and the balance on inspection.

I believe, if you pay by Paypal you have the ability to recoup your money should the item not be as described but i'm not certain of the money limits on that one.

 

[oGaryo]

as far as I am aware, just because you bid via Ebay it still doesn't detract from your right to dispute the accuracy of a product description and refuse to pay if it wasn't accurate or if paid, to demand a full refund... this is especially true if they're a business.. go to the postage and payment tab, have a look at the returns policy and click on 'buyers rights', it's all in there

I would give a small deposit to show you're serious and that you'll turn up on the day

 

[ghostlymoron]

AFAIK normal auction rules apply to ebay transactions. ie money due when hammer falls. BUT I wouldn't part with cash until I've seen the goods. With hindsight, it would have been wise to view before you bid. If the vendor won't deliver until you pay, you could go and collect and pay when you sre happy.

 

[pcatterall]

Thanks guys for your ( mixed) responses.
The agread price was £1750 I went to look at 2 other boats over the weekend but not this as it was in the water and time was against me.
I have offered £200 deposit and the rest by cash on collection ( any time he likes)
I just thought it was prudent not to part with the rest of the cash until I have seen the vendor, on site with a boat that he can demonstrate is his and with a reasonable hull.
I have assured him that I dont want to haggle, if the boat is substantially as described then the cash will be handed over.
This is the way I have bought and sold most of my family cars over the years and it has worked well.
To see before you buy is always good advice but this would often require driving to view many boats/cars then be outbid.
I dont really think it is the case but this guy could be a complete crook from a 'foreign country'. I thnk I would be foolish to part with the money at this stage.

 

[Lakesailor]

erm.... you still haven't told us if it was an auction or a Classified Ad.

 

[pcatterall]

Auction.

 

[surekandoo]

You could use ebay's escrow system where the money is held in an escrow account until vendor & buyer are completely satisfied.

I'm trying to sell a boat on ebay at the moment and am encouraging potential buyers to meet me and view the boat.

I've had the usual stupidly low offers, but 3 serious viewers and a couple of offers close but not close enough to the current asking price.

 

[oldharry]

You can not bid conditionally on Ebay. IF you enter the winning bid you are legally obliged to pay the agreed price for the goods and you have entered a legal contract to do that, within any time limitation stipulated at the time of the auction. If the vendor has failed to describe the boat properly and effectively concealed serious faults, then your only recourse is either to persuade him to cancel the deal, or to enter a 'Goods not as described' complaint against him to Ebay. They will then decide whether or not you have a good enough reason to cancel the deal.

What you can not do - although people try it on, is to bid, then try to re-negotiate the price. The vendor can then enter a 'non paying buyer' strike against you with Ebay, which they take quite seriously. Last time I had to do that the buyer was thrown off Ebay altogether.

EBay takes the view that it is down to the bidder to establish for himself the condition of the item before he bids, and bid accordingly. If there are problems with the boat your maximum bid should reflect it.

 

[gasdave]

If you wish to continue using ebay it's better to follow the ebay rules which state that once your bid is accepted (ie, you've won) you are thereafter in a binding contract. The seller's end of that contract is to ensure that what you have won is as described, within reason (unless it's new, in which case it should be exactly as described). Breaking the rules can compromise your rights to future transactions.

For larger bids like yours it is wise to communicate with the seller prior to bidding to establish what he or she is happy with - viewing, deposit, cash or balance on collection, etc.. Also establish exactly what the condition of the item is and this is best done by asking very specific questions. Take the seller's answers with you when you go to collect.

I think you should offer a deposit and if the seller is reasonable they will accept that. However I know there are "crooks" using ebay as I have come across at least one recently when Mrs Gasdave was purchasing a horse box - we discovered his details were all comlpetely fictitious just in time. He wanted us to use some sort of Post Office money transfer (can't remember the proper name for it) rather than Paypal or equivalent and the PO clerk advised us against it. Needless to say the only thing he got from us was to be reported to ebay.

So be cautious and remember that life is just a series of lessons hopefully leading to wisdom!!

 

[gjgm]

The T+C of an auction on ebay are quite well explained on their site. You can email them and ask for clarification, but an answer takes at least ten days in my experience.
You have agreed to buy the boat unseen, and I doubt you will get much sympathy from ebay if you ask them if a partial deposit and payment on inspection is OK. Neither can you walk away from the deal bcz the seller wont accept your deposit/inspection. The best you can hope for is more reasoning with the seller, and hope he is good natured, but from his point of view, and ebay's, the boat is sold.

 

[oldharry]

I have assured the vendor that I am not a time wasting tyre kicker and asked him to see it from my point of view. At this stage I cant be sure that he even owns the boat, I could part with my dosh and never see it or the boat.
What does the panel think?

Pay either by credit card or Paypal. Then you are covered for non delivery, or lack of title, and in that scenario would get your money back - eventually.

At the moment, as far as the Vendor is concerned you are fast shaping up to being a 'time wasting tyre kicker', as far as EBay T&Cs go, and he does not have to wait very long before he can start a 'non-payment' strike against you.

You asked him to see it your way. From his point of view when he accepted your bid, he agreed to sell you his boat at the price YOU offered. He cannot now sell it to his friend who may come along with a better offer, unless betyween you you agree to cancel the deal. Remember too that he has to pay EBay a 'final value' fee which may be quite a lot of money. He can only avoid this either by mutual agreement to cancel the sale, or entering a 'non-payment' strike against you, and re-selling it on Ebay.

But also bear in mind that EBay is uusually heavily biased in favour of the buyer. Pay for your boat by Paypal, then if there are problems the vendor should have told you about in his listing you can take it up with EBay who will always support a 'short changed' buyer.

 

[Trusted Friend]

Pay either by credit card or Paypal. Then you are covered for non delivery, or lack of title, and in that scenario would get your money back - eventually.

Whoa,
Paypal's UK Buyer Protection states:
However, there are some transactions that we do not cover including but not limited to payments for intangible items, services, real estate, businesses, vehicles (including, without limitation, motor vehicles, motorcycles, caravans, aircraft and boats), custom made items, airline flight tickets, eBay classified advertisements, licenses and other access to digital content. In addition, items prohibited in the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy are ineligible for coverage.

 

[seanfoster]

Beware selling on Ebay!

I know this is going off topic slightly, but if you are not happy with it (and you don't mind losing your deposit), simply walk away! Not an ethical choice, but possible none the less.

I say this to make sellers wary! My experiences with Ebay have been extremely frustrating as a seller, yes there are legal responsibilities you take on when you bid for something, but bias is very much in the buyers favour.

Ebay will do little or nothing to help a seller if the buyer defaults, negative feedback can be left, but is that really a satisfactory result?