I am looking at buying an expensive item that is advertised on Ebay. the item only has a buy it now price and no bidding. I have been negotiating with the seller and have told him I will buy the item at the advertised price. However he has decided that the price he is asking is too low and he needs to chrage more and has asked me to pay a higher price.
I have not bought the item through ebay yet as have been viewing the item etc. The seller still has the item up on ebay for the original price.

If I were to use the buy it now option on Ebay would the seller be legally bound to sell me the item at the advertised price? Also I presume if I were to use this option the seller would be liable for the ebay fees too?

Also as the item is still up on Ebay, the seller has refused to remove it even though we are negotiating about buying it and I have agreed to buy. If someone else were to come along and use the buy it now option would this then mean they could buy the item instead? I am a bit concerned that I may lose the item. As it is an expensive item I am reluctant to use the buy it now option without agreeing with the seller. Can he back out if I do or is it legally binding?

I am not sure about Ebay but in general offering an item for sale does not mean that you have to sell it to any particular purchaser or at all.

Bit like when a shop has a product in the window priced but refuses to sell it either because it is said to be a display item and they have no others or because they have forgotten to change the price and the cost has increased.

Thats why I need to know about the legalities of Ebay. Thanks anyway.

I wouldnt buy it as wouldnt trust the seller after all that!!!!
Lea :)

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/safetycentre/rights.html

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/non-binding-bid.html

It's there if you look for it..and if it's not covered suggest you contact Ebay.

If you buy the item in this way you have absolutely no cover whatsoever via ebay, you are in effect trusting a complete stranger not to stitch you up. You will lose all your rights and contractual buyer/seller rights they work hard to give buyers. Don't trust a complete stranger especially on a high price item, do it the right way with all the cover, that way if things go wrong or the item is faulty you don't have to go through the court system, and pay via paypal to get all their protection.

The seller can remove the item any time if a bid has not been offered if they don't and it is staying up yes, legally he could sell to a buy it now and run off with your money, as the Buy it now is the legal sale not yours.

Although this happened to me once I bought something on buy it now, the seller then refunded the amount and sold it behind the scenes, I kicked up one hell of a hoo ha as it was a legally bound sale, I couldn't get the item as it had been sold on and tbh I couldn't be bothered with courts etc, which is what it would have needed to come to, but they were kicked off ebay for breaking the contract.

Of course the seller has to pay his percentage to ebay he is using their service to advertise why should he get away with not paying and doing deals behind the scenes don't feel sorry for him he wouldn't be able to sell the item as well otherwise.

If you will take my advice do things the right way so that you don't get a nasty bite on your behind.

Oh by the way no he is not allowed to offer the item at a higher price than advertised, you can report him to ebay, if he wants to sell at a higher price he should remove the item for 24-48 hours as you are not legally allowed to do so otherwise.

You can buy the item right now at the price offered, but to be honest he sounds like a charlatan, I would report him immediately and look elsewhere, save your communications to show ebay.

Definitely don't buy but please report his actions. Wonder how many have been caught this way ?. He's obviously putting a low price to get the interest and then moving the goalposts - very naughty.

>I would report him immediately and look elsewhere, save your communications to show ebay.

This seller is dishonest ,if you ever needed to return the item ebay only has proof of the lower price so he would rip you of there as well.  Report him to Ebay, what he is doing is trying to reduce his final value fee which is a percentage of what the price is.  Ebay may not care that he is messing you around but they will take it very seriously if he is trying to diddle them.

I'm curious as to why you have been negotiating behind the scenes?  The beauty of eBay for most sellers is the hassle free option for getting rid of things you don't want, without having to talk to a seller!

According to eBay you shouldn't negotiate at all - buyer or seller - 'offline' as it were.  Partly it's to ensure that sellers don't use eBay as a window so avoid sellers fees, but it's also to protect you both from dodgy dealing.  If you bid or use a buy it now then that final price (plus postage) is all you are expected to pay.  The seller agrees to provide postage within a range of fees, they aren't allowed to overcharge for that any more, and they also agree to pay the final eBay and Paypal fees.  If the seller wishes to make an item open to offers they can do that at the time of listing - offers are submitted via messages and the offer is accepted or declined the same way.

If your seller is actively encouraging you to deal offline then walk away.

If you want to proceed with the purchase then on your head be it!  You can pay the listed buy it now price and see what happens and if you pay via Paypal you'll get the best protection.   If you pay and the item doesn't appear you can ask for a refund, if you pay and item arrives damaged or not to description then you can file a claim to get a refund.  In most cases Paypal will find in your favour.  DO NOT pay any more than the listed price and DO NOT communicate offline.  In fact, all your messages with the seller, if done via the messenging service, will be on record and may be inspected as part of the review process.  Proceed with caution

A final note - the sale is supposedly legally binding but there are many ways in which a seller can get out of sending the item.  The simplest is to cancel the sale and refund your money with no questions asked.  Alternatively they can play the lost in post card but even then, if they do not have trackable delivery (and proof), then Paypal will find in your favour and refund the money.  The best you can hope for if you intend to deal with a shonky seller is that you get your money back - the worst is that they send you broken/fake/unusable items as these are much more difficult for you to prove and you already know this seller is underhand...

the item is very large and expensive. Not something I could buy without viewing in person hence the contact with the seller.
I don't want to lose the item as it is perfect for what I want and probably worth the extra money. I think the seller is planning on selling privately rather than through ebay so would prefer that I don't use the buy it now option. but as he hasn't removed the item from ebay I wondered if I used the buy it now would that legally secure the item for me.

Has he got more than one of the items for sale ?. Does he look like he's running a business - using eBay to save on overheads ?. Would you be saving lots by paying his new price ?. Personally I wouldn't do any deals with him as he's being dishonest but you need to go with your gut feeling.

no only 1 for sale and i am pretty sure it is just a private seller not a business

> I wondered if I used the buy it now would that legally secure the item for me.

Unfortunately not, there would be nothing stopping the seller from saying the item was lost/broken/no longer able to be sold. You could of course report him to ebay, but it won't help you get the item.

I wondered if I used the buy it now would that legally secure the item for me.

NO, that is what I was trying to say, no one can be forced to sell you anything they don't want to for any reason.

Would steer clear from deal privately you will have no protection at all and may find having paid for the item it is not the sellers to sell or the item and the seller disappear along of course, with your money.

Also another thing to look out for what feedback does this person have, is there all positive or negative?

How many previous items have they sold?

Is this the first? If so ruuuun, people very often open accounts with faulse information, wind people in, get their money then disappear.

As with anything if there is no reputation you are taking a punt, not being a gambler I'd let my head rule my heart always. :-)

Technically, within ebays own rules, he ought sell you the item at the buy it now price.

However legally well firstly you have either a verbal or written contract with him to buy it for a higher price or if not that.. then at least you are aware he wanted a higher price for the item and did not intend to sell it to you via the buy it now on ebay..

Secondly, legally, morally or according to ebays own rulings, doesnt matter - he has the item. If you then give him your money too he still holds all the cards so to speak and he can easily say the item was broken or whatever he likes and you will really not stand a cat in hells chance of proving otherwise AND getting your money back. (I say AND there because whilst you might prove and win something in court, actually getting the money is really not guaranteed!).

thanks , I have decided to give up on this item. It is not worth the hassle.