My item has been sold for less than I had it for?

[gmah1mane]

Hello,

I have some Bon Jovi tickets which I have put up for sale and have set the selling price as $1500.00 for both tickets.

I have since just read a message from Ebay saying, congratulations you have sold your tickets for , wait for it... $10.00!!!

Please explain, I am confused.

[springyzone]

From what I can make out, sellers and buyers can break the rules pretty well with impunity.

I have heard of sellers not posting-heck, I have had it happen to me a few times after I paid!

I have heard of buyers bidding and never paying.

If I listed something reasonably expensive and found out I had sold it for $10 by mistake, I am afraid I would just refuse to sell it for that.

I would explain it to the buyer and if need be, just cop a negative. It's not the end of the world. Better to have a negative strike and one bad feedback than be hugely out of pocket.

If a normal shop has the wrong price tag on something, they don't have to sell it to you, they just say-mistake!

This is different in that it was an auction, but all the same, no one can really force you to supply the ticket. I doubt the buyer will take this to court.

[*crikey*mate*]

springy, you are wrong about the shop with the wrong price tag scenario, and you are wrong about the auction scenario.

and failure to perform the contract once formed is breach of contract and against the law, so probably not the best idea to publicly encourage/advise anyone to break the law.

[mtg-c4rdm4n]

What I dont understand is, if these tickets are worth $1500, why only 1 bid of $10???

Bad listing?

Lucky bidder?

[beach_and_home]

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@crikey*mate wrote:

springy, you are wrong about the shop with the wrong price tag scenario, and you are wrong about the auction scenario.

and failure to perform the contract once formed is breach of contract and against the law, so probably not the best idea to publicly encourage/advise anyone to break the law.

---

Just want to clear up the bit about when a shop has an incorrect price on an item. Please check with the Dept. of Fair Trading website if you don't believe me. But it is absolutely acceptable for a shop to have the wrong price on an item and not sell it to someone for that incorrect price, as long as it is a mistake.

What is not allowed is blatant misleading advertising. ie: A bookshop has a big sign out the front "Latest Wilbur Smith Novel only $5". Then when you go in they say oh sorry, that should read $50. So it is false advertising just to get you in the shop.

Having the wrong price on something by mistake is allowed and can happen by accident.

Imagine if a shop had to sell you something even if they said the price was wrong. What would stop customers going in and changing the price tags? Nothing.

So, anyway, in this particular case I think that people should just be reasonable. To say "oh bad luck" the seller has to lose money on this, is just plain rude and not necessary. It was a mistake, end of story. Be nice about it and let the seller have one mistake.

[digital*ghost]

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@beach_and_home wrote:

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@crikey*mate wrote:

springy, you are wrong about the shop with the wrong price tag scenario, and you are wrong about the auction scenario.

and failure to perform the contract once formed is breach of contract and against the law, so probably not the best idea to publicly encourage/advise anyone to break the law.

---

Just want to clear up the bit about when a shop has an incorrect price on an item. Please check with the Dept. of Fair Trading website if you don't believe me. But it is absolutely acceptable for a shop to have the wrong price on an item and not sell it to someone for that incorrect price, as long as it is a mistake.

What is not allowed is blatant misleading advertising. ie: A bookshop has a big sign out the front "Latest Wilbur Smith Novel only $5". Then when you go in they say oh sorry, that should read $50. So it is false advertising just to get you in the shop.

Having the wrong price on something by mistake is allowed and can happen by accident.

Imagine if a shop had to sell you something even if they said the price was wrong. What would stop customers going in and changing the price tags? Nothing.

So, anyway, in this particular case I think that people should just be reasonable. To say "oh bad luck" the seller has to lose money on this, is just plain rude and not necessary. It was a mistake, end of story. Be nice about it and let the seller have one mistake.

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All true - if there is an incorrect price on an item in a store, the only two options are sell it at the lowest ticketed price or withdraw it from sale.

The only exception is for supermarkets, which have the Scanning Code of Practice. If an item scans at an incorrect price in a supermarket, the customer can have the first one for free, and any subsequent items at the lowest ticket/advertised price, however that only applies to items under $50.

[*crikey*mate*]

dig, with the supermarket thing, does that apply if the scan is picked up before payment is made?

and I only knew about the first one being free, didn't know subsequent ones had to then be offered at the lowest price....

*goes off to google Scanning Code of Practice*

and as for the sign, scenario, that is almost true, or should say true in most circumstances, but it isn't false advertising until the seller is aware of the "mistake" and fails to act.

and then there is the bait advertising scenario too,

so it's not quite as simple as that, but generally kinda true.

[*crikey*mate*]

Think I found it

it's like feedback! It's voluntary! Seriously?

Code of Practice

Code of PracticeFor Computerised Checkout Systems

Who does the Code apply to?

The Code is voluntary and applies to supermarkets and food stores who are signatories to it.  Signatories to the Code are:

• Woolworths Supermarkets
• Coles Supermarkets
• Bi-Lo Supermarkets  
• Franklins

The Multiple Purchases Policy

Where multiple items bearing identical bar codes, or the same PLU number, are scanned and the scanned price is higher than the shelf price, the customer is entitled to receive the first item scanned free of charge and the remaining items at the lower price (that is, the shelf price).

When is scanning error deemed to have occurred?

A scanning error shall be deemed to have occurred when an item has been scanned, or the correct PLU number entered, and a price higher than the shelf price is displayed at the checkout or on the customer receipt.

It is not necessary for the customer to have paid for the item or to have left the store to be entitled to receive the item free of charge.

Where an operator error has occurred (that is where the wrong PLU number is entered or the wrong product is identified by the checkout operator) the customer is NOT entitled to receive the item free of charge.

[digital*ghost]

I remember one time, near Christmas a few years ago, and I was buying a really big tin of cherries which scanned higher than the shelf price. I'm not fussed about getting stuff for free and won't insist on it, I'm happy if they just adjust the price at the register or refund the difference, but I noted the error straight away and the checkout operator explained that I was going to get it for free (not exactly a cheap item, either), and the lady behind me got all excited and was all like I'm gettin' me some free tins of cherries!  - the checkout operator totally took the wind out of her sails when she had to stop her and explain it was only on that first error and the price would be fixed straight away. 

[springyzone]

No, I am not wrong about the incorrect price tag on an item.

As someone said, it is one thing to advertise falsely but another thing for a mistake, a tag placed wrongly or whatever.

The shop can simply remove the item from sale.

As for encouraging people to break the law.

I am a most law abiding person (mostly):smileyhappy:

However, if I had something worth $1500 I would not hand it over for $10.

The basic fact is you can break the law and get away with it.

I am not saying I encourage it, I have seen unscrupulous people take off with other people's largish deposits of $1500 ( on home improvement projects) and the police have said outright-not much you can do unless you take it to court and it will cost you more than it's worth.

And on ebay, people often break the rules. Does ebay enforce it if someone bids then doesn't pay, for instance?

I thought not.

I am not exactly encouraging people to break rules, I am just saying often you can and get away scot free.

It isn't a fair world.

Mind you, I think asking $1500 for a concert ticket was ambitious, you could buy a whole cruise for less than that, but maybe I am just getting too old.

[*crikey*mate*]

yeah ypu are, you're reasoning is flawed and thus the analogy is incorrect.

in the first scenario of the price tag in the shop, there is no contract - it hasn't been formed yet, and a concluded auction is a binding contract. The contract is formed and is thus on foot and failure to follow through and perform the terms of that contract is a breach of contract (which is illegal)

as for the rest of it, I'm not touching any of that except to say, just because one person breaks the law, doesn't make it ok for you to do it as well.

oh and eBay have no authority to enforce a contract - ie make a person pay, that contract is between the buyer and seller, not eBay. They are just the platform - the building in which the auction is held....

tell me, if you hired a building in which to hold an auction, and following that auction you didn't get paid for something, would the people who hired you that building be responsible to chase up the non payer?