Seller changes mind after auction ends. Illegal?

[blackmatthew]

I won a normal auction tonight on Ebay.  A second hand leather case that I bid £200 for and got at £175 or something.  Within seconds of winning ,  the seller cancelled the order.  I messaged the seller and said I had won,  been sent notification I had won, and what was going on?  He replied that he was not happy with the amount of the winning bid and felt he deserved more money.  He added an apology.  Which is nice I guess,  but how is this legal?  Surely an auction is an auction?  If he wanted a fixed amount,  surely this is what 'Buy it now' is for?  What is going on?  if no rules apply and you can change your mind after the fact (and admit it) because you don't like the outcome,  what is the point of any of this?  The market becomes a joke where people can do whatever they want and rules and outcomes are just meaningless words.

Any thoughts?

[dch2112011]

understand where you are coming from but with ebay's  auction style listings come agreed terms and conditions in the form of user agreements  and of course legal cooling off periods, which both have to be factored in before contemplating any breach of contract law. 

ebay's 'auctions' are anything but and do not carry the terms and conditions that many modern online auctions impose.

[blackmatthew]

Many thanks. I guess at the end of the day it’s up to the community to behave honestly and honourably. I can only choose to believe that this seller was in extremis and that's why they behaved badly. As for the eBay end of things, it’s a valuable lesson that a company can be both spineless and toothless while pretending to be both. It seems the only people they advocate for is themselves. I appreciate your taking the time to give this some thought and I do agree we have a great legal system in the uk re small claims court. My main concern was really that if eBay builds in escape hatches in their system for dishonesty, and even after they are pointed out to them, do nothing; Then surely they are at worst negligent and at least, terminally lazy and disinterested.

[papso22]

And yet you continue to use this 'spineless and toothless' company to sell your items!

[blackmatthew]

Ha!  Of course you're right.  But there is a shift.  I would not necessarily recommend eBay as a company or a platform I enjoy doing business with or on any more,  and I do consider myself as having one foot out the door.  And thats from someone who was once a great advocate for both the platform and the experience.  I turn my back slowly,  but I do choose to turn it.

[arkwebus]

One thing to consider if thinking of "suing" is "what have you lost" for this potential breach of contract?  You are not out of pocket.  You have not incurred any substantial costs.  There is no real system to claim for any time you have spent.   

You have - of course - the incredible disappointment but there is unlikely to be any financial compensation for that. 

There is a tort called "loss of chance" or "loss of opportunity" where you are put to some detriment [for instance if you had the opportunity to buy something at an advantageous price and another's action or inaction prevented you and you then had to buy at a higher price].   That would not be dealt with at Small Claims Court.

We often hear members threaten to take others to court on eBay.  I cannot recall hearing an outcome with details in the press.  We do sometimes hear "unlikely tales" where much seems wrong on these boards.  If there are claimants that do go to court they may simply "win" by default where the defendant fails to attend.   @blackmatthew