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But it isn't the agreed upon price. So it isn't a contract. Upon calling Des finds out the price is NOW 60 bucks instead of ten... and he gets angry and withdraws he offer -- no contract.
It just depends upon how the communication goes, many people don't realize how easy it is to actually enter a legally binding agreement. If Seller posts an item for sale and Buyer contacts Seller and agrees to buy the item, seller accepts the agreed upon price....that is a legally binding agreement. Simply replying to a buyers email with "Sure meet me at 123 Main street at noon" is acceptance and buyer could TECHNICALLY sue you for breaking an agreement.
Now if Seller has an item for sale for 50 bucks and buyer emails and asks to come over and see it, then upon arrival the seller tells buyer they raised it to 200 bucks because of unanticipated demand, buyer can TECHNICALLY sue for damages under false advertising. Buyer incurred a loss of transportation costs under the guise that the price was 50 bucks as advertised.
So wouldn't...or shouldn't...fewer buyers translate to lower demand...which in turn leads to a lower asking price?
Not necessarily.
First of all, this logic would only apply to items that could be easily sold in both venues. If I want to sell my lawnmower I'm not going to use eBay simply because it wouldn't be cost-effective to ship it. I don't think that means I should only ask 20% of fair market value for it.
Secondly, while it's true that an item will get more exposure on eBay you also have to take into consideration the fact that if an item is sold locally a potential buyer can look at the item in person before committing to buy it rather than having to rely on pictures and descriptions and dealing with time and expense of shipping the item back for refund if it isn't as nice as he or she thought it was.
It just depends upon how the communication goes, many people don't realize how easy it is to actually enter a legally binding agreement. If Seller posts an item for sale and Buyer contacts Seller and agrees to buy the item, seller accepts the agreed upon price....that is a legally binding agreement. Simply replying to a buyers email with "Sure meet me at 123 Main street at noon" is acceptance and buyer could TECHNICALLY sue you for breaking an agreement.
Now if Seller has an item for sale for 50 bucks and buyer emails and asks to come over and see it, then upon arrival the seller tells buyer they raised it to 200 bucks because of unanticipated demand, buyer can TECHNICALLY sue for damages under false advertising. Buyer incurred a loss of transportation costs under the guise that the price was 50 bucks as advertised.
The first option is closer to a contract, but I still think the seller could win in court.
The second option is not a contract at all. The second guy is coming over to look at item. There is no contract there, because the buyer hasn't said yes I will buy it, he just wants to look at it. No offer, no contract.
It just depends upon how the communication goes, many people don't realize how easy it is to actually enter a legally binding agreement. If Seller posts an item for sale and Buyer contacts Seller and agrees to buy the item, seller accepts the agreed upon price....that is a legally binding agreement. Simply replying to a buyers email with "Sure meet me at 123 Main street at noon" is acceptance and buyer could TECHNICALLY sue you for breaking an agreement.
Now if Seller has an item for sale for 50 bucks and buyer emails and asks to come over and see it, then upon arrival the seller tells buyer they raised it to 200 bucks because of unanticipated demand, buyer can TECHNICALLY sue for damages under false advertising. Buyer incurred a loss of transportation costs under the guise that the price was 50 bucks as advertised.
Thats not true.. He could only sue for damages AFTER he gave the seller $50 (technically its $1 and over), since it requires a transfer of something of value to cement a contract.
Lacking a payment, you have an offer, and acceptance, but nothing has transferred in order to force it to be binding.
It would be no different than offering an item for $50, the buyer says they will take it for $50, and then the buyer shows up and says no, its not worth $50 and leaves. You cant force them to buy at $50, unless he has paid something to create a contract.
Actually it is under the technical definition of a contract, its just that the judge would find you in contempt for wasting their time on a 30 dollar weedwacker sale. To have a contract you have to have an offer, acceptance, and consideration. Consideration being the agreed upon price for a good or service.
Wrong, the agreed upon price would be the acceptance part,
consideration is the transfer of something of value to convey you agree with the offer and acceptance.
This is not true, money doesn't have to change hands in order for their to be a contract. The contract is enforceable when both parties agree to exchange consideration. Failure for one of the members of the party to DELIVER is breach of the contract.
In contract law, consideration means a detriment to the person who made the promise or a benefit conferred on the other party, both of which are measurable in economic terms.Money, goods and services are the most common examples of consideration. You should note that consideration need not be adequate, which means that if the seller or service provider is contracted to sell a product or service at a price that is below the market price, then that seller or provider cannot subsequently go to court to claim the shortfall.
If the buyer does NOT give anything of value to the seller, THERE IS NO CONTRACT because the seller has not receive anything of economic terms.
I have sold a few things on Craigslist and try to price my items pretty fairly. It really irks me when some people ask question, after question, after question and they finally decide to buy the item and then say "I'll take it off your hands..." for 10% or 20% of the price that I stated in the ad.
I don't mind when buyers offer lower than my price (even when it is listed as firm) but it is pretty insulting to offer a really low-ball offer or to ask me to drive an hour to deliver the item or hold it for two weeks until they get paid. Sheesh!
I list a lot of items on craigslist, I usually have over 100 items at any given moment for sale.
I not only put in the listings that the price is firm, but on every email inquiry about the products I answer their questions and then my final paragraph to them is something like
The price posted on craigslist is firm, I have no room to move on it, its a great price as is..
I of course always get the guy who comes and offers me $60 for an item thats listed for $70 and I always tell them no because I know they cant get it elsewhere unless they pay twice the amount. I almost always list prices elsewhere for my items so they know before they even respond that its a good deal.. Something like.
"Amazons price $120",
link to product
and then my price $70
I already know they are willing to pay $70 if they show up, I made it clear to them thats the price numerous times, so the fact they drove an hour to pick it up, or that they dont like the item is meaningless to me. I got out of the haggling business ages ago.
I cant tell you the number of people that show up and tell me no, then hours later they email me something like.
"you want $300 for x, but I can buy it at Home Depot for $450"..
My response is, well if you dont want to pay $300 for it, and think $450 is fair, then I'll happily sell it to you for $450...
I've never once had someone show up and offer to pay more, I'm not taking less and it got rid of the "flea market" attitude like the OP wishes existed.. its not a flea market, its my house I sell out of and its my business. I need to eat and they need my stuff or they wouldnt have emailed to begin with.
It just depends upon how the communication goes, many people don't realize how easy it is to actually enter a legally binding agreement. If Seller posts an item for sale and Buyer contacts Seller and agrees to buy the item, seller accepts the agreed upon price....that is a legally binding agreement. Simply replying to a buyers email with "Sure meet me at 123 Main street at noon" is acceptance and buyer could TECHNICALLY sue you for breaking an agreement.
No that's not how it works at all. Unless signed there is no legal binding contract its pretty simple. Also a disclaimer in your Craigslist post could easily void any legal action.
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