Guys, I think you should take a step back from the pulpit here and give menace a break already. I can see your point and subsequent annoyance if menace had active bids on the cabinet, but he did not. I do not think it can be considered a negligent waste of anyone's time in that you looked at and "watched" the cabinet he had listed. Personally I got more benefit in seeing his cabinet that I lost in time spent doing so. That is just my subjective opinion and observation though.
As for ebay policies regarding ending the auction early, I found the following related documentation;
1. Note: Sellers are not permitted to cancel bids and end listings early in order to avoid selling an item that did not meet the desired sale price. This is considered to be reserve fee circumvention. Although there are legitimate reasons for ending a listing early, abuse of this option will be investigated.
REF:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/end_early.htmlSince he did not have any bids, that does not apply.
2. When you are no longer able to sell an item
If you are no longer able to complete the transaction because the item is no longer available for trade, you may consider contacting your high bidder and explaining the situation. Many times, these issues can be amicably resolved between the seller and buyer. Resolving the issue can also help to prevent negative feedback from the buyer.
Please note that eBay reviews reports of sellers that refuse payment and fail to deliver an item at the end of a successful transaction.
REF:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/listing-withdrawn.htmlThe above would imply that, as long as seller's and buyer's can come to an agreement regarding the ending of a listing WITH a bid, there is no ebay policy against ending the auction WITH a bid placed. I could not find any policy of ebay's specifically stating that once you list an item you are obligated to keep the listing active.
3. 5.2 Binding Bids. Except for items listed in a category under the Non-binding Bid Policy, if you receive at least one bid at or above your stated minimum price (or in the case of reserve auctions, at or above the reserve price), you are obligated as the seller to complete the transaction with the highest bidder upon the auction's completion, unless there is an exceptional circumstance, such as: (a) the buyer fails to meet the terms of your listing (such as payment method), or (b) you cannot authenticate the buyer's identity.
REF:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/png-user.htmlNow, this item is the most interesting and applicable. I believe someone here stated something to the effect that if you put an item up for auction you are obligated to see the auction thru. Like I said I could not find any policy to that effect, if someone can correct me please do, but you need to be aware of what makes a contract.
menace calling me on the phone and stating, "I will sell you my MAME cabinet for $10" is an offer, not a contract. This, I contend, is what he has done on ebay. He has made an offer to sell his cabinet for some minimum price. He has not entered into any contract with any buyer. From what I can find on ebay's pages, he has not entered into any contract with ebay that stated he MUST keep his item up for sale until the end of the auction length he chose.
Now, if I am still on the phone and I state, "I accept your offer to buy the cabinet for $10.00." menace and I now have a binding (in most states) verbal agreement. If someone had bid on his cabinet and met either the minimum auction price or if there was one, the reserve price, then menace would have been, IMHO, obligated to that person to sell the cabinet at that price. As stated above, in the ebay policy, he can still contact the buyer and try to work out an agreement to terminate the contract.
So, my contention is that menace did not violate any ebay policy, nor did he wrongfully terminate any contract either expressed or implied with any seller as there never was a contract to terminate.
Lastly, yes it can be frustrating when people cancell the auction. It is possible, even if there are no bids to have effected someone in a negative way. I might have passed on another offer to watch and later bid on menace's cabinet. His pulling the auction would have caused me some problems, but one must remember the old addage, "A bird in hand is worth two in the bush." In that example, I took a chance that I could get a better deal, and it didn't work out. If menace had cancelled with active bids, I would contend that he had violated ebay policy and possibly committed a tort for which he could be sued etc. But there were no bidders. He made an offer, no one accepted, he rescinded the offer. Poor form possibly, but not a violation of any policy or law.
Also, the cab is great. I don't know the guy but as with all of you I enjoy chatting it up on this dumb little board and for that reason I would be very hesitant to come down very hard on any of you for minor discrepancies. I enjoy this board as it is filled with funny, creative, artisitic, craftsmen, geeks, technicians, and nut-jobs who always make me laugh and amaze me at the enormous amount of time and energy they are willing to waste on arcade cabinets for the sake of creation, discovery, and fun. THat said, cut the man a break, we are all BYOACers and jaywalking should not be a capital offense.
1hookedspacecadet
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Topic: FS: Fully operational MAME machine (Read 2765 times)
