I have recently gone through a very unsettling experience with another pinball hobbyist who was selling a machine.  In an attempt to be objective about the situation, I thought I would summarize the messages we exchanged and let people decide if the vendor was justified or not :

These exchanges all took place between Nov 14 and 15th I believe.


ME
Sorry about the delay...I have not been able to get on the website.
Yes, I would like to buy the game.  
Do I understand correctly, that you will bring the game to  ______ house ?  If you live close by, I can pick it up at your house.  

VENDOR
That's ok. You're the first one, …. we gone bring the machine.  
If you want to confirm on my post that you gone buy this game or I have no choice to take the first one who bring me the cash.   Tks

ME
The only problem is that I won't be able to get there by Friday night.  I won't be able to be there until Sat. afternoon.

VENDOR
That's ok for me,I prefer Saturday. I give you my adress _____________.  

ME
Okay, Saturday it is.   I will be going to ______ first to unload 2 machines, then I will go to your house.   Did you want a money transfer or do you want cash on Saturday ?

VENDOR
That's ok for me if you pay in cash Saturday  and confirm on my post that you gone buy my game. That's only proof for me to keep the game for you.  Thks.

ME
Okay I'll bring $$ on Saturday.  What do you want me to say on your post ?  Why don't you just put "SOLD" on your post ?   Do not worry...I guarantee that I will pick up this machine.  I understand that you are taking on a new project, so even if anything happened so that I could not make it, I would send you the money anyway

VENDOR
That's ok. Have good travel and I'm waiting for you next Saturday and I'm put "sold"on my game. my phone is ___________  .  see you


Then 3 or 4 days go by, when all of a sudden I get this PM :


VENDOR
Sorry mrniceguy the game is sold

ME
Hi _______ .  I don't understand.  I'm the one who is actually picking it up right ?

VENDOR
No I sold the game at friend of mine for consideration,  I'm sorry I has no choice


Is it me or did the vendor just pull the mother of all inconsiderate and deceptive maneuvres ?

I don't think I gave the vendor ANY reason to be concerned about this sale.   I also think my offer to send money electronically binds him to this sale.   In the world of business, our exchanges would have amounted to a contract.

So what's the verdict ?

You got screwed. Welcome to the club. If you want something, get it right away. First with cash normally wins. It sucks and I've been on the receiving end of that email as well.

In terms of legally, as no cash exchanged hands there is no contract.

Best thing to do is learn from your experience. Next time, put "Sold" on the post and then he will eat crow if he backs out.

Duane

Post his name, unless you think he's got dirt on you he can retaliate with. Then let it be up to the individual if they want to deal with him or not.

It happens.  You always run the risk when you can't get it right away and you're not a friend of the seller who will do you a favor.
It's not the first time and won't be the last time.  

Quoted from TwilightZone

Next time, put "Sold" on the post and then he will eat crow if he backs out.

He did actually put **SOLD** on his post.   So in his mind, it was sold.  I guess he should have put "SOLD....unless a friend of mine or someone local decides last minute that they want it."

What also pisses me off is that he acquired the machine only a short time ago and beat me to the punch by a matter of minutes.  Then turns around and sells it to someone else after all of our discussions.  

Is that the atmosphere we want in this community...I'll sell it to you unless someone I like better or who lives closer comes along ?

Quoted from mrniceguy

VENDOR
No I sold the game at friend of mine for consideration,  I'm sorry I has no choice

He made his choice ... to not stand by his word. Nice.

Hooooo boy... here we go again...

Here is an excerpt from a legal advice website:

Is an agreement made through email legally binding?

The answer is YES, an agreement made via email is considered in many states to be a legally binding contract. Under the UETA (Uniform Electronic Transactions Act) passed in 1999 a signature via email, fax, or voice recording is just as good as a physical signature made on a physical document. The terms of the UETA vary from state to state but in general if an agreement is reached between two parties and has been documented as such through email it is considered a legal and entirely enforceable contract.

An email contract in most cases provides everything that a written contract would, and in many cases can give a much clearer perspective of the over all deal. Usually when business is done through email you can see how the whole transaction took place step by step. You can see when and how the terms became agreed upon, how the parties interacted through the process, and in some cases when the deal was broken by one of the parties.
So should a deal agreed upon through email go south in many ways it offers more insight than a written contract would. Should the contract be violated and the parties have to go to court the judge can get a broader perspective on the deal in question and have a documented reference of the whole transaction. This obviously makes the judges and/or juries job much easier.

If you made an agreement through email with someone and they are trying to back out of or change the deal you should notify them of the terms of the agreement and that email is a binding contract. If problems still persist try coming to an agreement that is acceptable to both parties. If that still doesn’t work you should read up on your states current email contract laws and consult a lawyer.




This being written, you can fight for it since no valid reason was given to void the transaction, but do you honestly want to fight for that? There is the argument that no money exchange was done, but there still was a written agreement of a transaction.

Now... on the personal side... is it ethical? No. But many will argue that it is the seller's prerogative. He/she can do it, but their reputation becomes tarnished... especially in such a small community.

My opinion on this? Don't make it get ugly... you will end up regretting it later.

Quoted from mrniceguy

He did actually put **SOLD** on his post.   So in his mind, it was sold.  I guess he should have put "SOLD....unless a friend of mine or someone local decides last minute that they want it."

What also pisses me off is that he acquired the machine only a short time ago and beat me to the punch by a matter of minutes.  Then turns around and sells it to someone else after all of our discussions.  

Is that the atmosphere we want in this community...I'll sell it to you unless someone I like better or who lives closer comes along ?

It's crap and shows that whoever it  isn't a person of their word ... in trading you say done and your done end of story but unfortunately many in the community aren't worried about rep at all. IMHO kicking tires is one thing but done (sold) is commitment.

just my .02

It's not the atmosphere we want in this community, but it seems to happen quite often.

No but it's reality.  There's been numerous times I've wanted machines but local sales will always trump.  Sometimes, you win and sometimes you lose.  Not specific to this hobby really.

Some people honour their word. Some don't. Live and learn -- the seller is not honest and cann't be trusted. For example, I have held machines for members in the past. Unless I need the space, I don't really see it as a burden. I get to play the game until they pick it up, a win win in my mind That said, when I need the space I clearly state first with cash gets it.

Sorry to hear about your experience
Duane

Happens all the time through online classifieds like Kijiji etc..  But with the MAACA for sale board?!???  First time I hear of a seller pulling something like this within MAACA.  Bad move..  Wasn't hard to figure out who it is either.  The "new project" was a dead giveaway.

Mike