Is seller obligated to sell at minimum bid ?

[2001twinturbo]

An item with a starting bid of $400 was posted.  There was only one bid of $400 at the end of the sale but the Seller would not sell because the Reserve had not been met.  Is Seller obligated to sell to the bidder for $400 ?

[woodland_gnome]

Depends whether there actually was a Reserve Price, an option that eBay provides for sellers willing to pay for it that sets a minimum sales price higher than the minimum bid amount that is the Starting Bid.   If there was a Reserve Price the listing would have a "Reserve not met" display near the price if nobody had entered a bid amount at least as high as the Reserve Price.

[*madison]

 Is Seller obligated to sell to the bidder for $400 ?

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The seller is not obligated to sell the item if the listing actually had a reserve which wasn't met.

Did the listing have a reserve?

But even if the seller is obligated to sell the item, no one can force the seller to ship it even if payment has been made.

[mudshark61369]

@2001twinturbo,

Was $400 a low price for the item, and was there a Reserve not met notice on the bid? If there was no the seller did not have to sell for the opening bid price. However, many inexperienced sellers take ebay's poor suggestion to start auctions at a low price to; "Encourage bidding".  An inexperienced seller may not know that they can set a Reserve price.  Checking a seller's feedback profile page is one way to find out if a seller with a fair number of feedback, and even a 100% rating, has much if any feedback for selling.  If they have none at all, unless you are prepared to deal with other issues new/inexperienced sellers run into, it is best not to bid on their items.

If there was no reserve the seller is supposed to go through with the transaction, but ebay cannot force them to do that, just as they cannot force buyers to pay.   If the seller cancels they will receive a defect on their account and have to pay the final value fees for the transaction. They may face further sanctions or expulsion from the site as well if they cancel too many times. 

[soh.maryl]

IF the seller had placed a Reserve price on the item, he is NOT required to sell unless the Reserve is met.

Why bother to set a Reserve (and pay 7.5% extra in fees which are due whether or not the item sells) and then be required to sell the item for less? 

[soh.maryl]

Did the seller actually have a Reserve on the item? The reply to your question depends on that answer.