Can buyer sue for not selling him item?

[rofaizo_0]

A potential buyer emails me, asking for a discounted price on an item.  I respond by saying "sure if you are willing to pick it up".  He replies "great thank you, I will come by next week to pick it up".  I did also reply with a "cool!". 

Well, the listing remained active, and few days later, someone else clicked the "buy it now".  So I shipped the item out next day - and now the other guy is upset that I sold it already, and is threatening to sue me.  

I understand he is upset I didn't sell him the item, but are there really grounds for a lawsuit here?

[tdumonde2014]

Absolutely. Have them contact the Law Firm of Dewey, Cheatham, & Howe and tell them to ask for Mr. Fine.

[parkersparrow]

He might have thought you were going to hold it for him. I doubt he would really go through all the trouble of suing. Especially with most non essential buildings being closed. Does he know where you live? That would be the only thing I might be worried about.

[vintagecraze50]

The buyer regardless if they said I will pick it up in a week should have purchased the item from you, to prevent someone else from getting it. 

[pinksakura2000]

Anyone can sue for whatever reason. The question is whether that person will go through the trouble/cost of doing so.
Under eBay, even after the buyer paid fully for the item, the seller can still cancel and refund the transaction under one of the stated reasons on eBay based on good faith.

[dinpavent0]

No, I am a paralegal, he should have bought it , paid for it whatever. There is not contract and that message between you two is very casual. You can't help someone else bought it. I had a situation where a buyer kept messaging me about a large lot I had and it was pricey and kept saying they wanted it and was going to pay for it friday. I just said ok. Well two days later someone did a buy it now. I never said I would save it or reserve it or anything like that. The person sent me a nasty email, I just blocked them and moved on.
I may reserve something in a title and message a buyer I deal with on a regular that the item is up for sale they wanted, but I can't stop anyone from buying it at a buy it now if the original person does it buy it or see my message in time.
Block and move on.

[this*old*attic]

LOLOLOLOL @ your slowpoke, dawdling buyer.

Not only did he fail to execute a contract, he can’t show damages either. What? Pain and suffering?

[dinpavent0]

Yea technically they could sue, but what a waste of money and time. They would lose. I previously said they could not sue, I should have said yea but WHY??!! Any lawyer would say don't bother wasting your time or money on filing fees. I don't know anyone that would advise it.
Like I said previously, Block and move on with this buyer or NOT buyer in this case..lol

[terrycece62]

I believe that was my point also as pointed out in previous posts anyone can sue 4 for anything they want point is would buyer had no contract did not follow thru with sale. And I agree it would be a waste of time.

[southern*sweet*tea]

I could sue you because you wore a purple shirt on Tuesday when I think purple should only be worn on Wednesday. Doesn't mean I wouldn't get laughed out of court, but I could certainly sue you for it.

It would cost me a lot of money and be an annoyance to you because you would have to show up (if you don't, I win by default if by some miracle the case wasn't rejected outright). I would look extremely stupid, too. But who knows, it might be worth it to you just for the giggle factor, because don't we all need a good laugh every now and then?

Seriously though, you have no contract with this NON-buyer.  Feel free to block them from buying.

Since they haven't actually purchased from you, you can block any messages from them by doing the above and making sure blocked bidders can't contact you. You can find this in your settings here: https://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?BuyerBlockPreferences

Bottom of the page

[coolections]

The buyer cannot sue but you should not have told the person you would wait and then backed out of the deal. It makes Ebay sellers look bad and buyers not want to return.

[femmefan1946]

If you haven't already Blocked him, do that now.

Or even yesterday.

As for any future communication:

Delete.

Delete.

Delete.

You can do an extended Block which also Blocks communication, I understand.

[inhawaii]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@rofaizo_0 wrote:

and now the other guy is upset that I sold it already, and is threatening to sue me.  

I understand he is upset I didn't sell him the item, but are there really grounds for a lawsuit here?

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No. Threatening to sue someone on the Internet is simply a more-dramatic way of calling them a poopyhead. There is no way that he has anything resembling grounds for a lawsuit in any way, shape or form, but that is his last-ditch method of expressing his displeasure in a way that he hopes will make some sort of impression on you... so that you'll, I don't know, try to reclaim the purchase from the real buyer or something. I suspect he issues multiple "lawsuit" threats per week, whenever someone does something that displeases him.

Simply stop responding, and put him on your Blocked Bidder List (here).

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😂

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That literally made me LOL.  😃

[mesodude]

Based on your account, I’m doubtful he has a case.  At the same time, I’m incredulous that within those “few days” neither you nor the buyer had the foresight to confirm you had a meeting of the minds as to whether the item would be placed on hold pending payment. If your account is accurate, the guy didn’t request that you put the item on hold in some way and over subsequent days he also didn’t check back  confirm the item was still being held for him. But he’s now threatening to sue you? Similarly, apparently it somehow never occurred to you (either initially or within those few days) to establish whether the item should be on hold. But you’re here wondering if there’s any way this guy has grounds to sue for breach of contract? Is there any chance, you’ve left something crucial out of this story?

[zari5952]

They never purchased the item so tell them to pound sand

[zari5952]

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@coolections wrote:
The buyer cannot sue but you should not have told the person you would wait and then backed out of the deal. It makes Ebay sellers look bad and buyers not want to return.

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Had the person actually clicked the buy button, then I would agree, but the numpty didn't actually buy it so it makes him look like a jackwagon for threatening to sue