Hmmm…, it looks like there is a misunderstanding here. MikeEff stated that he could ship out “if” the OP could do $60. The OP requested pics and said that “shouldn’t” be a problem. “Shouldn’t” is not certain, and he requested pics, implying that the agreement was conditioned up on seeing the pics. It does not sound like it was a done deal to me. I think the OP should have been clear that “YES, I WILL PAY $60, BY PAYPAL, BY SUCH AND SUCH DATE…THANK YOU.” But, language like, “That shouldn’t be a problem,” and requesting pics still at that stage means the deal was not at the contract stage. Mike Eff was not going to forego a better deal for someone who still seemed uncertain.
But, while I am often ticked off at people backing out too, in the OP’s situation, there was not a meeting of the minds for a definite sale. The OP was not clear that …YES, I will buy it…he said, that “shouldn’t” be a problem. Shouldn’t means he was still uncertain. No contract. He should have said, “No problem, yes, I will pay $60, I will pay by____” That would have been a contract. MikeEff did not “back out” of a contract and he is not at fault here.
But, while we’re on the subject…
This does not apply to the above deal, but I want to say this in general because it is happening a lot legitimately elsewhere. It happened to me a few times legitimately, and the deal was certain. The rules of YYE are what they are, but in my opinion, negative feedback should be allowed for people backing out of a deal. If you do not keep your word with someone on a deal, you violate a contract. If you have written communication by PMs in that regard, you may even have an enforceable one. By law, if there was a meeting of the minds, you were given an expectation of receiving something, and you spent funds and incurred incidental expenses toward completing your end of the deal. I think someone’s word should be everything in life…period. That is given no value for feedback purposes.
But, along those lines, person x is backing out of a deal, while person y is foregoing other deals and incurring expenses, wasting time and energy to keep their end of the bargain. If you engage in a contract on Ebay, which means you indicated you will buy something, at this price, by this date…it is a DEAL and an enforceable contract. If not completed, you are penalized. Even without the item being paid for, it is a deal, by their standards and by law. By law, it is not necessary that you paid for the item, it is necessary that there is an agreement, the details of the amount and by what date…have been specified. Once the item to be sold is no longer at issue, the amount, and due date for payment are specified, it is a DEAL, and I don’t think it should just be a joke on the person who kept their end of the bargain.
This really ticks me off too, that people get away with it and it is laughed off as…oh well. Meanwhile, I have seen people giving negative feedback when they received a yo-yo in good condition, but due to how it is packaged, it “could have” gotten damaged. I could not believe when I saw that thread. Yet, the person who lies, breaks a binding contract, does not fulfill their part of the deal, is off the hook. You get to post in the trader feedback section no one reads until they have been scammed. What a shame.
Ebay is doing business right in that regard. I wish penalties on there were more harsh, but they are managing things fairly well. When someone agrees to buy or sell something on Ebay, it better happen, or the person has to be made right, and penalties are in place. You have serious collectors on here trying to make deals and have people on here playing games in the BST. I think it’s time to make people accountable.
It is a shame when you have to start a BST thread by saying, “Do not deal with me, if you do not plan to follow through on your word.” That should not even be necessary. But, due to the rules about giving feedback, it is.
We should be able to save our PMs, and if there was a meeting of the minds, the price was established, and agreement to pay…we should be able to give a negative when people don’t follow through.