5250 Euro Damages for breaking a 1-Euro eBay auction
Wed 12 Nov 2014
A car seller, who offered his old VW Pasat on an eBay auction for a minimum price of 1 Euro, has to pay 5250 Euro damages, because he ended the auction prematurely.
Court ruling (Karlsruhe, Germany): Someone who offers a car on an eBay auction must sell it there and cannot end the auction prematurely.
Background
A car owner offered his VW Pasat on an eBay auction for the minimum price of 1 Euro, but a few hours later he had second thoughts and ended the auction prematurely. However, in the meantime someone had bid 555 Euro for it, which was a genuine bid, though much less than the car’s worth of 5250 Euro. And till the end of the auction, it remained the highest bid.
But the owner terminated the auction and informed the bidder that he had found an outside buyer for 4200 Euro.
However, the bidder was not happy and sued for damages for breaking the contract of sale for 1 Euro. He satisfied the court that the car worth was 5250 Euro. The court ruled in his favour, so he got the sum of 5250 Euro compensation, minus 1 Euro. The car owner must also pay the costs.
So be warned!
Wed 12 Nov 2014
A car seller, who offered his old VW Pasat on an eBay auction for a minimum price of 1 Euro, has to pay 5250 Euro damages, because he ended the auction prematurely.
Court ruling (Karlsruhe, Germany): Someone who offers a car on an eBay auction must sell it there and cannot end the auction prematurely.
Background
A car owner offered his VW Pasat on an eBay auction for the minimum price of 1 Euro, but a few hours later he had second thoughts and ended the auction prematurely. However, in the meantime someone had bid 555 Euro for it, which was a genuine bid, though much less than the car’s worth of 5250 Euro. And till the end of the auction, it remained the highest bid.
But the owner terminated the auction and informed the bidder that he had found an outside buyer for 4200 Euro.
However, the bidder was not happy and sued for damages for breaking the contract of sale for 1 Euro. He satisfied the court that the car worth was 5250 Euro. The court ruled in his favour, so he got the sum of 5250 Euro compensation, minus 1 Euro. The car owner must also pay the costs.
Code:
http://www.pcwelt.de/news/5250_Euro_Schadensersatz_fuer_abgebrochene_1-Euro-eBay-Auktion-BGH-8992484.html (in German)