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Can asking price be changed after offer is made?

Is it ethical to change your asking price after you receive many offers?

Last night some one ran TWO ads for the same model of Billy Bag stand for $200. I made an offer on one ad and the seller told me that he will make a decision later. Then on this same ad (same item number), the seller changed the price to $300.00. The other ad still has the price of $200 but it was marked SOLD.

Seems like greed speaks louder than ethics. Can an user do anything about the fact the item price is jacked up *after* the buyer made an offer? I wanted to contact audiogon service but cannot find any link to send them an e-mail.
cuonghuutran
moto_man
112 posts
 
I am a lawyer and legally, when there is an offer to sell at a certain price and an unqualified acceptance, there is a legally binding contract. However, the reality of the deal, as pointed out by others, is that there is no practical way to enforce that contract. If there are several offers, the seller is free to not accept any, and re-offer the goods at a higher price. Closing the deal quickly is the only way to make sure. Until then, you never know.
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Moto_man: Not that I'm sure it really matters anyway as you say, but is your first sentence still the case as you see it legally if the "OBO" is included?
moto_man
112 posts
 
I think that from a legal standpoint, Sean is correct. "Best Offer" does not necessarily, although usually, refers to offers less than the asking price. But there is no reason "best offer" is limited in that way.
bomarc
501 posts
 
Moto_man: An offer to sell at a certain price and an unqualified acceptance is a contract. But I don't think any court in the US would interpret that to mean that a seller who places an ad is obligated to sell just because someone agrees to the listed price. And that seems to be the issue here.
unsound
6,115 posts
 
Sean, Zaikesman, why bother with both auctions and classifieds if OBO is going to turn classifieds into unrestricted, unmonitored auctions? Since there is a place (auctions) that preceed the classifieds I think it is quite clear as to what we are agreeing to up front, and it's not an auction. Unless there are some unforseen changes (the equipment is no longer in the condition it was originally advertised as, etc.) it behooves us all to set some type of standard as to what constitutes a contract. This type of thing could get out of hand and we all could loose out on a good thing.
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