Fair to change ad from sale to auction?

Everybody is a lawyer these days. As a lawyer with long years in practice I find more and more that "anything I can get away with" is the current mentality. A lot of business people I deal with are the worst offenders at not humouring their obligations. OBO means, and as always meant, that the vendor was willing to accept less to sell the item within a narrow time frame. The people here have this quaint notion that it actually means some sort of "auction" procedure whereby the vendor would keep all offers to purchase open to accept what he considers the best (and to add to that the personality of the purchaser as a consideration!) is beyond the pale. I don't know about other jurisdictions, and discussions about whether an ad is simply an invitation to negotiate or an offer to sell in any given instance can go on and on, but where I live, if you have all the essential ingredients of a contract of sale in your ad and someone says that he accepts these terms, you have a valid sale. Paperwork, payment of the price and delivery of the goods are all concerns that enter the picture further down the line. Like I said, if you are going to play the game, learn the rules and live by them. In a way I am not surprised by anything on this site just thinking about folks who actually believe in hearing inter molecular activity through their speakers. I must be an alien just landed, I still am shocked by what I read here. Ma, is it OK if I poke Tommy in the eye, no one will know his parents are out and he still will have one left?

Thanks for the responses.
I am not looking to do this, just thinking about some folks who seem to not know they have a 'hot' seller, and wind up selling it in the first 3 minutes, when for $50/$100 more, it would have taken a few days... but they would be $50/$100 richer.
My own ads I list the highest price I think an interested buyer might go for. If it doesn't sell, I don't care... sortof...

do whatever you want, up to the point where you accept an offer and take someone's money. An ad's price is a guideline, and you can ask for more or less than it. Take homes in southern california, for example. List one at $550k, and you'll get 4-6 offers between $540k-$560k. Just because the a person gets the first offer in, doesn't guarantee anything. There's alot to consider in an offer.

However, its dishonorable to "fabricate" another offer for so-and-so price and request a higher price.

So the asking price is an "indication" of what the price should be? Is it the same way at a Wal-Mart store in California? So, according to Leftistelf the whole society is some kind of auction where the selling price may be less or more than the asking price. Surely you miss the point and generalize what market conditions bring about in a place where too many people for the resources available live. If there is any truth to the oft-heard notion that what goes on in California now is an indication of what will happen in backwaters such as Quebec in fifteen years, I say to all Canadians that we should decide now to head in another direction. No wonder you guys in the states spend all that money on power conditioners for your systems, the sorry state of the power grid is probably forcing you to do it. "California, it's cold, it's damp, that's why they say this (fellow) is a tramp"...

Pbb, I think there is a profound difference in the attitude of the average American to that of the average Canadian. Michael Moore makes light of this in his provocative film, "Bowling for Columbine". The recently released DVD version has even more Moore-thoughts on this point in the extra features. In a nutshell, while the attitude in Canada seems to be more along the lines that we're all in the same boat together and lets all help each other whenever we can, in America it is all about looking out for ones-self first and screw your neighbor and don't trust anybody. Here it's all about "ME, ME, ME!" It is capitalism gone terribly wrong. No, it certainly does not apply to every American, but sadly it is a pervasive attitude here in my experience. Why it has evolved this way is one of the key themes/questions of "Columbine". I don't know that Moore answers it definitively but it is certainly a thought provoking film, well worth seeing. It really stretches the limits of what may call "Documentary" though, as I believe it is clearly slanted and highly manipulated in order to get Moore's points across. I guess it might more rightly fall under the category of "Propaganda". If I didn't sympathize with many of his ideas I might object to his techniques more strongly. Essentially he is fighting fire with fire.

Just to briefly comment on Leftistelf's point; I think it is implicitly understood in most real estate markets where the market is overtaxed with demand that the buying process is essentially open to bidding as described, and is normally held on an auction-like basis. To compare this to the private sales of stereo gear is ludicrous. There is a forum for auctions here that is distinct from the classifieds. If you want to conduct your sales that way simply use that forum and take advantage of the reserve price. What's the problem with that?! OBO does not imply an auction-like process to me either, and Pbb described it's implications very well in his/her previous post. The conclusion of that post is hilarious and as painfully true as the scenario it illustrates. The suggestion that one should seek out a buyer according to how their 'attitude' pleases or displeases the seller is very sad indeed. To further be under the illusion that one may be able to, or should, judge another person from email correspondence related to a transaction for a piece of stereo gear is just,....well...sorry, but it's just pathetic. Again, "Land of the Free"....do whatever you want, and LIVE WITH IT.

Marco