Bought a plane on eBay, what to do now?

Steve Foley said:
When I sold my plane on eBay, I asked for a non-refundable deposit that was just enough to covere my eBay fees (around $200)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have to amend that. I wouldn't mind at all, since you have to re-list it if I bail. I'm not putting down a 10% deposit or anything, though.

Fun story, I bought my car on Ebay, but in an after-auction transaction. The owner drove fit to an airport near his home, and my Chair flew me there in his airplane. Looked the car over, gave him the money, and drove home. My Chair flew his Skylane home. Fun transaction, and I still have the car. My Chair retired, and I heard he recently sold that airplane. He was another of this mutants who, like Tom Cruise, steadfastly refuses to age normally.
 
rainsux said:
> But for eBay, I believe the auction winner actually wins the item,
> doesn't win the option to decide whether or not he wants it.

Was the plane listed using eBay Motors terms & conditions?

Contrary to popular belief, the T&Cs for eBay Motors listings
(Real Estate too) are non-binding:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/non-binding-bid.html
Click to expand...

Covered above. Non-binding although a seller might consider a deposit pretty darn binding.
 
alfadog said:
Covered above. Non-binding although a seller might consider a deposit pretty darn binding.
Click to expand...

I suppose this is my point. As a seller, my intent is to sell you the item I have for sale. Once you've won the auction, I expect it to be binding. Unfortunately, buyers are as unscrupulous as sellers, especially since they know that, regardless of whether or not the terms and conditions say the purchase is binding, they can back out and PayPal won't take any money from them. It is a buyer's world these days.

The deposit is logical for it to be binding. I have no problem holding my item for someone until they can come inspect it and take delivery - especially for something like an airplane. But if Bob wants to buy my airplane and I've agreed to hold it for him without a deposit, then Jim comes by with cold hard cash, I'm selling the plane to Jim. So if Bob wanted the airplane, he should have given me a deposit, in which case I would have had to tell Jim "Sorry, I have a deposit on the airplane right now, but if it falls through I will let you know."

eBay creates an interesting set of circumstances since it's an auction without it being like a traditional auction. With effectively no requirements to become a buyer or a seller, there are a lot of unscrupulous people, and there really is nothing to enforce a bid being binding. So it works on the honor system, which has high degrees of variability.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I suppose this is my point. As a seller, my intent is to sell you the item I have for sale. Once you've won the auction, I expect it to be binding. Unfortunately, buyers are as unscrupulous as sellers, especially since they know that, regardless of whether or not the terms and conditions say the purchase is binding, they can back out and PayPal won't take any money from them. It is a buyer's world these days.
..
Click to expand...

PayPal told me they said that they would not refund a deposit on eBay Motors under any circumstance as long as the seller replied to them. They said that eBay offers their own buyer protection on eBay motors and suggested I use my credit card for a level of protection if eBay the service wasn't offered on ebay motors.
 
Bottom line to all this is that airplane deals as structured by those who know what they're doing follow a similar pattern and sequence of events that keep the horse and the cart in the desired order from beginning to end. Departing from this structure can, and often does, lead to many problems that could have been avoided. The ebay auction model does not adhere to the desired airplane model, and every deviation can become a major source of heartburn.

Since airplane transactions are an infrequent part of daily life, most buyers (and sellers too) spend very little time dealing with this stuff, have little reason to understand how and why a properly-structured transaction should be documented and the order in which the elements should be executed. If I didn't spend several days per week working on them, I probably wouldn't either. Suffice to say they don't bear much resemblance to other rolling stock deals for cars, boats, RV's etc.

It's also the reason that somebody else maintains the computer network in my office. When they ask about pings, my response of " I3+ stiff shaft, graphite, 2 degree upright, 1/2" longer than standard, mid-size grip" isn't the answer they were seeking. Caveat emptor.



Ted DuPuis said:
eBay creates an interesting set of circumstances since it's an auction without it being like a traditional auction. With effectively no requirements to become a buyer or a seller, there are a lot of unscrupulous people, and there really is nothing to enforce a bid being binding. So it works on the honor system, which has high degrees of variability.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
bartmc said:
PayPal told me they said that they would not refund a deposit on eBay Motors under any circumstance as long as the seller replied to them. They said that eBay offers their own buyer protection on eBay motors and suggested I use my credit card for a level of protection if eBay the service wasn't offered on ebay motors.
Click to expand...

Perhaps for a vehicle. I've had them take money out of my account for an item that I sold and shipped because the guy who received it decided he didn't want it. This was for a part sold on eBay motors.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Perhaps for a vehicle. I've had them take money out of my account for an item that I sold and shipped because the guy who received it decided he didn't want it. This was for a part sold on eBay motors.
Click to expand...

Just to pick the nit, they specifically said "eBay motors vehicle category and real estate"
 
bartmc said:
Just to pick the nit, they specifically said "eBay motors vehicle category and real estate"
Click to expand...

There you go then, that works.

This can be a place where your credit card will help you, though. Let's say that the guy took pictures of someone else's airplane and you sent him a $2,000 deposit. You file complaint. He contacts PayPal and says "I'm not sure what the problem is, I showed him the plane, he said he loved it, and then I saw this." PayPal doesn't refund deposit.

You call your credit card company and explain the scam. Now you've got another potential path for recourse. I use American Express for my deposits (and most other purchases). I've never had a problem with a fraud claim.
 
bartmc said:
PayPal told me they said that they would not refund a deposit on eBay Motors under any circumstance as long as the seller replied to them. They said that eBay offers their own buyer protection on eBay motors and suggested I use my credit card for a level of protection if eBay the service wasn't offered on ebay motors.
Click to expand...

Cute. PayPal is owned by eBay.
 
denverpilot said:
Cute. PayPal is owned by eBay.
Click to expand...

Which is probably why they deferred it to them, probably not their business model to get caught up in large disputes over properties, cars or airplanes. And eBay motors has their own "Buyer Protection" program.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top