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Original poster

Legality of ebay

16 replies

tortoiseshell · 15/04/2006 19:26

If someone sold something on ebay that wasn't theirs, is the owner of the item legally obliged to part with it? Can't be more specific than that really. What if the seller could be seen as a 'representative' (i.e. employee) of the person/company/organisation that owned the item?

Thanks!

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Original poster
tortoiseshell · 15/04/2006 20:07

bump please!

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starlover · 15/04/2006 20:10

no, because it isn't theirs to sell!

Upsadaisy · 15/04/2006 20:11

Agree with starlover

kid · 15/04/2006 20:23

No because as already said, it wasn't theirs to sell

ladymuck · 15/04/2006 20:54

It is probably more complicated than a yes/no answer, and does depend on the circumstances. There are instances where an agent or an employee would have the ability to conclude a binding contract which would require their principal/employer to fulfil it.

Original poster
tortoiseshell · 15/04/2006 22:04

Difficult to give more specifics - imagine an employee of a company sold off a company asset that they weren't entitled to sell. Is the ebay 'contract' legally binding, or is it a case of 'buyer beware'? Can a transaction be forced through, or would negative feedback be the only result?

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kid · 15/04/2006 22:05

Has the buyer paid for the item?

hunkermunker · 15/04/2006 22:06

Think it's probably buyer beware - don't people lose cars to finance companies because they've got outstanding finance on them when they're sold?

Original poster
tortoiseshell · 15/04/2006 22:10

Don't know if payment has been made

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Freckle · 15/04/2006 22:15

In order to sell something, you have to be the legal owner. If someone "sells" something to which they do not have outright title, then the item remains the property of the legal owner. The buyer's remedy is then to sue the seller for breach of contract. There may also be criminal charges as the attempt to sell the item could be considered theft.

kid · 15/04/2006 22:16

The buyer has to take it to a small claims court themselves, its not something Ebay does for you.

Mytwopenceworth · 15/04/2006 22:49

if the person is selling the item on behalf of the company and it is part of their job to sell items on behalf of the company, or they were asked to do so by the boss, and it was a planned sale and the money raised from the sale went to the company, then thats a straightforward sale.

if the person works for the company, and lists something belonging to the company for sale under their personal ebay account and the money raised goes to their own paypal account and they have it for their personal use, then thats the same as if they walked out of the office with a computer shoved under their jumper - theft!

Original poster
tortoiseshell · 15/04/2006 23:13

Thanks that's really helpful! Mytwopenceworth - it's more like the second situation you describe - done under personal ebay account, but company property!

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Mytwopenceworth · 15/04/2006 23:26

sounding more like theft!

so who gets the money from the sale is the big question -

is the person using their own account but handing the money to the company? (making it more a question of did they exceed their authority/make a bad management choice/not follow company policies)?

Or are they going to keep the money and put a deposit down on their summer hols? (out and out theft)

Original poster
tortoiseshell · 16/04/2006 12:56

It's only one instance, and I have no idea what has happened to any money, or if any has been paid. Certainly none has been paid to the owner of the item!

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Original poster
tortoiseshell · 16/04/2006 12:57

I suspect they are not intending to keep any money tbh, more a question of exceeding authority!

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