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Should Comic Link hold sellers accountable for cancelled Exchange sales?

C-Link Exchange: Making the Seller accountable for the sale of a book  

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  1. 1. C-Link Exchange: Making the Seller accountable for the sale of a book

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If there's ever been a time where you purchased a book on C-Link's Exchange only to then see the book "disappear" as a result of the seller canceling the order, then perhaps it's time to see what boardies thinks about this policy? A buyer is contractually liable in the Exchange but not the seller. C-Link auctions, however, require accountability on the part of both buyer and seller. True, the buyer knows about this upon participating in the exchange. Does this make it right? Should C-Link hold sellers accountable for revoking a purchase on the exchange?

 

Thanks for any insight!

 

John

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The only way to enforce it is cancelling items the seller has posted for sale. But I don't see how they can force someone to sell.

 

It's a contractual obligation- Seller offers and buyer accepts. Buyer fails to pay, Buyer is persona non grata per CLink. Seller refuses to sell after buyer has agreed to buy the item- You can call it "canceling" the sale- it is a breach of the offer to sell.

 

Comiclink should suspend or revoke the seller's privilege to sell on the Exchange (as they do with the buyer).

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If there's ever been a time where you purchased a book on C-Link's Exchange only to then see the book "disappear" as a result of the seller canceling the order, then perhaps it's time to see what boardies thinks about this policy? A buyer is contractually liable in the Excgange but not the seller. C-Link auctions, however, require accountability on the part of both buyer and seller. True, the buyer knows about this upon participating in the exchange. Does this make it right? Should C-Link hold sellers accountable for revoking a purchase on the exchange?

 

Thanks for any insight!

 

John

 

A live auction listing and a BIN/BO listing on the Exchange are just not comparable to one another.

 

If a seller wants to pull a book off of the Exchange, he should be free to do so with no penalty of any kind.It is the seller's property, after all.

 

 

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If there's ever been a time where you purchased a book on C-Link's Exchange only to then see the book "disappear" as a result of the seller canceling the order, then perhaps it's time to see what boardies thinks about this policy? A buyer is contractually liable in the Excgange but not the seller. C-Link auctions, however, require accountability on the part of both buyer and seller. True, the buyer knows about this upon participating in the exchange. Does this make it right? Should C-Link hold sellers accountable for revoking a purchase on the exchange?

 

Thanks for any insight!

 

John

 

A live auction listing and a BIN/BO listing on the Exchange are just not comparable to one another.

 

If a seller wants to pull a book off of the Exchange, he should be free to do so with no penalty of any kind.It is the seller's property, after all.

 

 

The seller should always be permitted to withdraw her/his property anytime prior to the buyer accepting the seller's offer. The seller placing the book on the exchange is an offer to sell. That principal is applied here- we have a Hall of Shame for both sellers and buyers who fail to follow through on their contractual obligation.

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To give my opinion, I'd need a little more info...... with Clink there are a few stages in the Exchange process.... of which my memory is a little hazy. There is the "Buy Order" which can become invalid, if another buyer submitted one earlier than you. That is then submitted to the seller, and even if it is at full price, the seller must still accept/approve the offer, after which it goes to "Sale Pending". In rare instances, there may have been a typo or the item is no longer available, so that step is important. Some listings are so old that they don't even have a listing date..... I have NEVER had success purchasing one of those with no listing date. Many dealers use Clink as well as offering the book at shows or their shop...... a sale may have occurred in the meantime. I think Clink requests that the item not be listed elsewhere at a cheaper price, but it's been a while since I read the terms. I'm sorry your deal fell through. Did it seem "too good to be true"?........ maybe it was an error.GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

 

.... I recently placed a buy order and the item made it to the "item reserved for you" stage, at which point the listing disappeared, never making it to the "Final Order Confirmation" stage. I thought the seller may have pulled it, but I sent payment by M.O. anyway, knowing Clink would refund if a problem arose. A few weeks later, I received the book.

 

....technically, until the seller accepts the "Buy Order" and the item reaches "Final Order Confirmation", no binding agreement has been made.... and I use the term "binding" loosely...... it's still something slightly less than a gentleman's handshake agreement......

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Were you bummed out that you had won the book that was canceled?

 

Would you be depending on the book?

 

No, I will express my disappointment to Comiclink for the seller breaching the contract if we made the agreement or completed deal via Exchange. I simply asked you if it ever happened to you. It never happened to me. The sellers are free to cancel or pull it out unless the book hasn't sold or purchased.

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Were you bummed out that you had won the book that was canceled?

 

Would you be depending on the book?

 

No, I will express my disappointment to Comiclink for the seller breaching the contract if we made the agreement or completed deal via Exchange. I simply asked you if it ever happened to you. It never happened to me. The sellers are free to cancel or pull it out unless the book hasn't sold or purchased.

 

It has happened to me- there's no recourse through C-Link. The question here is one of interpretation - at what point is a contract entered into? My point is that a contract is entered into when the buyer accepts the seller's offer to sell the book. The Seller's Offer to Sell occurs as soon as the book is placed on the Exchange. It's at that point when the buyer becomes liable but not the seller? You can't "cancel" a contract without both contracting parties mutually agreeing to it. Moreover, the buyer is liable after accepting the order but the seller is not. We have a Hall of Shame for both Sellers and Buyers who "cancel" agreements.

 

 

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Were you bummed out that you had won the book that was canceled?

 

Would you be depending on the book?

 

No, I will express my disappointment to Comiclink for the seller breaching the contract if we made the agreement or completed deal via Exchange. I simply asked you if it ever happened to you. It never happened to me. The sellers are free to cancel or pull it out unless the book hasn't sold or purchased.

 

It has happened to me. The question here is one of interpretation - at what point is a contract entered into? My point is that a contract is entered into when the buyer accepts the seller's offer to sell the book. It's at that point when the buyer becomes liable but not the seller? You can't "cancel" a contract without both contracting parties mutually agreeing to it. Moreover, the buyer is liable after accepting the order but the seller is not.

 

I'd say the contract is entered upon payment for the book.

 

I wouldn't hold it against a seller if I made an offer, which was accepted...and then before I had paid, someone else made a better offer.

 

But once money changes hands, it is a done deal...and if a seller backs out of selling the book, issues a refund, after being paid, then he should be penalized.

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To give my opinion, I'd need a little more info...... with Clink there are a few stages in the Exchange process.... of which my memory is a little hazy. There is the "Buy Order" which can become invalid, if another buyer submitted one earlier than you. That is then submitted to the seller, and even if it is at full price, the seller must still accept/approve the offer, after which it goes to "Sale Pending". In rare instances, there may have been a typo or the item is no longer available, so that step is important. Some listings are so old that they don't even have a listing date..... I have NEVER had success purchasing one of those with no listing date. Many dealers use Clink as well as offering the book at shows or their shop...... a sale may have occurred in the meantime. I think Clink requests that the item not be listed elsewhere at a cheaper price, but it's been a while since I read the terms. I'm sorry your deal fell through. Did it seem "too good to be true"?........ maybe it was an error.GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

 

.... I recently placed a buy order and the item made it to the "item reserved for you" stage, at which point the listing disappeared, never making it to the "Final Order Confirmation" stage. I thought the seller may have pulled it, but I sent payment by M.O. anyway, knowing Clink would refund if a problem arose. A few weeks later, I received the book.

 

....technically, until the seller accepts the "Buy Order" and the item reaches "Final Order Confirmation", no binding agreement has been made.... and I use the term "binding" loosely...... it's still something slightly less than a gentleman's handshake agreement......

 

jimbo- this is fine where the buyer is also not accountable after agreeing to purchase the book. However, the buyer is under obligation to buy the book immediately after the hitting the "Confirm" button that follows the "Buy it Now." while the seller has no obligation until the "Final Order Confirmation." Doesn't place the buyer on equal footing, does it? The seller's accountability should begin at the same time as the buyer's. We have that here when a seller posts a book for sale and the buyer accepts the seller's offer to sell with a simple :takeit: . Both are now obligated. Best John (thumbs u

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If there's ever been a time where you purchased a book on C-Link's Exchange only to then see the book "disappear" as a result of the seller canceling the order, then perhaps it's time to see what boardies thinks about this policy? A buyer is contractually liable in the Excgange but not the seller. C-Link auctions, however, require accountability on the part of both buyer and seller. True, the buyer knows about this upon participating in the exchange. Does this make it right? Should C-Link hold sellers accountable for revoking a purchase on the exchange?

 

Thanks for any insight!

 

John

 

A live auction listing and a BIN/BO listing on the Exchange are just not comparable to one another.

 

If a seller wants to pull a book off of the Exchange, he should be free to do so with no penalty of any kind.It is the seller's property, after all.

 

 

The seller should always be permitted to withdraw her/his property anytime prior to the buyer accepting the seller's offer. The seller placing the book on the exchange is an offer to sell. That principal is applied here- we have a Hall of Shame for both sellers and buyers who fail to follow through on their contractual obligation.

 

I don't think that's exactly how it works. I'm not a lawyer, but I believe that the seller placing the book on the exchange is not an offer to sell, but what is known in contract law as "an invitation to treat." An invitation to treat is not an offer, but an indication of a person's willingness to negotiate a contract.

 

"As a general rule, a display of goods at a fixed price in a shop window or on a shelf in a self-service store is an invitation to treat and not an offer. An offer may be made by a prospective buyer. At this stage, the retailer may accept or reject that offer.

 

"Similar principles would seem to apply where a supplier of goods or services indicates their availability on a website: that is, the offer would seem to come from the customer (eg. when he clicks the appropriate button) and it is then open to the supplier to accept or reject that offer."

 

Quoted from Duhaime's Encyclopedia of Law

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If there's ever been a time where you purchased a book on C-Link's Exchange only to then see the book "disappear" as a result of the seller canceling the order, then perhaps it's time to see what boardies thinks about this policy? A buyer is contractually liable in the Excgange but not the seller. C-Link auctions, however, require accountability on the part of both buyer and seller. True, the buyer knows about this upon participating in the exchange. Does this make it right? Should C-Link hold sellers accountable for revoking a purchase on the exchange?

 

Thanks for any insight!

 

John

 

A live auction listing and a BIN/BO listing on the Exchange are just not comparable to one another.

 

If a seller wants to pull a book off of the Exchange, he should be free to do so with no penalty of any kind.It is the seller's property, after all.

 

 

The seller should always be permitted to withdraw her/his property anytime prior to the buyer accepting the seller's offer. The seller placing the book on the exchange is an offer to sell. That principal is applied here- we have a Hall of Shame for both sellers and buyers who fail to follow through on their contractual obligation.

 

I don't think that's exactly how it works. I'm not a lawyer, but I believe that the seller placing the book on the exchange is not an offer to sell, but what is known in contract law as "an invitation to treat." An invitation to treat is not an offer, but an indication of a person's willingness to negotiate a contract.

 

"As a general rule, a display of goods at a fixed price in a shop window or on a shelf in a self-service store is an invitation to treat and not an offer. An offer may be made by a prospective buyer. At this stage, the retailer may accept or reject that offer.

 

"Similar principles would seem to apply where a supplier of goods or services indicates their availability on a website: that is, the offer would seem to come from the customer (eg. when he clicks the appropriate button) and it is then open to the supplier to accept or reject that offer."

 

Quoted from Duhaime's Encyclopedia of Law

 

"Similar principles would seem to apply..." It's a question of interpretation. Please note that in the shop scenario presented, the buyer is not on the hook for the purchase- she/he has the right to refund the purchase within a reasonable period of time depending on the state (in the U.S.). There are websites that have refund policies as required. There is no refund policy for the buyer on C-Link- the buyer must follow through as soon as s/he confirms the buy. The buyer is contractually liable and will be penalized for not complying. The seller is not liable at the time the buyer is. Which brings us back to the original question.

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You're only liable if the seller accepts your buy order. GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

 

..... and I must confess, I'm swirling with curiosity over just exactly what book got your ire like this ..................

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In most cases C-Link doesn't have the book in their possession so really all they can do is ban the seller if a pattern of this kind of behavior exists. How exactly could they enforce the sale and to what extend do they have to use up their time and resources to make you whole? Yes it sucks but I doubt it happens very often.

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In most cases C-Link doesn't have the book in their possession so really all they can do is ban the seller if a pattern of this kind of behavior exists. How exactly could they enforce the sale and to what extend do they have to use up their time and resources to make you whole? Yes it sucks but I doubt it happens very often.

 

I like the idea of banning the seller if it's done a number of times within a defined period and posting a seller's history (if any) of pulling books after the buyer has purchased them. CLink's IT can build this into its system. That's a reasonable resolution that I would like to see. (thumbs u

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You're only liable if the seller accepts your buy order. GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

 

..... and I must confess, I'm swirling with curiosity over just exactly what book got your ire like this ..................

 

Seller's still not on the hook- can pull out if C-Link doesn't have the book. This isn't personal and it's not anti-CLink. I find Clink to be an excellent operation. I've purchased many books thru C-Link and will continue to do so. This is about constructively dealing with the problem that arises with some sellers and/or speculators who use it to gauge value and forum shop. It would be great if CLink publicly notified sellers that abuses and manipulation will not be tolerated. As for the book- that's between the seller and me jimbo (thumbs u

 

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If there's ever been a time where you purchased a book on C-Link's Exchange only to then see the book "disappear" as a result of the seller canceling the order, then perhaps it's time to see what boardies thinks about this policy? A buyer is contractually liable in the Excgange but not the seller. C-Link auctions, however, require accountability on the part of both buyer and seller. True, the buyer knows about this upon participating in the exchange. Does this make it right? Should C-Link hold sellers accountable for revoking a purchase on the exchange?

 

Thanks for any insight!

 

John

 

A live auction listing and a BIN/BO listing on the Exchange are just not comparable to one another.

 

If a seller wants to pull a book off of the Exchange, he should be free to do so with no penalty of any kind.It is the seller's property, after all.

 

 

The seller should always be permitted to withdraw her/his property anytime prior to the buyer accepting the seller's offer. The seller placing the book on the exchange is an offer to sell. That principal is applied here- we have a Hall of Shame for both sellers and buyers who fail to follow through on their contractual obligation.

 

I don't think that's exactly how it works. I'm not a lawyer, but I believe that the seller placing the book on the exchange is not an offer to sell, but what is known in contract law as "an invitation to treat." An invitation to treat is not an offer, but an indication of a person's willingness to negotiate a contract.

 

"As a general rule, a display of goods at a fixed price in a shop window or on a shelf in a self-service store is an invitation to treat and not an offer. An offer may be made by a prospective buyer. At this stage, the retailer may accept or reject that offer.

 

"Similar principles would seem to apply where a supplier of goods or services indicates their availability on a website: that is, the offer would seem to come from the customer (eg. when he clicks the appropriate button) and it is then open to the supplier to accept or reject that offer."

 

Quoted from Duhaime's Encyclopedia of Law

 

"Similar principles would seem to apply..." It's a question of interpretation. Please note that in the shop scenario presented, the buyer is not on the hook for the purchase- she/he has the right to refund the purchase within a reasonable period of time depending on the state (in the U.S.). There are websites that have refund policies as required. There is no refund policy for the buyer on C-Link- the buyer must follow through as soon as s/he confirms the buy. The buyer is contractually liable and will be penalized for not complying. The seller is not liable at the time the buyer is. Which brings us back to the original question.

 

I'm only playing devil's advocate here. While what the seller did is not illegal, it's certainly bad form. Regardless of the law, all C-Link would have to do is amend their terms and conditions to prevent this, and as you suggested, impose penalties for doing so. So in regards to your original question, yes I'm with you 100% that sellers should be held accountable (thumbs u

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Were you bummed out that you had won the book that was canceled?

 

Would you be depending on the book?

 

No, I will express my disappointment to Comiclink for the seller breaching the contract if we made the agreement or completed deal via Exchange. I simply asked you if it ever happened to you. It never happened to me. The sellers are free to cancel or pull it out unless the book hasn't sold or purchased.

 

It has happened to me. The question here is one of interpretation - at what point is a contract entered into? My point is that a contract is entered into when the buyer accepts the seller's offer to sell the book. It's at that point when the buyer becomes liable but not the seller? You can't "cancel" a contract without both contracting parties mutually agreeing to it. Moreover, the buyer is liable after accepting the order but the seller is not.

 

I'd say the contract is entered upon payment for the book.

 

I wouldn't hold it against a seller if I made an offer, which was accepted...and then before I had paid, someone else made a better offer.

 

But once money changes hands, it is a done deal...and if a seller backs out of selling the book, issues a refund, after being paid, then he should be penalized.

 

What about on ebay when an ebay seller auctions a book and then it doesn't sell for GPA so the seller cancels the sale? Or does that not apply cause you want to be righteous and preach in the thread but not follow the rules outside of it?

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