B/S/T Etiquette

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

Technically and legally, a posting for sale is an invitation for offers, even though the post didn't say it. It is legally implied. A sale is a contract between two people. A contract requires offer and acceptance. So there has to be an offer. Even if a person isn't willing to negotiate, a listing with a price is not an offer. The buyer always makes the offer in contract law. The seller always accepts. When you go to walmart, their price is not the offer. It is technically an invitation to hear offers, even if they will only accept the price as marked. When you check out, you are making an offer to purchase at the listed price. When they take your money, they are accepting your offer. I don't really have time to explain all the nuance of contract law, but that's the gist. Which is why I used the term offer. It's a legal term that applies even if the seller wasn't open to negotiate. But it's important to understand so people don't mistakenly think that they have a right to the item just because they agree to the listed price. They don't. They can just make an offer to pay that price. Seller has no obligation to accept every offer to pay their price, even if they are first.

As a legal matter, correct. An "invitation to treat" under the English common law. That said, as a matter of etiquette which was the OP's question, it's probably the right and expected thing to take the first offer absent unusual circumstances.

[maniac_73]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

As a legal matter, correct. An "invitation to treat" under the English common law. That said, as a matter of etiquette which was the OP's question, it's probably the right and expected thing to take the first offer absent unusual circumstances.

I mean it’s irrelevant since I sold the cards to the first person who asked for it which was 30mins before the OP Dm’d me and posted on the thread. Which I told him through DM’s. He wasn’t even in 2nd


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[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

As a legal matter, correct. An "invitation to treat" under the English common law. That said, as a matter of etiquette which was the OP's question, it's probably the right and expected thing to take the first offer absent unusual circumstances.

I see no reason to get upset by a seller exercising his right. If it's proper etiquette to require a seller to accept the first offer (which I disagree with), it should also be proper etiquette to not whine when the seller doesn't sell to you. That's a bigger breach of etiquette to me.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

I see no reason to get upset by a seller exercising his right. If it's proper etiquette to require a seller to accept the first offer (which I disagree with), it should also be proper etiquette to not whine when the seller doesn't sell to you. That's a bigger breach of etiquette to me.

To me, the answer to the question whether one has a legal obligation to do something is often not the same as the answer to the question what is the right thing to do. Just my opinion, but I think normally one should sell to the first person who offers to buy at the posted price. YMMV.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

To me, the answer to the question whether one has a legal obligation to do something is often not the same as the answer to the question what is the right thing to do. Just my opinion, but I think normally one should sell to the first person who offers to buy at the posted price. YMMV.

I just don't think people should bring emotion into business. So, doing what you have a right to do is your prerogative and not a breach of etiquette.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

I just don't think people should bring emotion into business. So, doing what you have a right to do is your prerogative and not a breach of etiquette.

Imagine if a seller made this explicit, how would it go over? For sale 1933 Goudey #53 Babe Ruth PSA 3 12K. Please note that I have the right to sell to whoever I want and being the first to say I'll take it does not mean I will sell to you.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Imagine if a seller made this explicit, how would it go over? For sale 1933 Goudey #53 Babe Ruth PSA 3 12K. Please note that I have the right to sell to whoever I want and being the first to say I'll take it does not mean I will sell to you.

Don't see the problem. It would not offend me in the slightest. I'm more bothered by someone who would be offended by that. YMMV

Have you ever had a seller sell you a card knowing you were a collector over a competing buyer who is a flipper? I have. It doesn't bother me at all that a seller reserves the right to choose the buyer who will get his cards. I actually like that. No way should it be proper to expect them to sell to whoever sees it first.

[Section103]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Imagine if a seller made this explicit, how would it go over? For sale 1933 Goudey #53 Babe Ruth PSA 3 12K. Please note that I have the right to sell to whoever I want and being the first to say I'll take it does not mean I will sell to you.

While this would be exceptionally unusual, at the end of the day it wouldnt bother me because

a) Ebay has a block function that is WIDELY CELEBRATED here and this is functionally the exact same thing

b) I typically try not to act like an asshole here, so it likely wouldnt impact me (you reap what you sow)

[GeoPoto]

"Don't see the problem."

Your view is reasonable for a purely public market where strangers buy and sell cards. BST wants to be less public and more intimate than that. Predicated on the assumption that participants are, if not friends, fellow members of a fraternity. As such, it is reasonable to expect treatment more akin to how family members or friends would typically behave. Choosing to ignore the first full price offer in favor of somebody else's subsequent offer would invite resentments and jealousies that friends would try to avoid.

None of this helps the OP, of course, who is apparently undone by the facts.

[Fred]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Imagine if a seller made this explicit, how would it go over? For sale 1933 Goudey #53 Babe Ruth PSA 3 12K. Please note that I have the right to sell to whoever I want and being the first to say I'll take it does not mean I will sell to you.

Unless the ad says it'll be sold to the first person that say's I take it in the BST thread, then the person saying "I'll take it" in a thread without that sale statement wouldn't know if someone PM'd or emailed the seller to say "I'll take it". Just curious, why would a seller not sell a card to someone if it was for the asking price? Bottom line is that the seller can do what they want, but it they "sold" to you, then that would seem like a deal was being sealed.

[maniac_73]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

To me, the answer to the question whether one has a legal obligation to do something is often not the same as the answer to the question what is the right thing to do. Just my opinion, but I think normally one should sell to the first person who offers to buy at the posted price. YMMV.

Correct and that’s what I did.


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[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by maniac_73

Correct and that’s what I did.


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Yes, was not implying otherwise, just transitioned into a more general discussion.

[bk400]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

To me, the answer to the question whether one has a legal obligation to do something is often not the same as the answer to the question what is the right thing to do. Just my opinion, but I think normally one should sell to the first person who offers to buy at the posted price. YMMV.

I agree. In most (perhaps all, but not 100% sure) US states, there is no legal duty to warn a blind kid who is about to dive into an empty swimming pool. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it anyway.

As people living in an actual community, we go above and beyond -- and sometimes even break -- the stated law all the time.