Am I doing the right thing?

[Bram]

Tell me if I'm to blame here, please.

<BR4M> I want 2 tickets for Rock Werchter
<BR4M> which is sold out
<BR4M> so I went on the net
<BR4M> you know, ebay and shit
<BR4M> I also mailed a lot of ppl from marktplaats (a dutch trading site)
<BR4M> noone responded yesterday
<BR4M> so I won an auction on ebay
<BR4M> after which
<BR4M> OTHER people start responding to my emails all of a sudden
<BR4M> now I was offered like 12 tickets so far
<BR4M> all cheaper than the ebay ones
<BR4M> but I decided to go with the ebay dude
<BR4M> coz I´m a good guy at heart
<BR4M> and its after all a sort of binding contract if you win
<BR4M> so I cancelled all these other people
<Freelance> You don't want to be accused off being a ripper
<BR4M> exactly
<BR4M> and decided I didnt trust the ebay dude to send them to me
<BR4M> so I asked if I could come over and pick them up
<BR4M> and he´s like
<BR4M> ´Uh, yeah, but I don´t actually HAVE them yet.´
<BR4M> WTF
<BR4M> he sent me his mastercard reciept to show that he did pay for them and the company just hadnt sent them yet
<BR4M> but I'm like
<BR4M> even if that's true
<BR4M> I don't wanna go ahead with it
<BR4M> now I'm suddenly dependant on some company I never heard of
<BR4M> so I'm breaking this deal
<BR4M> and telling him that if he reports me as a non-payer or leaves me negative feedback
<BR4M> ..I'me send all my shit to the ebay lawyers
<BR4M> and expose his act
<BR4M> I mean
<BR4M> You can't blame me for not wanting to gp ahead with this?
<BR4M> For all I know, this company ends up telling him ' sorry, we can't deliver'  and refunds him his money
<BR4M> no harm done
<BR4M> except
<BR4M> I STILL WONT HAVE TICKETS
<BR4M> and prices will double between now and the festival
<Freelance> So now what?
<BR4M> so fuck him
<BR4M> I'ma mail all these other people back
<BR4M> see if any of them still have the tickets
<BR4M> one guy even lives like a 10 km. drive from my house

Am I an asshole for breaking the deal at this point? Some of you are experienced ebayers. Tell me what you think.

[Eddie]

Am I an asshole for breaking the deal at this point? Some of you are experienced ebayers. Tell me what you think.

I don't think you are. What was in the item description? If it was for a ticket, then you're not to blame because the item isn't there. The guys that are selling the tickets are assholes, but that's a whole new discussion. You have to be careful with these tickets though. I've heard they had a checking mechanism so they could find out who's selling them on the internet (who was the original owner). I believe it was Philips that made some kind of chip on them. Last years ticket sale was a disaster and I ended up paying 180 euro for 2 tickets, just to see the pixies.

[Bram]

What was in the item description? If it was for a ticket, then you're not to blame because the item isn't there.

There was no mention of the fact he didn't have them. I made a screenshot just to be sure. He never even mentioned it in our initial communication, either. He only brought it up when I told him I'd rather pick up the tickets than have them mailed to me.

Last years ticket sale was a disaster and I ended up paying 180 euro for 2 tickets, just to see the pixies.

I wanna go the full four days. Tickets in presale were 120 a piece, but I'll end up paying 200 now.

I've heard they had a checking mechanism so they could find out who's selling them on the internet (who was the original owner). I believe it was Philips that made some kind of chip on them.

Wow, freaky. I need to check into that.

[Hi-Val]

Well if the tickets are now going for a lot more money, this guy will be happy to have them free to sell again.

[Bram]

That's true. I didn't really look at it that way. I sort of assumed he was gonna bote my head of or something. I never considered that fact that the conniving bastard could actually be happy about this.

[Machinus]

If a seller doesn't have the item, it is not binding. He wouldn't leave negative feedback on you if he has read his eBay contract. All you have to do is call them. Buy your cheap tickets from someone else.

[Bram]

After a series of emails back and forth, we decided it would be best for both of us if we mutually agreed to cancel the deal.

Apparently there is some sort of clause that said you can do that. I already filled out the forms and the contract is now officially null and void. It allows for him to get restitution of his sale commission and just put the stuff online again. Because we wasn't being difficult, I decided to cooperate. I didn't report him to ebay, and even gave him positive feedback in the end because he wasn't being an ass about it.

Matter resolved.