Aussie eBayer

[Barry Churcher]

Australian court orders man to hand over vintage plane he sold for $128,640 on eBay
Published: Friday, August 3, 2007 | 4:14 PM ET
Canadian Press
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - An Australian court ordered a man to hand over a vintage plane worth about $215,000 after he tried to back out of an eBay auction, a newspaper reported Friday.

The New South Wales state Supreme Court ordered Vin Thomas to complete the deal after he changed his mind about selling the 1946 World War II Wirraway plane he had placed on the Internet auction site last year, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Peter Smythe, a Australian warplane enthusiast, was the only person to bid on the item, matching the $128,640 reserve price just moments before the auction ended in August last year.

But Thomas had already agreed to sell the plane to someone else for $85,800 more than Smythe's offer, and backed out of the sale, the newspaper said.

Smythe took Thomas to court, hoping a judge would force him to follow through with the deal.

Judge Nigel Rein agreed, saying the eBay auction formed "a binding contract between the plaintiff and the defendant and ... should be specifically enforced."

© The Canadian Press, 2007

[Pedr]

I have just hung up the telephone from my uncle after reading this Canadian news story.

My uncle, Graham Smith is a personal friend of Peter Smythe ( Also from Adelaide ).

Graham tells me, Peter made just one bid at the starting price of AUD$150,000. There were no more bidders and the auction ended. There was no reserve set by the vendor ( whom may not have know how to do so )

The vendor attempted to prevent the transaction from taking place. Peter opted to take the matter to court. In court the vendor was asked if he had placed the item on Ebay to sell. The vendor said that he was unsure. He was asked again and he said that "he didn't do it". Finally admitting to the Magistrate that he had infact listed the plane on Ebay for sale.

The Magistrate ruled infavour of the plaintiff, stating that once the auction had ended the vendor could not "change his mind " on the conditions of the sale.

Pedr