It's happend again

[Bartman10]

Warning: Rant. This is the THRID time it's happend. A chap in Nelson privatetly advertised a bike that I'm interested in. It turns out hes also put it in a shop for sale. I made an offer through his private ad last night and this morning he accepted the deal. Now it turns out the shop want the commission anyway (understanable), but the guy wants me to pay another $500 over and above the offer that he has already accepted, so that the shop can take their cut. There are several issues here

1./ People should either sell their bike privately OR thorugh a dealer. NOT both. Of course the dealer will be more expensive so of course the consumer is going to go down the private route. This casues major arguments with the dealer and the seller. Meanwhile the buyer is stuck in the middle. And $500 bucks is tyre and rego.

2./ Once an offer has been accepted the seller should go ahead with that deal. It's not my problem that the shop and the owner have a contract. He's said yes to the deal. He should have considered that before accepting.

Sorry about the rant, but I hope you can understand why I'm pissed off . I thought I was going to get another bike next weekend but now I'm stuck in the middle of an argument about who should pay $500 to the shop keeper. All I can say is: it ain't gonna be me. A deal is a deal.

[Sparky Bills]

An understandable rant mate.

Shit you must be getting withdrawl symptoms now, how long has it been since youve been on a bike??

[_Gina_]

I am no paralegal......but I would say you have a verbal contract with him to purchase his bike for the verbally agreed amount, he can come back and try to negotiate with you, but at the end of the day the bike is yours for the price you both agreed on.

[Bartman10]

An understandable rant mate.

Shit you must be getting withdrawl symptoms now, how long has it been since youve been on a bike??

Yeah getting withdrawls something bad. I haven't even been into a bike shop for a few weeks. Ahhhhrrrhahha. Going to Manfeild for the KR track day on Janes ZXR250 next weekend though. Not exactly a gixxer 750, but better than nothing. I've got those braded lines to give back to you too.

Cheers man,

[zadok]

2./ Once an offer has been accepted the seller should go ahead with that deal. It's not my problem that the shop and the owner have a contract. He's said yes to the deal. He should have considered that before accepting.

Sorry about the rant, but I hope you can understand why I'm pissed off . I thought I was going to get another bike next weekend but now I'm stuck in the middle of an argument about who should pay $500 to the shop keeper. All I can say is: it ain't gonna be me. A deal is a deal.

Completely agree.

[Sparky Bills]

Yeah getting withdrawls something bad. I haven't even been into a bike shop for a few weeks. Ahhhhrrrhahha. Going to Manfeild for the KR track day on Janes ZXR250 next weekend though. Not exactly a gixxer 750, but better than nothing. I've got those braded lines to give back to you too.

Cheers man,

Hey, you will still have a ball on that bike on the track.
250's are great fun round the corners. Tyres so thin- can be flicked around real easy.
Did those lines not fit?

[unhingedlizard]

Couldnt agree more

[FEINT]

I can understand your frustration. You shouldn't be required to pay the extra $500 if you both have already agreed on the sum for the bike.

I had one case where the price was agreed on and pick up was a Saturday, the ****wit sold it to somebody else on the Friday for more money. Some of these sellers need a lesson or two.

[Jonty]

My advice is do not pay him the extra. he made a private offer of $x and you accepted the contract on $x. If he wants to privately advertise a bike that is for sale at a dealer all well and good but this need to be disclosed and it shoudl be advertised for the correct price. Tell him you will pay what he advertised or there is no deal. Unless off course you want to pay the extra $500 for protection under the consumer guarantees act (buying from a dealer) although this is arguable.

[Beemer]

That is his problem, not yours! If he says you can have the bike for this amount and then discovers the dealer wants a cut too, then it's up to him to negotiate with the dealer, and he shouldn't expect you to pay the $500.

I would have preferred to sell my bike through a dealer but they wanted $1500 to $2000 to sell it on my behalf and even more if they had to take a trade-in! So it's being sold privately, and if someone offers me a good price for it and I accept, that's a deal - unless the buyer doesn't come up with the money within a set timeframe. If I sell it for one price and then someone offers me more money before the buyer has picked it up - well, that's going to hurt but a deal's a deal.

That's like him saying "yes, you can have the bike for $???" and then trying to charge you extra when you collect it because "that price didn't include the tyres, or the wheels, or the engine!" Yeah right!

[Lou Girardin]

I find it strange that the dealer wants $500.00, did they have a sole agency? Did they spend money on the bike? What gives?
Bottom line is don't pay the $500 unless you absolutely must have THAT bike.

[Badcat]

if you pay the $500 you prove to him that screwing with a contract is ok.
i'd love to find out his trademe trading name.

[bear]

Bloody rude arse!
Seller should be the $500 out of pocket obviously for trying both methods at same time. Stick it to him.

[vifferman]

The arrangement he had with the dealer should not be your concern - that's between him and the dealer. You're not buying it from the dealer, otherwise you would've talked to them, not him, so your contract is with him alone.

[kerryg]

A deal is a deal.

It's a pretty awkward situation from your account of it, and some information is missing which makes it a bit harder to grasp the whole situation, but from what you've said this is how I'd view it:

1. If you had no dealings with the shop at all regarding the bike (e.g. inspecting it, riding it)and dealt only with owner of the bike privately, the issue of paying anything to the shop is the bike's owner's problem, pure and simple. I would have thought the shop has no right to claim anything from the owner in that instance anyway, but I guess it will come down to the fine print of the written contract/sale authority (if any) between the owner and the shop.
2.If you saw the bike at the shop first and the shop staff spent time and effort selling the bike to you, and you then by-passed the shop and made a private deal with the owner, the bike shop is probably at least morally, and possibly legally (again, depending on the terms they agreed with the owner to "OB" it) entitled to seek some fee from the owner. BUT NOT FROM YOU (they have no contractual relationship with you).
3. If you reached an agreement with the owner to buy the bike for $xxx, if (???) he's a decent guy he should keep his end of that agreement. A deal is a deal. That he subsequently gets stung by the dealer is not your problem except to this extent: if the owner will not honour the original deal and will only sell you the bike at $xxx + $500 you have bugger all chance of coming out on the winning end unless you had the original deal with him set out in writing and in a form that will stand up to legal scrutiny, and you are prepared to go down the path of getting a legal resolution (it means disputes tribunal or lawyers, time, effort, aggravation etc etc). Rather you than me.

Best to seek resolution by talking to the guy, setting out the case as you see it and appealing to his sense of decency if he has any. Failing that I'd walk away (there are other bikes).


World is full of arseholes, I've found.....