Can asking price be changed after offer is made?

I'm not a lawyer, but, once you agree to a standing offer I believe you have a contract.

Zaikesman, thankyou for your thoughtful and well worded reply. I still think that letting the seller off the hook is tantamount to turning the classifieds into a silent "auction". The inverse to an undervalued asking price is an overpriced asking price. The consequences of that would be either no sale or reaping a larger profit margin. Would we agree with a buyer who skipped out on a deal after agreeing to the price, because he latter discovered that it wasn't worth it? Just as the seller could complain that he may have lost other legitimate sales opportunities, so could the buyer complain that he lost other legitimate buying opportunities. We could turn this thing into a similar debacle that has plagued the restaturant industry, where an individual makes multiple reservations and then askes his companions where they would like to dine at the last minute, giving the impression of being a big shot who can just walk into any popular restataurant. Some restaurants now over book leaving some resaurants with empty tables and others with disgruntled customers waiting at the bar. Many whom have had their after dinner plans ruined (theatre tickets, air line reservations, etc). Even if the person makes multiple reservations and cancels, he has still altered the table and seating arrangements. Now the staff has to do twice what could have been done once for even less money and customers are forced to endure the havoc that ensues. What once was a courtesey is lost and our standard of living with it. Think of the consequences of emdorsing this type of behaviour. In my opinion ignoring it is the same as condoning it. Just as a buyer needs to do his home work before committing to a bid or a purchase, so must the seller. Once it's out there and it's accepted, it's a deal. Timeliness is an arbitrary perspective. I believe Audiogon requests all deals be completed in 10 days. That time period would also include the time involved in checks clearing and actual delivery. As such, at what time is the seller responsible for confirmation for the the sale to proceed? I think that when appropriate following the Audiogon guidelines for auctions should apply to sales as well. One purchase can set into motion a series of sales and/or auctions that involves many Audiogoners. Any hinderence to this mechanism can be construed to be a hinderence to the hobby and objectives of that brought us here in the first place, the opportunity to obtain the best possible sound within our own personal budgets. It's in our own best interest as a community of similar people with similar objectives to to come to agreement as to what is and what is not acceptable to us as a community. Encouraging this type of sales behaviour is a detriment to us all. All socities have rules, customs and laws, I think we can fit this topic into at least one of these categories.

Sean, Zaikesman, why bother with both auctions and classifieds if OBO is going to turn classifieds into unrestricted, unmonitored auctions? Since there is a place (auctions) that preceed the classifieds I think it is quite clear as to what we are agreeing to up front, and it's not an auction. Unless there are some unforseen changes (the equipment is no longer in the condition it was originally advertised as, etc.) it behooves us all to set some type of standard as to what constitutes a contract. This type of thing could get out of hand and we all could loose out on a good thing.

Zaikesman, perhaps I'm the naive one. My thinking is based on the following premise, unless there are provisions mentioned up front, I believe that a classified add is an offering of a specific piece of merchandise for a specific price. "I'll give you X merchandise for Y money", "I'll give you Y money for X merchandise" Done! Once that price is met you have a contract and the merchandise is promised and no longer available. Any other offers should be held as contingency only. Reselling the same merchandise that was previously sold (or inherently promised as such ) under the previous agreement is dishonest. Sellers and buyers take the same risk regarding actual value. If a seller could benefit from over pricing an item it stands to reason he could also suffer from under pricing an item. If a buyer suffers from purchasing an over priced item it stands to reason that he could benefit from buying an under priced item. Were all big boys and girls, there are no "do overs". All parties should do their home work before offers are made and agreed to. Of course should a mistake be realized before an agreement is made, retraction should be available. Should we allow sellers to accept multiple bids after the original asking price is met (especially in a fixed priced ad), we then allow buyers to make multiple offers on different pieces of merchandise even though they only have the true intention of buying one item, so that they may insure themselves the opportunity to back out of an agreement at the last momement should a better price avail itself or at the very least be in a less precarious situation to actually purchase a piece of merchandise. I'm sure that seller's would be just as upset by that practice, yet it would be fair if you codone the seller doing the inverse. This could have a domino effect that could effect many others who have made agreements based upon original agreements by others. All this can be avoided by honoring ones word. Should one breach this verbal contract there should be repercussions. Just like my restaurant analogy it all comes down to honor. While I have used auctions here on Audiogon before I never really liked them. This thread has forced me to reconsider. If we can't do business in an honorable way perhaps we should abandon the classifieds and stick to the auctions. As it now stands sellers can refuse buyers based on percieved race, religon, creed, etc. Furthermore if buyers resort to the tactics I've outlined to defend themselves it will most likely result in loss of privacy to all parties, as telephone numbers and addreses will probably be needlessly shared. We all know how that can spin out of control. We could add something to the effect that a minimum feedback rating would be required or something to that effect. Sorry, if I've been redundant and beat this thing to death, but I can't help but feel that the loss of honor is erroding our standard of living. If we can all agree to a standard of doing business we will avoid unnecessary complexties and hassles and enjoy better, less stressful lives.