2 Year Old Click's Father's Mouse - Dad Ends Up Owing $245k For eBay Car

[matcom]

<snip>

If Jason Shepard seems all shook up, here's why:

He was sitting, he said, at his computer with his 2-year-old daughter, Morgan, on his lap. She clicked the mouse on his touch pad - once, he insists - and suddenly the word Congratulations! flashed on the screen.

He had just purchased a silver 1969 Mercedes-Benz 600 limo once owned by Elvis Presley.

The buy-it-now price on eBay: $245,000.

Shepard, 40, a sales representative from Ballston Lake, N.Y., said he was flabbergasted, especially because he said he did not have that kind of money and was not interested in buying that car.

Now, nearly a year and a half later, he wishes he could simply write "return to sender" on the federal lawsuit filed against him by the seller, Gene Epstein, a retired auto dealer from Newtown, Bucks County.

Epstein, who alleges breach of contract, said the car auction on Feb. 29, 2004, had started at $50,000 and had reached $175,000, when Shepard's buy-it-now click ended the online auction.

EBay declined to provide specific information on the auction. The company did say that the procedure in place at the time of the auction required two clicks to complete a transaction.

Epstein, 66, said he e-mailed Shepard immediately after the auction ended. When Shepard didn't reply, Epstein said, he got Shepard's address from eBay, found his phone number, and called him.

"I didn't know if this guy was playing games or if he intentionally did it," Epstein said. "He said he bid on it by accident."

Shepard said he was scared when he got the message from Epstein. "It was not a prank, not a joke," Shepard said by phone Tuesday.

Epstein's lawyer, Mark C. Reilly of Yardley, wrote a letter four days later, demanding payment.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/12150265.htm

[trotsky]

1. Um

It takes more than one click to "Buy it now" doesn't it?

[thinkingwoman]

2. nice try

Doesn't work that way.

[Old_Fart]

3. "Sure he did"

:crazy:

[China_cat]

4. Once a bid has been placed

you CAN'T 'buy it now'.

[Missy M]

9. I think you can 'buy it now' until the reserve price is met but..

not really sure.

[China_cat]

17. It depends on the type of auction

From eBay's site:

When it's part of an auction-style listing, the Buy It Now option is only shown on listings until an item receives its first bid, or, for a Reserve Price Auction, when the reserve is met. This means that when you see an item has both a Buy It Now price and a first bid price listed, you will need to act quickly!

Still makes that report a large pile of what is emitted from the south end of a north bound male bovine.

[ooglymoogly]

10. yes ya can

[ET Awful]

5. Umm, you have to click "buy it now" then click "confirm" then type

in your password for verification . . . I doubt his kid did all that.

[Hugin]

6. Same thing happens every time I push a button on my cell phone.

Some spurious charge appears on the next month's statement.

What's that all about?

[barb162]

7. Reminds me of my cousin's kid (age 2) who would dial 911

and breathe heavily into the phone. Then the cops would come and my cousin was wondering why the cops came to the house. It happened about 3 times; the 2 year old thought it was fun to have the cops come.

[TheDebbieDee]

13. LOLOLOLOL ! What a cute story. : - )

[DS1]

8. Eh, sell it again

:shrug:

[kick-ass-bob]

18. Why do you always state what I am thinking?

Oh, because it is obvious.

:shrug:

[LynneSin]

11. I've used the 'Buy-Now' feature on E-bay and it's definately multi-click

so either the guy has a fricking genius for a kid or he's lying through his teeth. I suspect the later

[LisaL]

12. He is either lying, or dumb as a box or rocks.

Looking at e-bay with a 2 year old child sitting on his lap.
Well, how did he come up with that bright idea?

[Whoa_Nelly]

19. He's lying

Have used "Buy It Now" many times on eBay. There are AT LEAST two more steps to go through before finalizing/confirming your bid. The only way this could have happened re: 2-year old, would be that he had already gone through the first two steps in the BIN process. Which means he was already on his way to purchasing the car, or just "testing" out the BIN process.

Wonder how many feedbacks this guy has? Am just wondering because it would show his long or short term experience as an eBay buyer.

[ooglymoogly]

14. sounds like the seller is trying to pull a scam

you have to click place bid or buy it now, then type in your password then verify. then comes the congrats....either this guy is lying or the seller is trying to pull something. i have typed in the wrong amount the verifying screen has told me to go back and correct and when tried to do that the auction had ended....yet the seller was able to somehow make the deal work and then i got the congrats.

[Torgo Johnson]

15. If you are stupid enough to auction that expensive of a item...

over the internet, you will probably get someone who cannot afford it.
Use an actual auction house for something that pricey. That said, there is no way his daughter just clicked the button. The seller does deserve some money.

[Maddy McCall]

16. Impossible.