'Stupidest idiot' eBayer sells safe with $26K inside

[Mike Gayner]

Now watch for the impending flood of people buying safes, locking them and trying to sell them for a premium while this story is on people's minds....

 

[Zenmervolt]

That seller has some set of balls asking for half of the money. I can already picture him IRL as I've known people who would do this, and have done similar. Glad the buyer told him to pound sand.

There's a legal concept called "unjust enrichment" that may be in play here. The seller might actually have a claim here if he wanted to start a suit.

ZV

 

[SKORPI0]

There's a legal concept called "unjust enrichment" that may be in play here. The seller might actually have a claim here if he wanted to start a suit.

ZV

So how would seller disqualify his "WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET. NOTHING MORE AND NOTHING LESS" warning to start his claim? Is that legal and binding on sites like eBay/craiglist? By definition you can't see what the contents of the safe are (since they are inside), so he is SOL. It would be interesting how this plays out.

 

[aldamon]

There's a legal concept called "unjust enrichment" that may be in play here. The seller might actually have a claim here if he wanted to start a suit.

ZV

The Ebay seller is obviously a reseller so why would he have any more right to the money? If anything, the original owner who put the money there might have a case.

 

[bignateyk]

How could you not bust a locked safe open to see what was in it? At least shake it around a little to see if there is anything inside. If there is something in a locked safe, chances are it's gonna be worth enough to make it worth busting the safe open.

 

[Wingznut]

I'm glad the buyer kept all of the cash. If there were nothing in the safe, and the buyer asked the seller for half the money back... Think he would've obliged?

Of course not.

 

[Sureshot324]

Why would anyone even buy a safe without the key or combo to open it?

 

[apac]

Why would anyone even buy a safe without the key or combo to open it?

A boat is a boat, but the mystery box could be anything! It could even be a boat!

 

[Imp]

How the hell do you forget that you have a couple G lying around?

 

[AznAnarchy99]

i would, but he'd probably shoot me, sprinkle crack on me, and take both halves

Lmao.

 

[SlitheryDee]

If I were the buyer I would never have said anything about it.

 

[Miramonti]

"What you see is what you get."

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

Safe contains $26K. Seller wants a piece of dat.
Safe contains 26K killer bees. Seller says Oh Noes. Buyer Beware.

 

[paperfist]

Does the buyer have to pay taxes on that 'gift'?

 

[thegimp03]

How could the seller not have opened it before getting rid of it?

 

[highland145]

Does the buyer have to pay taxes on that 'gift'?

One more possible reason to stfu and spend the $$.

 

[randay]

request a refund and send him back an empty locked safe. 26k for free HAHAHA

 

[paperfist]

One more possible reason to stfu and spend the $$.

I think he felt like a 'thief' at a bank heist and couldn't keep it to himself

 

[BrokenVisage]

Too bad he blabbed, now he has to claim it on his taxes.

 

[Zenmervolt]

So how would seller disqualify his "WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET. NOTHING MORE AND NOTHING LESS" warning to start his claim? Is that legal and binding on sites like eBay/craiglist? By definition you can't see what the contents of the safe are (since they are inside), so he is SOL. It would be interesting how this plays out.

Yeah, that dog's not going to hunt.

If anything, that statement would work in the seller's favor because it emphasizes the fact that he's selling only the safe and implies that he believes the safe to be empty. If the seller's reasonable belief is that the safe is empty, then there's a chance for an unjust enrichment claim against the buyer to succeed. Now, this is far from guaranteed since uncertainty about the product is an iffy basis for such a claim, but it has worked in the past.

The Ebay seller is obviously a reseller so why would he have any more right to the money? If anything, the original owner who put the money there might have a case.

That depends on how the item was acquired, but technically yes. Though the "original owner" would have a difficult time establishing title given that the reseller acquires his items through things like salvage and bankruptcy sales where the original owner's identity may not be known (or even actually knowable) to the seller. Unless an "original owner" comes forward though, the reseller's claim to title seems currently the strongest.

ZV

 

[PingSpike]

It is not $26000 but $6000. media is trying to sensationalize.

"Mentally handicapped eBay seller accidentally sells floor safe with $2.6 trillion in cash and Dracula's mummified heart inside"

 

[PingSpike]

How could you not bust a locked safe open to see what was in it? At least shake it around a little to see if there is anything inside. If there is something in a locked safe, chances are it's gonna be worth enough to make it worth busting the safe open.

Or it might just have some old guy's butt plug in it.

 

[rh71]

umm, where did the money come from in the first place? Did he not notice he was missing $26k?

 

[PingSpike]

umm, where did the money come from in the first place? Did he not notice he was missing $26k?

Its probably some dead guys safe that he bought at auction or got for free during a tear down or something. Its a damn good question why some one would acquire a safe and not open it though.