*MUST READ* The double standard of government bobbleheads...

[CHEESE_WAGON]

You ever see something happen that wasn't right, and it pissed you off, even though it wasn't you that it happened to? Well, I have.

A recent member here found a listing for a nice Blue Bird bookmobile. Trouble is, its pictures were mixed up with those of another bus, which also had incorrect info. In fact, they sent me the link for the listing THEY found with the incorrect VIN, and the listing made no sense, so I did some digging and found the listing for the correct one.

In a nutshell, some idiot had uploaded the Blue Bird's pictures to a listing for a 2012 Gillig (per VIN), which the county does not have, and pics of some clapped-out transit overgrown blueberry that had clearly seen better days were posted to the Blue Bird's listing with the correct 2004 Blue Bird VIN.

However, the VIN decoded as a 2004 Blue Bird, which was what was listed in the description. All other info was correct as well, and the member has their receipt showing payment in full.

People, this is a nice bus, this member paid a good price for it on reserve, and what Alameda is doing to this member is flat-out fraud. The member bid in good faith on a listing they understood and verified had incorrect pictures with a correct VIN number, and that is what they won the high bid on. Now the seller is crying foul because the SELLER'S AGENT screwed up and is cancelling the sale, REFUSING to GIVE THE MEMBER WHAT THEY PAID FOR.

The VIN is what this member bid on, and when it was discovered that the listing had the wrong pictures and apparently the wrong reserve set, the seller (Alameda GA) cancelled the sale instead of honoring the legal contract they were party to.

Say WHAT?! As a southern guy, I have to say, "Oh, ****, no!"

We can't refuse to honor a high bid on a sale due to incorrect information, so why should they be able to refuse to honor a sale? I encourage everyone here to light up Alameda County's switchboard with this, as well as bombard GovDeals with their disdain of this double standard and BS. The bidder won the item fair and square with correct information, and if the seller uploaded the wrong pictures, that's THEIR problem. Just as it is OUR problem if we find problems with a vehicle after the sale, because it is sold AS-IS...

Skoolie.net and other skoolie groups should spread the word about this and unleash **** on this seller (Alameda County) and GovDeals.

 

[john61ct-SKO]

The site, auction contract everything is set up to favour the seller, i.e. screw the bidder / buyer.

Of course it's unfair, but that's American capitalism for you.

I doubt public pressure or even media attention would change the outcome.

 

[Sehnsucht-SKO]

Blatantly unethical but probably not illegal or against the website rules.

 

[cadillackid]

someone needs to read the fine print.. if the seller approved the payment and the buyer actually travelled to the site to receive his / her property, and were refused, then perhaps there is a case for garnering some compensation for their travel and efforts, however theres likely some fine print someplace that says the seller isnt responsible for misprints or errors and has the right to back out.



auction sites like these are most certainly built to favor the sellers.. when i won my red bus i was literally just practiving on how to play the auction game. a member here was coaching me on how to bid and i was using a couple busses as a test-run placing low bids.. I LOST the auction (purposely), however the only other bidder higher than me got disqualified and so they came to me saying "you won".. I didnt win i didnt paerticualrly want to win but someplace there was fine print that says i won so i was required to pay a fee or purchase the property at the bid i placed.. (as it turns out it was a blessing because it is a great bus cheap).. but ultimately I never read the fine print.. I wouldve been screwed had i gone and bid on other items seeing my original item was outbid.



my suggestion for this buyer is to go read everything about that auction and its terms, if they are out any expensses and see what it may say.. if they didnt travel to site for pickup then likely they just have to chalk it up as a learning experience. and perhaps they post in this thread and it get made a sticky about being real careful before placing a bid.. its not the first time ive seen incorrect pictures posted.. ive caught l;istings before where there were picas of more than one bus.. in one case the picture showed a high torque mechanical DT466 engine while the interior pic of the dash depicted a V8 diesel ..



Let Cheese-wagons post be a buyer beware that if something doesnt seem right or a VIN doesnt match then to pose a question on the auction listing.. the sellers will and have corrected listings before..



-Christopher