Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

The women probably didn't have the money, and really wasn't trying to scam the guy, she probably genuinely made a mistake.

Yes, she made a mistake. But it was her mistake. And that mistake would have cost the seller ~$700, because the item she agreed to buy had a shelf-life. And her mistake prevents any other bidders, who presumably would have paid had they won the auction, from attending the event.



Weeeelll ... we don't know what the seller paid for the tickets. And yeah, the claim that none of the losing bidders was at all interested makes this whole thing, while an entertaining story, a little dubious in terms of believability.


Having a friend bid up your items is a well-known (eBay) scam. There's also just 24 hours before the game, so some people will already have found something, and this kind of "side deal" means that the buyer loses all protection.

In short, I can imagine the redditor having trouble selling these tickets.


And the seller made a mistake by spending $700 on a product that he wouldn't be able to use.

They were both wrong.


Unpredictable events happen.

He didn't go to the ticket booth and say: "Hey sorry, I can't go, so give me a full refund."

People make mistakes, but they have to be responsible for them.


But the seller made a mistake whereas her actions were fraudulent. The world is not black and white, for example, as your comment is downvoted you will be able to witness a variety of shades of grey.


What the seller then turned around and did is an incredibly well known scam that is discussed at length in the comments.


You're missing the lesson here.


It's not fraud, it's promissory estoppel.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: