Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New Jersey

Craigslist Dispute:

Recently, I sold a pair of tickets to a New York Knicks/Torono Raptors basketball game via Craigslist. I had only hard tickets for the game and arranged to meet the buyer in front of MSG for a cash-for-tickets exchange. The buyer wanted to meet at 7:10 p.m. (the game started at 7:30), so I asked him to re-confirm that he was definitely going to buy the tickets and was definitely going to meet me no later than 7:10 p.m. Shortly after our agreement was reached, another interested party asked about my tickets, but I told her they had been sold, based on the written committment I received. Unfortunately, the buyer never showed. He did not send a single text or phone call telling me that we was not going to show or was running late, so I waited for him for 25 minutes, missing the start of the game. He also did not return several phone calls I made while waiting for him -- in fact, his phone was off. Later that evening, I found a short email from him (sent at 5:23 p.m), telling me that he was stuck in traffic and was not going to be able to make it. However, I don't have email access on my phone, and he had agreed to call me or receive my call when he arrived at MSG, so I had no idea he was not going to show.Basically, this cost me $120 (the cost of the tickets), because I received a written promise and could have sold the tickets to other buyers had I not received a committment from the original buyer. ... Is it worth it for me to take this person to small-claims court? I'm guessing your answer will be "no" (based on the amount involved), but I'm extremely upset about the way I was treated by the buyer, and $120 (regrettably) is not chump change for me.


Asked on 4/06/11, 9:01 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

IF you can find him to serve him, it sounds like you should win, but then you have to collect... In 1 word, the answer is "no". Something like this, you sell first come, first serve, and sell as long as possible before the tickets are worthless, or tell the person if they do not show by a certain time, you will sell to a passerby.

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Answered on 4/06/11, 9:54 am


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