Posted on 10/26/2015 5:20:38 AM PDT by lowbridge
A young Mets fan cried foul Sunday after a baseball memorabilia site suddenly balked at selling a bat signed by Daniel Murphy after his record-breaking stretch of home runs.
Will Smith, of Long Island City, used $175 of his birthday money to buy a bat signed by Daniel Murphy from Topps.com for his 12th birthday.
During the series against the Cubs, the bat was in stock online.
And a customer service rep even promised Will’s parents the Louisville Slugger would arrive in time for the big day on Nov. 3.
But the order was suddenly canceled after the Mets star second baseman broke the record with home runs in six consecutive playoff games.
“I felt tricked, like I was robbed,” Will said Sunday before working on some homework.
His father, Patrick, suspects Topps execs plan to raise the price of the signed bat. “It’s absolutely outrageous,” he said. “It’s highly unethical.”
An apologetic Topps customer service rep offered to give the family a 25% discount on a signed Mike Trout bat, according to the elder Smith.
But that collector’s item was being sold for $500 and the junior Smith, who grew up rooting for Murphy, is not an Angels fan.
“I don’t think it’s a fair exchange,” he said, noting he couldn’t afford the switch with his limited birthday loot.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
the most small claims court would do is order a refund, and since that has already been offered, there is nothing to gain by that route. however, if they can get the spotlight for a while, topps might back down. you’d have to read the fine print to see if the contract is enforceable in other ways.
use the power of the press, if possible.
both parties have to have the capacity to contract. A 12 year old doesn’t.
Probably comes under the tort of fraud.
Probably an FR legal eagle could chime in.
UPDATE: FAN TO GET DANIEL MURPHY-SIGNED BAT AFTER TOPPS, MLBPAA HONOR SALE
More than likely the kid bought it through his parents.
Even in Texas Small Claims, the most he would get is triple damages. Can’t say for Nuevo York.
The way to make these slimeballs live up to the deal is through public pressure. As soon as the Topps big dogs see an outpouring, they will toss some low level CS Rep under the bus and publically present the kid his bat and a refund.
No, but Topps can by accepting their money for an advertised product.
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