Originally posted by armstrong
IMHO, if the issue can't be resolved via timestamps, then the buyer's :sold: post should be honored if possible.
An appropriate analogy would be closing time at stores. People still inside the store during closing time are usually allowed a few minutes to complete their purchases.
Timestamps can always resolve the issue down to the second, so it's really a done story.
But lets look at your analogy above.
The problem is that in the case of the forum, the store owner can't see any customers approaching. In other words, the store owner has a sale going, (at several of his stores) he goes to his first store, looks around and there is nobody there. (no posts)
He marks his sales flyers with "Sale Over!" closes the store and goes off to his next store and does the same thing. He eventually ends up at his last store and sees no one around, (no posts)marks his signs again with "Sale Over" and heads on his way. As would happen, (during the same minute) a buyer sees the sales sign and looks away for a few seconds to write out a check (or whatever) and doesn't see the owner close the shop and leave.
The next time the store owner comes back to his stores he sees a post on the door saying "Sold" and he has messages from 3 people asking why the sale ended and offering money. The store owner says "sorry", didn't you see the sales signs where I posted (more than once) that the sale was over?
One of the customers gets all ticked and questions the store owners integrity. The store owner gives the customer references (including the mall owner) and says he has never backed out of a deal in his frickin life. The store owner says he will let the buyer have the merchandise, but at the original discounted sales price and not the last marked down price.
Not good enough says the customer. A sale is a sale.
True says the store owner, but not after a sale was ended.
Now if that's not the case, I want back in at some of those sales of 3 letter .coms that Gregr had going last year, and I want them for the same price.
Doc