Question about the return of a deposit

I would like others imput on the return of deposits if the sale falls through.

It is KINDA like this.

IF I were to recieve a $400 deposit ( almost 20% ) on an animal and within 24 hours the buyer contacted me and said he wished to back out of the deal, would it be wrong to keep the deposit?

The terms "non refundable" were never brought up.
The reasons for backing out were all on the buyer.


The buyer was looking into 2 different animals, 1 from an unknown seller and 1 from a reputable person that he purchased from in the past.
The buyer had not heard anything about the original deal, so the buyer then went ahead and sent a deposit to the person he had never heard of before.
Within an hour of sending the deposit, the original deal became available again.
Well, the buyer felt ALOT more comfortable dealing with a guy he knew and trusted, so the next day he informed the other seller that he sent the deposit to that he would like his deposit back.

What would YOU do/expect as the buyer/seller?

Sorry if this is hard to follow, I started this when I was on my way out the door.

Personally, if it was within the first 24 hours I would send back the money. This is a very gray area though.

This is why we don't accept deposits on anything. For the seller it's just a no-win situation, too many ways it can go bad. If the consensus is that the buyer should get a refund then the seller is out money. If the consensus is that the seller should keep the deposit then he has an angry potential customer out there. Too many headaches and not worth the additional cash flow the deposit brings in.

I would return it.

As Daniel very well said it is gray.

IF I were to recieve a $400 deposit ( almost 20% ) on an animal and within 24 hours the buyer contacted me and said he wished to back out of the deal, would it be wrong to keep the deposit?

The terms "non refundable" were never brought up.
The reasons for backing out were all on the buyer.

If the term non-refundable was never brought up, and be it as it was within the more than reasonable time span of 24 h, I say yes, the seller should return the money.

Now as for the reasons invoked. There would be no doubt in my mind if the reasons were different (an emergency for example), but in this case the buyer changed his mind.

We have seen examples of this happen in the past. People that are trying to "sell" their down payment with one of the "big breeders" because they were not able or not interested (not sure about the reason) to follow through with th deal. They even advertise the amount for even less than their original down-payment, thus loosing money.

What this clearly states is that for these well known breeders (I've seen it happen in two instances) the deposit was absolutely non-refundable. They were willing to accept a transfer of the deposit to a third party though, but they were absolutely not willing to return the money. What happens here is that more than likely in their TOS it is clearly stated that deposits are non-refundable. Then again I don't know how much time had elapsed between the initial deposit and the buyer deciding to back off.

I would have to say that unless your TOS mention "non returnable deposit" then I would return it. You have to be very specific these days.

I'm split on this one, and I agree with alot of your opinions already shared but I'm amazed at how many times situations like this rear their ugly head. Buyers need to realize that a deposit is just that...a deposit...how many 'refundable' deposits are out there?? None, that I know of, and I for one just assume if I put a deposit down on something and decide to change my mind...I'd have to eat it. Now, from the sellers end...I hate to say it - but after that short of time, you'd probrably be better off chaulking it up as a fluke, and refund - just for good business practices, and great reference for future inquiries. The way I would look at it is I still have the animal to sell, so the money is there, just slightly delayed. Now, if you had turned down 3-4 possible buyers, and invested time and feed while in your care for more than 48 hours...I'd say keep it - but that's just how I see things anymore...some responsibilty has to be placed on the buyer as well. The internet has alot of 'competition' as does the monthly expos, etc...and I can see where some fickle buyers may see something one day, want it, "buy it", then see something else and want a "return" but sorry folks...this isn't Wal-Mart

Just echoing the sentiments of others...

Deposits are by defenition non-refundable... Otherwise there is no point in placing the deposit. If it's to hold an animal prior to complete payment, but can be returned at the request of the buyer at any point, then it's not really holding anything.

Now... if a deposit is placed and something unforseen happens to the animal (or other product) which would prevent the seller from completing the transaction, then it should be refunded.

Questions like this... where a buyer simply found another seller are a bit tricky. If the seller hasn't lost potential sales or a longer duration of time hasn't passed, it's probably in the best interests of customer service to either refund the deposit or at least offer it as a credit on future purchases. If a buyer hems and haws and can't make up their mind for a week (or whatever personal cutoff point the seller has) and then decides they don't want the animal, then the deposit should be kept to compensate for the cost of housing the animal (or storing the product) and missed sales.

Personally the approach taken by the other party has a lot to do with the response that should be generated as well... As a buyer if I go to a seller politely within a very short period of time and apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused and *ask* if the deposit might be returned I would expect a different response than if I turn around and start demanding my money back or try to wheedle the seller to match someone else's price or explode and start insulting them. An email which says "Hello, sorry to bother you but I placed a deposit on X animal earlier today. Since placing the deposit I have found XY animal which is a bit more suited to the project I had planned. I was wondering, if it wasn't too inconvenient and you haven't missed sales, if my deposit could be returned." with a respectful reply even if the response is negative is a far cry from "Yo stupid, I put money down on X animal earlier and I found it on the classifieds for less! What are you a ripoff?! Give my money back or I sue!" and should generate a different response from sellers.

There's no obligation to return a deposit though... it's simply sometimes in the best interests of future sales. By returning it today (and not being out anything) you might have a customer tomorrow.

IF I was in THAT situation, I would return the deposit.

We do take deposits which are non-refundable. We require the client to sign a Purchase Agreement before the animal is set aside for them. The terms of purchase are spelled out clearly and the default consequenses as well.

If they are not willing to enter into a legally binding agreement, we won't extend them the opportunity. We will not be the only ones at risk. I cannot think of a case where we entered into an Agreement that I did not later turn down sales of the animal on hold.

It is not convienient for us, it is a convienience for our clients.