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Not fair - possibly scam

I also appreciate your stance, but I've had so many people make a deal, then try to chisel, not show up, show up, make a deal, then ghost etc. So now, if you want it, put the cash in my hand, or someone else is getting it.

I won't sell something out from under someone. But if you don't show up when you say , you're risking losing out.

Deposits are a double edged sword in certain cases too. Had a guy give me a 300 dollar deposit on a deal, then back out shortly after, told me to keep the deposit. Great, but I already deleted the ad and told all the other interested parties that the item was sold.
 
slow-poke said:
It's very simple:
+ unless someone is on the way, it's for sale
+ when someone is "on the way", you agree to time window, if they don't show in the window +perhaps 2 hours, tough luck, it's back up for sale.
+ when I tell someone I'm on the way, I'm on the way, and they know when I will arrive.
+ I do state in my ads that if the ad is up, it's available, because 95% of the time the people asking if it's available were never serious in the first place (they didn't actually bother to read the ad)

I sold a "fast" car a while back, it was priced fairly and the ad stated test pilots and low-ballers need not apply. I had one jerk drive 5 hours with a trailer from Toronto and then offer $20k less than the asking price. I politely asked him to leave. He then told me I should compensate him for the drive by selling a very rare spare engine I had in the corner of the garage, he offered me $1k for a 10k engine. I hope he had a nice bumpy ride back with his empty trailer. Car sold for full price, no haggling, no drama a short while later.
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People too often assume thar online sellers need the money quick and they are doing them a favor.

For every 1 bad online seller there are 99 shitty online buyers.

I do my own filtering and it works for me usually, you want my address? Send me your number and I will text you the subdivision, text me when you are leaving and I will give you the street/house number. This eliminates 90% of the time wasters who are only looking for your contact info.

If my rules don't work for you, shop elsewhere. I don't hold without a deposit(normally) but if I give my address to someone it is theirs as long as they show up.
 
Gennady said:
I saw that in many messages that people are really tired frtom this annoying response, so I tend to modify it to something more personal, to show seller that I am not just clicking our of simple quriosity.



Darren. I appreciate your stance here. I am , personally, avoiding at all cost artificially created rush - I don't like "first come first serve" messages. I firmly stated that I am coming, provided my cell, have seller cell in response, and told "see you tomorrow" . Fella responded with thumb up.
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The see you tomorrow part lost it for you. Most online buyers that actually show up, show up the same day, usually within a couple hours of initial contact.

99% of people that ask to hold it tomorrow, or for a week ghost you, and never show up.

Not that I'm saying you're at fault, but expecting to reserve an item for the future without a deposit online buying is a pipe dream

Giving an online deposit to an unknown seller is also a bad idea

So if you really want something usually dropping what you're doing and going to pick it up ASAP is the best.
 
I'm with @Darren. When I'm selling something, I want cash and I want it gone. If I start getting multiple people interested, I'll tell them all that the first person to put sufficient cold, hard, currency in my hand is the one that gets the item. The smarter ones will realize by themselves that sending me a deposit puts them to the head of the line. And I'll only take a deposit if they give me a credible pickup date.

I'm not looking to become 'buddies' with the buyer nor am I running a business where I want a good reputation with customers.

Craig
(BTW, I did go back on a sale one time. I was selling a tonne of stuff while cleaning out my parent's home. On one of the items, I told the first responder it was his but then had _many_ other people contact me including several that offered well over my asking price. A bit more research showed me that I have vastly underpriced the item. I could have told the first guy some story like the item got broken when moving it but instead I told him the truth. He was not happy and used varied and colourful language to expound on theories about my parentage, etc. OTOH, he was perfectly willing to buy at a fraction of the going price initially so I didn't feel all that bad.)
 
Jswain said:
The see you tomorrow part lost it for you. Most online buyers that actually show up, show up the same day,
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Yup, listed a fairly desirable truck for sale last Sunday night at 1045pm. Tons of responses, and a guy was here with cash in hand within an hour of listing it. He wanted it and didn't want to risk missing out.
 
Jswain said:
The see you tomorrow part lost it for you.
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TBH - guy posted that he will be at his shop Friday 11 until 2. And it was Thursday night quite late, In any case - I will not pay any money in advance for the thing I haven't seen or to the person I am not familier with. May be I am not right here...
 
Gennady said:
TBH - guy posted that he will be at his shop Friday 11 until 2. And it was Thursday night quite late, In any case - I will not pay any money in advance for the thing I haven't seen or to the person I am not familier with. May be I am not right here...
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You are not wrong. I think it’s just the world we live in now. I’ve been on both sides and got burned both ways, so I feel your anger. The only advice I can offer is ,good things come to those who wait. The next one may be better and less expensive.And for a chuckle.
Any ideas?
IMG_0584.gif
I can’t get my vacuum started
 
My personal opinion is that trust is earned, not given. I don't trust buyers and sellers I don't know. Like others, I've had deals get sold while I'm on the way. But not after I've given a deposit to someone I've talked to. I agree that nobody wants to lose a deposit to some character who has no integrity. But I think there are fewer of those than there are folks with no honour at all. If I can, I try to talk on the phone so I can get a sense of what the buyer or seller is like. I have been burned but so far not too badly. So all in all I am a fairly happy guy.

I should add that I like to look at how long a seller has been a member of whatever platform they belong to and I like to examine their ratings. I do that for both buyers and sellers. When someone screws me, they get a bad rating. I ignore sellers and buyers with a bad rating. I have never screwed anyone. I'd rather not buy or sell than be someone I would not like to buy or sell from.
 
Jswain said:
99% of people that ask to hold it tomorrow, or for a week ghost you, and never show up.

Not that I'm saying you're at fault, but expecting to reserve an item for the future without a deposit online buying is a pipe dream

Giving an online deposit to an unknown seller is also a bad idea

So if you really want something usually dropping what you're doing and going to pick it up asap is the best
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I get the not holding things part without a deposit I wouldn't hold shit without a deposit lol.

I've been on the other side too, because I work out of town, lots of deals come and go that I can't do anything about so I reach out offer a deposit tell them when I'm home next and able to pick up said item and if that works for them then perfect if not sucks to suck I guess.

I haven't had any misfortune with sending deposits, but not to say it won't happen. I kinda sus the person out during the figuring out phase and creep profile. It's always a red flag if they try to pressure for a deposit unnaturally. Most people seem to be ok with 50$ on lower value stuff and even some higher value stuff aswell. But I try to not send more then a fifth of the items value. I usually ask what they want for a deposit and I would say 95% of time they ask less then what I was willing to risk for a deposit. And the other 5% is a case by case thing but I've only shot down a couple people as they gave me bad vibes before even getting to the deposit phase of transaction.

I feel the chance of getting scammed on 60 year measuring tools is lower then a Gucci handbag lol.
 
trlvn said:
I'm with @Darren. When I'm selling something, I want cash and I want it gone. If I start getting multiple people interested, I'll tell them all that the first person to put sufficient cold, hard, currency in my hand is the one that gets the item. The smarter ones will realize by themselves that sending me a deposit puts them to the head of the line. And I'll only take a deposit if they give me a credible pickup date.

I'm not looking to become 'buddies' with the buyer nor am I running a business where I want a good reputation with customers.
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I agree 100%, I use to be much more forgiving but after so many no shows or guys that want to haggle the price through email, I had to tighten up the rules of engagement.
I price items I'm selling so they are very fair in the buyers favour because I want the thing gone. Lots of guys simply can not afford what the want and expect me to keep lowering the price until they can, nope.
The last line in any ad I post is "If you cannot afford this then please don't respond to the ad", and it works.
I don't get many lowball offers.
 
I only get a little miffed if someone sells something I’d agreed to buy before I get there. What really gets my goat is when I bring cash, offer the amount the seller had asked for and he refuses. Then he re-lists for a higher price. Yes, Mr Big man selling a Poitras jointer in Wpg, I still think you are a jerk.

Anyone does that to me and they are permanently shunned, and not to be vindictive, but I mention it to friends as well.
 
Lucky7 said:
I only get a little miffed if someone sells something I’d agreed to buy before I get there. What really gets my goat is when I bring cash, offer the amount the seller had asked for and he refuses. Then he re-lists for a higher price. Yes, Mr Big man selling a Poitras jointer in Wpg, I still think you are a jerk.

Anyone does that to me and they are permanently shunned, and not to be vindictive, but I mention it to friends as well.
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Most sites allow you to post on the sellers profile too.
 
Yup. A post was left, but apparently I’m still grumbling. Should have forgotten by now as it didn’t happen in 2024…

Was a really nice 12” jointer too.
 
Feedback/reviews are critical. I'm way more inclined to hold x item for you until x day if I look on your profile and you've been on there for 10 years and have 30 5 star reviews.

New profiles / 0 reviews typically end up being time wasters.(Not everytime, but often enough)

If you're not a time waster take the time to leave the other party feedback so they hopefully take the time to leave you it as well.
 
Trust and common sense are a hard thing to find these days. When I bought my mill it was a days drive away so an overnight motel stay. I talked with the seller over the phone, he sent me more pictures and all the info he had on the machine. The story was that he had bought the machine to help out a friend and was just trying to recoup his investment,,, red flag?. We talked a couple of times over the next few days, came to a price and I gave him a date when I could pick it up and he said okay. When I asked what he needed for a deposit he said there was no need, I asked if he was sure and he said "if you trust me about the machine I'll trust you to show up". The seller was mid 30's with a family and a farm and more we talked the lower down the red flag dropped.

Moral of the story is that there are still a few of us out there and I have a very nice mill.
 
cuslog said:
Well, I feel your frustration but I've also had more than one person say they will buy something I have advertised, say they are coming to get the item (with cash in hand) and never show up. I am part of an older generation and my word is my bond but it seems younger generations now .... not so much.
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Long distance tire kickers
 
DavidR8 said:
I'm with @cuslog
I cannot count the number of times I've had buyers tell me they will be here in an hour/this evening/tomorrow morning etc. only to never show. I always send numerous messages to check if they still want it. 99% never get read or bother to reply.
I had one fellow cuss me out via Messenger because I sold an item after he didn't show up at his stated time, despite me messaging twice a day for two days after the date/time he said he was coming.
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When I am selling something I never promise to hold it. I always tell them "first come, first serve" to avoid being left looking a kid sitting on the front steps with his ball glove waiting for his dead beat dad to arrive, who never shows up.:(

Usually their next move is to offer more money. Nope. Not that desperate. Keeps it simple.
 
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