Flakey buyers

[NRA4LIFE]

Lately has proved very difficult to sell anything it seems. I'm getting tired of taking perfectly good stuff to the dump because you can't give it away.

 

[feanor]

I had a guy tell me his policy was never to spend more than 50% of retail on items. So he informed me he would buy my item I was selling for “x price”.

I politely thanked him for filling me in on his personal buying ethos and to move along.

 

[Montana Slim]

In the process of moving... what a shit show.

Can't believe how many people want stuff and then go completely dark. It's just weird right?

Even free shit! I don't understand

 

[Weldor]

It's everywhere, If you decide to back out just say thanks changed your mind. Been ghosted on here also, but usually goes well.

 

[BRTreedogs]

Don't ever try and sell a motorcycle on CL
That was such a shit show I considered just totaling the bike so I could make an insurance claim.
For the most part I don't even try sell anything under $100
Rok is the exception on small pieces. But alot of times if its less then $100 i just toss it.

 

[Dos Perros]

I give away for free stuff on Facebook. Mostly because I don't want to haggle on an old dog kennel. Stuff that's too big to throw away and someone else may find useful. Still can be pretty painful. Oh also, people will spend $20 in gas to pick up something worth $10.

 

[rclouse79]

I give away for free stuff on Facebook. Mostly because I don't want to haggle on an old dog kennel. Stuff that's too big to throw away and someone else may find useful. Still can be pretty painful. Oh also, people will spend $20 in gas to pick up something worth $10.

It is amazing what people will pick up and save you a trip to the dump. I had some interesting looking people pick up an old nasty mattress that was 20 years old.

 

[GotDraw?]

I haven’t noticed people being flakey but I have noticed people thinking everything should be 50% less than what you are asking for it.

@CorbLand
Then offer them half-off twice the price... and your offer will be as fair as their expectation.
JL

 

[Throwin Darts]

The best ones are the guys that want you to meet them 50 miles away, at rush hour, on a Friday to sell a $25 item.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

We were trying to give away a very nice couch last year and some lady wanted me to load it up and drive it 30 miles so she could look at it. It went 5 miles to the dump.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Rokslide is one of the last few safe havens for human decency.

Until it isn’t. I had a sale a year or so ago where the buyer gave me the wrong zip code. When I figured it out, I had the package intercepted and returned to me by usps. Cost me like 23 dollars on a 50 dollar sale. I refunded the buyer 100% of his money right away and he was nothing but rude about it even though he is the one who supplied the wrong zip code.

 

[LostArra]

I like "I'll take it but I have a question"

To which I respond: "It's one or the other. Pay or ask a question"

 

[rclouse79]

Until it isn’t. I had a sale a year or so ago where the buyer gave me the wrong zip code. When I figured it out, I had the package intercepted and returned to me by usps. Cost me like 23 dollars on a 50 dollar sale. I refunded the buyer 100% of his money right away and he was nothing but rude about it even though he is the one who supplied the wrong zip code.

I was kind of joking, although it seems like you are less likely to run into problems here.

 

[fwafwow]

I like "I'll take it but I have a question"

To which I respond: "It's one or the other. Pay or ask a question"

I was thinking about something similar. I was selling an item, which was not inexpensive. The interested member asked me a series of questions, in several PMs, but never said "I will take it". Then I got an a message from another member who said "I will take it" - no questions asked. The first guy was miffed that I sold it, as if the questions gave him some sort of right of first refusal. As a result of that interaction, when I get questions now I often answer the questions but then say that the item is for sale until I'm paid. That makes me feel a bit like a d**k, but there's no uncertainty.

 

[bigbassin]

People are nuts. I was selling a mini excavator last year. . A gentleman reached out asked all the right questions said he would pick it up Friday. I tell him great I’ll hold it for him. Friday comes along and says he doesn’t want to deal with traffic on Friday. I tell that’s fine. I don’t hear from him on Saturday. Monday a guy calls me brings a trailer and a check I sell it. The original guy calls that Wednesday. I tell him I sold it and he goes straight ballistic over the phone. Leaves me all sorts of bad reviews on line. Even tells me I’m a bad example for my kids.
After that I said the heck with selling stuff. The problem with online reviews is there one sided And some places don’t let you rebut it. ( that doesn’t effect everyone )
im not a online sales guy. I just sell our old equipment when we replace it with new.

I had the opposite experience as a buyer.

Reached out to a guy selling a boat, he was quick to respond and was willing to meet me that Friday to let me test drive it.

Friday at lunch he tells me can’t meet up, does at noon work. Saturday morning he cancels and ask if I can meet Sunday, he doesn’t know what time but will message me Sunday morning. Of course Sunday rolls around and I don’t hear a word.

Start looking at other boats, find another one, test drive it the next weekend and purchase.

First guys messages me the next Wednesday (10 days since I last heard from him) asking if I wanted to meet him at a phosphate pit in the middle of nowhere to test drive and if I bring the check he could sell it same day. Inform him I’ve already bought another boat (and was thinking the whole situation was kind of off). Guy comes back with multiple responses of how he thought we had a deal, he’d already spent the money, I owed it to him to buy the boat, etc.

Not sure if the whole thing was a setup based on meeting location and being told to come with money in hand or if he tried to use my price to negotiate with someone else and then they backed out on him. Regardless, bad seller.

 

[Skrimshawshank]

I’d like to buy something in the classifieds right now, happily sending the money immediately, but I think I need eight more posts in 24 hours to pull that off.
Sans flake.

 

[Grumman]

Ed Bassmaster has some epic Craigslist prank call videos on YouTube. He portrays a flakey buyer and they are worth a watch.


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[CorbLand]

I remember my favorite one from about 7 or so years ago. Had a ziplock with a bunch of brass in it. Mixed stuff that I had picked up randomly over the years. I posted it online as free, just come get it. Some dude messages me and asks me what cartridges are in there. I told him, it’s a mixed bag, mostly .223 and 9 but who knows. He asks me to count out each piece and let him know what’s in there and how many. I was like, nope. And he proceeded to get pissed at me because I didn’t want to put any effort into getting rid of it and how can I expect people to take it if they don’t know what it is? It was free…so for less effort, I threw it in the trash.

 

[Ishisube]

I've had all types of buyers/sellers over the years and hate to bunch them all together. Some have been the absolute dregs of humanity, but probably 20-30% of them turn out to be really good people.

 

[rclouse79]

Ed Bassmaster has some epic Craigslist prank call videos on YouTube. He portrays a flakey buyer and they are worth a watch.


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I am a little torn. Half of me wants to thank you, but the productive half wishes you had never posted this. My favorite so far is the “deluxe model” bit. It seems like he can string somebody at work along I little more than somebody on Craigslist.