Classified Buyer Rant

[billspreston]

I've had many many great classified transactions with the great members here.

That said, I'm noticing a growing trend lately where I have potential buyers that will reply in a thread "PM Sent on XYZ" essentially staking claim to XYZ. Now this buyer puts me through the ringer for a few days regarding price, shipping, paypal fees, etc, etc as I "hold" the item for them. Then they go completely silent for a week+ and I'm stuck wondering if they actually want to buy the darn thing while I've got other people waiting in line. Several times it's gotten to the point of being told a paypal payment is forthcoming with no result, which puts a seller in an awkward position.

What I'm trying to get at here is that most of the sellers here adhere to pretty high standards and I don't think it's too much to ask for a bit of courtesy from the buyers as well. If it turns out you don't want to buy an item you've shown interest in, at least PM the seller back within a reasonable amount of time informing them of that fact so further attempts at selling the item can be made.

/Rant

:banana:

[Ahneida Ride]

Somehow, I think 24 hours is the max grace period and only if that
person has expressed sincere interest.

[old_fat_and_slow]

.

[bluto]

Fcfsatmo

[54ny77]

Rule #1: first to send money wins! Rule #2: see rule #1. ;)

As seller, I exercise 100% discretion on who I deal with and how. As buyer, I send $ right away unless I'm on a plane or in car and can't access paypal. But I'll let seller know that and leave it to them if they'd like to wait. That's the fair thing to do.

Really, if someone has their underoos in a bunch about a bike parts classifieds transaction, they need to go take a time out, have a cookie and some milk and calm down a little.

[jr59]

Well I'm very glad I never tried to buy something from some of you guys!

I do NOT have any paypal, nor do I wish to EVER use PP!
So according to some here I would never be able to buy anything from you guys! :crap:

BTW: I have bought a bunch of stuff from the classified, I'm sure my US postal money orders sent express cashed just fine!

[billspreston]

As buyer, I send $ right away unless I'm on a plane or in car and can't access paypal. But I'll let seller know that and leave it to them if they'd like to wait. That's the fair thing to do.


That's all I'm getting at. Just a little common courtesy. I recently had a buyer in a thread call other members "parasites" for expressing interest in an item he was "planning to buy". This member flaked in the end, of course.

As someone who sells a good amount of stuff here it can be frustrating. That said, I do realize ranting about it like this is a little silly.

I shall heed the advice and be a bit more cut-throat with my sales in the future.

:beer:

[Joachim]

One of the best is: "I'll take it, where do I send the money?" Then upon reply they asked if I would be willing to lower the price.

Billpreston has awesome stuff! Buy with confidence.. :)

[cmg]

rule of thumb, who ever sends money first gets it. No money forthcoming, it gets sold to somebody else. a week is too long.

[wooly]

rule of thumb, who ever sends money first gets it. No money forthcoming, it gets sold to somebody else. a week is too long.

I've noticed the trend as well. and totally agree with cmg on this. No $$ - Open Game.

[NRRider]

Just because a PM was sent doesn't mean they are first in line.

First in line is the first person to say "I'll take it. Where do I send the money?"

Just because someone is the first to respond, doesn't give them first dibs. They may just be window shopping or kicking the tires looking for "a steal".

Just my $0.02, and worth every penny.
I agree with this. I don't get offended when people take their time to decide, but buyers should not be offended if the item gets sold to someone else while they are "thinking about it." Sometimes I do the same thing, meaning I ask some questions and then think about it. Fully understand if someone pulls the trigger ahead of me. I don't think there should be any waiting period for a decision. If the buyer isn't using Paypal I use my judgment to determine whether I want to wait for a check. If it's a long-time foreign member it's never an issue. If they use Paypal, the payment should show up pretty much immediately after they say payment has been sent.

[vqdriver]

Well I'm very glad I never tried to buy something from some of you guys!

I do NOT have any paypal, nor do I wish to EVER use PP!
So according to some here I would never be able to buy anything from you guys! :crap:

BTW: I have bought a bunch of stuff from the classified, I'm sure my US postal money orders sent express cashed just fine!

well, i don't think anyone would object to a mailed payment from an established forumite like yourself. the point i take away from the OP - and agree with - is that being strung along by an indecisive buyer can be frustrating and that as buyers we can exercise some courtesy.

[Fishbike]

I don't really understand the "PM Sent" thing, other than to tell the world that you are interested. What matters in the specificity of the communications between seller and potential buyer. The Paceline PM systems works extremely well and folks who are paying attention know immediately that they have a personal message. No need to say "hey, I sent you a message."

If people respond with equal interest, then the first in line should get the first opportunity to buy, but only if he or she commits and is ready to pay. If buyer 1 shows sincere interest, but buyer 2 is the first to commit and pay, then buyer 2 gets it.

With the proliferation of PayPal, payment should be made practically immediately or certainly within a day. If payment is made by other means it should also go out immediately.

[WillT.]

The way I see it is is that if they can't send the money or communicate in a reasonably quick fashion, then they must not want it bad enough. I wouldn't hesitate to move on to the next guy who's willing to send the money.

[weiwentg]

what if someone says they're in, but they get busy at work? It's happened to me before, on both sides of the transaction. I would personally hold if someone committed to buying it, but not forever of course.

[wooly]

what if someone says they're in, but they get busy at work? It's happened to me before, on both sides of the transaction. I would personally hold if someone committed to buying it, but not forever of course.

I think the 24 hour hold is reasonable for someone who's been on the forum for a long time and a good rep. Like you weiwentg.

[old_fat_and_slow]

,

[bigflax925]

I've had this happen...often enough... and with the same people. It's all about courtesy and communication. Some people have it. Some don't.

To those that don't; I just add them to my ignore list and problem solved.

[PQJ]

what if someone says they're in, but they get busy at work? It's happened to me before, on both sides of the transaction. I would personally hold if someone committed to buying it, but not forever of course.

The early bird catches the worm. If you're busy at work, sorry, but your loss. 24 hour grace period max.

[majl]

I sell to who I want to - established forum members, guys with whom I've had previous positive transactions, those who offer to buy multiple items listed, etc.

If you list stuff at a good price - it will sell quickly. I prefer to give those deals to folks who contribute to the forum.

I had a forum newbie (just joined, 1 post) contact me last week about an item I had for sale. Told me he didn't do paypal. I told him no deal then, and we went our separate ways. It's not worth it to me for a $50 sale to potentially go through the headache of dealing with a flake or a scammer. I'd rather just keep the item.

[dave thompson]

Rule #1: first to send money wins! Rule #2: see rule #1. ;)

As seller, I exercise 100% discretion on who I deal with and how. As buyer, I send $ right away unless I'm on a plane or in car and can't access paypal. But I'll let seller know that and leave it to them if they'd like to wait. That's the fair thing to do.

Really, if someone has their underoos in a bunch about a bike parts classifieds transaction, they need to go take a time out, have a cookie and some milk and calm down a little.^This....

I agree with this. I don't get offended when people take their time to decide, but buyers should not be offended if the item gets sold to someone else while they are "thinking about it." Sometimes I do the same thing, meaning I ask some questions and then think about it. Fully understand if someone pulls the trigger ahead of me. I don't think there should be any waiting period for a decision. If the buyer isn't using Paypal I use my judgment to determine whether I want to wait for a check. If it's a long-time foreign member it's never an issue. If they use Paypal, the payment should show up pretty much immediately after they say payment has been sent....and this^

The classifieds are not a democracy, I have my 'favorite buyers' who I will place first in the line for whatever they may be interested in, folks with whom I've dealt with before. Those are the people that I'll send things to before I've received the payment. There's quite a few of them on this forum. I really don't care how I receive payment; PayPal, check, money order whatever. Those who commit, get.

[dave thompson]

The early bird catches the worm. If you're busy at work, sorry, but your loss. 24 hour grace period max.
You're new, you'll soon learn that this isn't the best policy. See my post above.

[PJN]

I give 12 hours from commitment to buy to receiving payment before selling it to someone else.

I pissed someone off recently but others were chomping at the bit. I'm not going to lose a sale because someone is yanking my chain. It's not sold till the money is paypal'd.

I expect others would do the same thing to me. If you want it so badly send the funds.

[pdmtong]

This is not that hard.

If you want the item, say so and pay.

If you say you are going to pay, then pay. Nothing more irritating then waiting for a buyer to pay yet seeing them post on the forum during the interim.

If you are serious, give and ask for a phone number. Beocome a person, instead of a screen name.

If you have a low post count, contribute something meaningful, instead of worthless piffle. Seems a lot of "new" members are taking a gratuitious path to increasing the perception of their forum contributions.

"pm sent" - who cares.....the pm in my inbox is what sets the reply order.

And, as others have said, I don't need any hassle when I sell.

[tv_vt]

I've experienced something similar to that in the Classifieds - someone PM-ing, stating they are 'very interested!' in what I'm selling. What was informative to me was to do a search of that person's other postings on the forum. What I found was that behavior was pretty chronic for that person - responding like a kid in a candy store to lots of things that were listed in the Classifieds. My sense was that they weren't a serious buyer, just an easily excited browser.

Lowered my expectations and all was fine. Didn't expect a serious offer from him after providing lots of info - and didn't get one.

[gavingould]

i agree with several posters here, personally i go with a "no dibs" policy on another local forum i've sold stuff on. first to pay up gets the goods. that said i haven't listed stuff for sale here yet, just sold to people who posted WTBs.

none of this "well, i want it but i don't get paid until 6 weeks from next friday, but can i come look at it/test ride it anyway? oh, and like the cable guy, you probably won't see me within a 3 hour window of whenever we agree upon"

[pdmtong]

I've experienced something similar to that in the Classifieds - someone PM-ing, stating they are 'very interested!' in what I'm selling. What was informative to me was to do a search of that person's other postings on the forum. What I found was that behavior was pretty chronic for that person - responding like a kid in a candy store to lots of things that were listed in the Classifieds. My sense was that they weren't a serious buyer, just an easily excited browser.

Lowered my expectations and all was fine. Didn't expect a serious offer from him after providing lots of info - and didn't get one.

Easily excited browser...yea...seen that behaviour a lot out of a handful of folks.

On clothing items, I can understand the want to ask fit questions.
On components, if the ad states specs and conditions, there isnt much to talk about.
On frames, thats usually a bigger purchase. more dialogue definitely warranted and expected.

I dont really see the rationale for saying "I'm interested". BFD. I'm not posting the ad to find out who is interested.

[neiltron]

Well, there is another side to 'pm sent' posts. They might not provide you with much information, but they do bump your thread.

[schwa86]

I agree in general with lots of the things that have been posted. It does seem to me it's also pretty easy for the seller to make intentions/process clear in the original post if the concern is protocol/politeness etc. Eg why not just put at the bottom: "I open PMs in order but I sell to the first buyer who pays the asking price" or something similar depending on one's personal preferences. Too harsh and specific? Just a thought...

[bargainguy]

FWIW, I used to sell refurbished bikes on CL. My terms were listed in each post: Cash only, local pickup only, first with cash gets, no offers or trades please.

Of course people tried to circumvent these terms as a matter of course. To those who suggested anything else, I deleted the emails without responding. Why open a dialogue when you're upfront with your terms and they're not going to be met?

While you might think that "first with cash gets" is a bit radical, it certainly let people know that I wasn't going to play favorites, and also encouraged those who were truly interested to get themselves over to my place asap with cash. I even had some people show up with checks or offers or whatever, and they were politely turned away until they met my terms.

For this or any online forum, I would do pretty much the same thing, except that "first to pay full price with paypal" would be used instead of "first with cash gets." That way everyones knows the terms up front, there is no guessing as to who gets what, and if you want something and you snooze, you lose.

Don

[Uncle Jam's Army]

I guess I am having trouble relating. If someone tells me they're committing to buying something, that item is "sold pending payment" and doesn't come back up for sale unless I don't receive payment--that hasn't happened to me. I've had some people pay me by check (which I prefer, BTW) and that has taken a week or two to get here due to the vagaries of our work schedules. I've had no troubles here.

However, it seems like the OP has several times had someone commit to buying from him and then leave him hanging for some length of time. I don't think that is cool for a buyer to do that. It just hasn't been my experience to date. I guess the sticky "Feedback Thread for Buyers and Sellers" in Classifieds would be a good place to report such incidents so that other sellers can be aware. I know there are certain buyers on ebay that I will not deal with (e.g., Shop Airlines America and all their derivative user names) due to their antics, so this would be helpful to know.

[weiwentg]

I give 12 hours from commitment to buy to receiving payment before selling it to someone else.

I pissed someone off recently but others were chomping at the bit. I'm not going to lose a sale because someone is yanking my chain. It's not sold till the money is paypal'd.

I expect others would do the same thing to me. If you want it so badly send the funds.

see, though, it's not that easy: I have one vote for 12, one vote for 24 and one for 48.

wooly - thanks for the kind word! I'm sure I can get a set of Michelin Muds somewhere else, though.

[CaptStash]

see, though, it's not that easy: I have one vote for 12, one vote for 24 and one for 48.

wooly - thanks for the kind word! I'm sure I can get a set of Michelin Muds somewhere else, though.


Hmmm, Weiwen and I just completed a lovely transaction through the classifieds with no need for PayPal. seems to me that it is all up to the seller. If you have a twelve hour rule, say so, two hour rule, game on! Whatever, what's the big deal, you're selling, you make up your own rules. Buyer beware and away we go.

I have bought and sold a ton on here and never had a problem. I have also missed out on a few deals because i was slow. My fault. And I am afraid I have been guilty of being the overexcited looky loo too (sorry about that - a 770 group comes to mind - very embarrassing).

But back to the OP: Since you are getting messed with by flaky buyers, what would think about setting up some rules on your sales, whatever works for you and see if that helps maybe? Perhaps telling folks that you need a commitment and money in the mail / PayPal what have you within "X" time or you will move on. Whaddya' think?

CaptStash....

[alancw3]

Just because a PM was sent doesn't mean they are first in line.

First in line is the first person to say "I'll take it. Where do I send the money?"

Just because someone is the first to respond, doesn't give them first dibs. They may just be window shopping or kicking the tires looking for "a steal".

Just my $0.02, and worth every penny.

+1

[billspreston]

All very good points folks. Given the suggestions in this thread, here is what I'll be doing in the future:


Give first priority to buyers I've had positive experiences with in the past. Willing to make extra accommodations with these buyers.
If it is a new buyer, give them 24 hours to send paypal payment. Move on if no payment received.
Discourage the posting of "PM sent" type messages within classified threads.
Provide disclaimer within thread stating the above three items in some fashion to avoid offending anyone.


That should do it :beer:

[Vientomas]

PM sent, NOT! ;)

[m_sasso]

New here and just reading up on the forum culture and trying to act in the appropriate manor, every forum has its difference and nuances. And I will admit I was the newbie who contacted Majl by PM wanting to purchase his sale item however I wrote out at the time I did not work with PayPal, he said no unless I set up PayPal account. I messaged him back saying I was sorry, I could not do that, was disappointed, gave him the opportunity to reconsider and wished him good fortune in his sale. I would still like to have the jacket however I always know when I decide I would like purchase an item it is the seller’s prerogative who they decide to sell too.

[Joachim]

[list=1]
Give first priority to buyers I've had positive experiences with in the past. Willing to make extra accommodations with these buyers.


I'll be listing a big ticket item in the next few weeks and am going to state that preference (and extra accomodations) will be given to buyers I had positive experiences with and/or longtime forum members.

[Fixed]

Is the classified section doing auctions now ?

[dave thompson]

New here and just reading up on the forum culture and trying to act in the appropriate manor, every forum has its difference and nuances. And I will admit I was the newbie who contacted Majl by PM wanting to purchase his sale item however I wrote out at the time I did not work with PayPal, he said no unless I set up PayPal account. I messaged him back saying I was sorry, I could not do that, was disappointed, gave him the opportunity to reconsider and wished him good fortune in his sale. I would still like to have the jacket however I always know when I decide I would like purchase an item it is the seller’s prerogative who they decide to sell too.
Nice post Marc, you'll do well here. Post something about yourself in the "Who are you?" section.

[CoKeithRecord]

In my experience, if someone is serious, they will make their inquiries quickly, decide quickly, and pay quickly. I'm always upfront with prospective buyers and I expect the same from them.