Classifieds ethics...

[Avispa]

General questions for you folks...

What would you do, what have you done when you have posted something for sale on the Forum's Classified section and more than one person has expressed solid interest in buying your stuff?

Do you sell it to the first one that made the offer? To the one that has made the highest offer?

I'd hate to turn an ad I have placed on the Classifieds as an auction, but what happens if someone has expressed interest, but this person has not paid you for the item.... Then while you wait for a final response (not the final payment) someone else comes and offers you more money?

Would you honor a first offer or a higher offer?

Thanks for the advice!

;)

[Louis]

My 2c:

If you had already agreed on a price with A, then it's a deal, and you should not go back on it, even if you then hear from B who offers more. If you offer A a price and are waiting to hear back from A and meanwhile B offers more, then you hear from A who agrees to the original price, you should not go back on it. If you and A are going back and forth on price, without agreement, then B offers what you think is enough, then go with B.

Don't know if any of these cover your situation...

[Lincoln]

I agree with Louis.

[Avispa]

That's good advice, thanks!

[catulle]

What is the first person waiting for...? The first person hasn't confirmed that he will be buy the item. Meanwhile a second person confirms the purchase. I'd sell it to the person who confirmed the purchase; the fact that he is willing to pay more is secondary. You just might be feeling a little guilty for accepting more money than you expected because you are a good person. What if the first person just decides to dump you after all and not buy...? Unless you are dealing with friends or people you know, I'd sell it to the first person to put the Washingtons on the table. Of course, this is just an opinion about a free-market transaction from an anarcho-syndicalist.

[TimD]

First one wins, next in line gets a 2nd / Nth chance if preceding deals fall through.

If your goal is to maximize revenue, a "best offer" annotation or an auction may provide the means.

[William]

My 2c:

If you had already agreed on a price with A, then it's a deal, and you should not go back on it, even if you then hear from B who offers more. If you offer A a price and are waiting to hear back from A and meanwhile B offers more, then you hear from A who agrees to the original price, you should not go back on it. If you and A are going back and forth on price, without agreement, then B offers what you think is enough, then go with B.

Don't know if any of these cover your situation...



Who's on first??? :confused:




William ;)

[orbea65]

In my experience, at least 50% of the people who claim they want it, back out. If someone tells me they'll take the item, I'll wait a day or two for payment (if by paypal), and I'll email others who are interested to tell them that the item has potentially sold, but that I'll get back to them within a day or two if that changes.

[keno]

as best I remember, basic rule for when a contract exists is offer and acceptance. An offer remains outstanding for a reasonable time under the circumstances and significant terms are not in doubt. Take the doubt (and hassle) out of it and make your conditions clear. For example, "this offer is good until______ unless rescinded before then". You can rescind an offer at any time before it's accepted, whether specifically written or not. Telling that to a potential buyer may get him to move quickly.

keno

[Too Tall]

Now THAT is why I've got Keno on retainer :)

[Birddog]

What is the first person waiting for...? The first person hasn't confirmed that he will be buy the item. Meanwhile a second person confirms the purchase. I'd sell it to the person who confirmed the purchase; the fact that he is willing to pay more is secondary.

I have to disagree with this. Some of us can't be on the puter all day long to verify etc. Just the other day my puter went down in the middle of a deal because I lost the power supply, but the seller hung in there for me. I think Louis hit it on the head in his post. Keeping the 2nd, 3rd, 4th responders up to date on proceedings also makes good sense.

Birddog

[Jason E]

I have to disagree with this. Some of us can't be on the puter all day long to verify etc. Just the other day my puter went down in the middle of a deal because I lost the power supply, but the seller hung in there for me. I think Louis hit it on the head in his post. Keeping the 2nd, 3rd, 4th responders up to date on proceedings also makes good sense.

Birddog

Agreed. Plus, we are not just a bunch of people, we are a bit of a community. We are more personal the VN or some freaky big website.

Email the first person that was serious, give them an opportunity to respond, but if they met your first offer, they should have dibs.

[alancw3]

My 2c:

If you had already agreed on a price with A, then it's a deal, and you should not go back on it, even if you then hear from B who offers more. If you offer A a price and are waiting to hear back from A and meanwhile B offers more, then you hear from A who agrees to the original price, you should not go back on it. If you and A are going back and forth on price, without agreement, then B offers what you think is enough, then go with B.

Don't know if any of these cover your situation...

i agree with louis. i think he covered it well.

[konstantkarma]

On the other hand, sellers should be prepared to be relatively speedy in reply to enquiries regarding items they have posted, and to be prepared to post photos. I had a recent experience in the Serrotta classifieds in which the "seller" took about 5 days to answer my questions. Then another 5 days to find out that pics would not be sent. Unbelievable.

[rockdude]

A regular to this forum had a handlebar for sell on the classified Forum. I made an offer for the item at little less than asking and he accepted. So I paid with paypal. A day later he had a matching stem that he wanted me to buy. I told him I did not want the stem, He pushed me to make an offer. I made a low offer for it and he got mad. A week later, I was waiting for my new bars to arrive and I get an email from paypal say my money was returned. I emailed the guy and asked what's up. He responed with a long email how he is fair and I tried to cheat him and I should have bought the stem because he would have sold it to me at a fair price. He explained that I was a jerk etc.. and he does not do business with people like me. He went on to say he sold the stem and bar to someone else who paid him a fair price for both. It goes to show you even people who post everyday here can still screw you even after you pay.

besides this situation all other transaction on this forum have been great..

[stevep]

a done deal* is a done deal. anything else is not.

* agree on a price to buy/ sell, make a commitment.

[John H.]

I do agree that if you made a commitment you should honor it.
However, cash is king so you should always tell the buyer that 1st to pay gets it. Too many people agree to buy then don't follow though with payment.

[manet]

Classifiing ethnics ?
Thanks for the advice!

;)

dangeroos kepp'awwa

[John H.]

Also- many people keep asking questions and end up loosing out on the opportunity to buy. I cannot tell you how many people ask questions in multiple e-mails and in the meantime someone else commits and scoops up the item.

[Avispa]

dangeroos kepp'awwa, just kidding manet is a jerk!

Hey too bad quotes can be edited! ;)

[Ken Robb]

I think the sale goes to the first pal who says he is sending the $$. I'd tell any other interested parties they can be on a wait list in the order in which they committed to buy the item in case "Buyer" #1 doesn't perform in a few days.

It is all too true that there are a few folks who ask question after question in a sequence of messages and then seem miffed when they lose out to a more decisive buyer. I don't think it's fair to stall the decisive ones while a first responder tries to decide.

[djcwardog]

I have had good experiences buying and selling on ebay - where anyone can be a buyer (or a seller), and now on this forum - thanks Spin for that excellent Ottrott frame - still a mobile work of art in my opinion.

Anyway, As a buyer, if I win an auction, or get confirmation here that we have a deal, then I expect that the seller will allow me to take reasonable steps in a timely fashion to pay. Then I expect a good packing job and prompt placement of the item into the shipping system (USPS, UPS, FedEx, whatever...). What is confirmation of a deal to me? On ebay, it's easy - I won the auction. Here it might be less clear. If I correspond with seller and we agree on price, I send the money and ask them to post it "sold" so others won't be confused. Seller has every expectation that I will honor my word and that the payment will be in their hands ASAP. PayPal works for me except big-ticket items where their fees really soak you...

As a seller, on ebay, I expect the winning bidder to pay pronto - that's why I run all my auctions where I elect to use a buy-it-now price, they must pay immediately. Of course it is also nice to set a low starting price and see the fun at the end of the auction as your item hits the corrected market price. As a seller here - have not sold anything yet on the Serotta forum - I would expect that my buyer would pay promptly. In return I would ship promptly. In fact, on ebay I get lots of good feedback about how fast I ship out. Why drag it out? They paid - send out the item so they can have it soon and leave you good feedback. A seller should be able to hedge bets by keeping others who showed an interest apprised of current status of that primary sale. Easiest way is to post replies on the original classified listing i.e. "SOLD - deal made pending receipt of payment," "Payment received, item shipped, thanks to all for their interest."

I get a great feeling on this forum and I would be happy to buy/sell with any of you as the occassion arises. Thanks for making this a great place to visit.