Rookie mistake

[crimsonrage9]

Hello all,

I'm a first-time seller. I've sent PMs to some of you but never actually bought anything. A few days ago I put up an ad for a friend's bike. Well, I'll just say I didn't expect that to go the way it did. For all the awkwardness and confusion I may have induced, I apologize to you all.

I understand the transparency we're all after when buying goods from one another and I am sorry I could not follow through with this first sale. Only one of you seemed interested in buying the Villin and others were just seeking concrete evidence to its origins. I was explaining to one of you the story of the bike. I assure you it's not stolen and does indeed belong to a friend. It was gifted to him by his girlfriend, which might explain why he has no paperwork. Before Villin completed the build the two of them broke up. Even still, once received, the lady still gave him the bike. As a riding partner, I felt I could approach her and thus asked her for the bill of sale and/or the build slip, but this only raised her curiosity into the situation. It turns out the two of them still quarrel to this day over who the frame "belongs" to. She wants it back; he feels entitled to it. Anyway, he asked me to take the post off the forum after this whole thing snowballed, but you guys beat me to it by closing the thread - and for that I thank you. It couldn't have been timed any better.

This whole "hazing" thing as you put it was equal parts amusing and frustrating. I'm treating this as a learning experience and I hope you all see the same thing. I want to buy and sell and chat and I want to do so honestly without any messiness.

Thanks for hearing me out.

Warmly,
Geoffrey

[firerescuefin]

Geoff,

Sorry if I came across as a Di**. I am relatively new to the forum but have already become territorial with regard to it...as silly as that may sound. As Steve said, it's a great place with a lot of good/great people on it.

Geoff (my name too)

[DRZRM]

Fair enough,

But I have to say, this sounds like a sale you never should have touched in the first place. If there is someone with the bill of sale and build sheet for a bike claiming she still owns it...seems to me like she has at least a credible claim. And if everything you say is true, it sounds like he was lying to you about why he wanted it sold out of the SF/Bay Area. Seems more like he was afraid that she'd have some friends take back the bike if the new owner rode by on it. All in all, a pretty sketchy first sale post, even if your explanation is true. He put you in a pretty f-ed up position here.

[crimsonrage9]

I did feel like doing the guy a favor but didn't realize I was getting tangled up in a potentially nasty situation. You're right - next time I ought to put my foot down and let him do the grunt work.

[rustychisel]

Fair enough, I think you realise now that this forum is no Craigslist, people look out for each other, mostly, transgressors are outed, and the whole sale thing is a lot better for that. I've made numerous transactions here, and all but one of the people I dealt with understood the rules, played by the rules, and happily shipped to the other side of the globe.
Recent stories of rogue bicycle sellers and ripoff merchants must have a bearing on how people treat a newcomer; having read through the whole thread it seemed measure-for-measure to me, respondents were keen their friends got some protection and that you understood the strictly protective way the game is played herein. It's the better for that 'looking out', I have to say.
Anyway, welcome.

[AngryScientist]

lesson learned on your part it sounds.

as steve mentioned in your other thread, this place is really fantastic, and much more than a buying selling resource, welcome to the fun.