Buying and selling etiquette

[Hog]

I have had a couple of bad experiences over the last 6 months on buying items from people whom have things to sell. I assumed there is some etiquette when it comes to selling things
1st.. list your items and be clear how you will proceed with the selling of the item, whether you will ship, not ship, pick up only, and how much
2nd... reply back in a reasonable time to the person who has contacted you and answer any questions .
3rd... Go in order of the calls or texts that replied to you. If someone text or contacts you about your item you should concluded that deal with that person before discussing or selling to another person... if someone else says I’ll buy it now, at least give the first person an option
4th...if you have agreed to sell it and ship it then get the item to wherever your shipping from in a couple days at most. Don’t wait 2 weeks and then text back and say I’ve been busy or something like that.. your the one who wanted to sell it, follow thru on your end.
I may be out of line or out of touch with modern ways but I’ve bought a lot of stuff over the years and for the most part it has gonE the way I’ve mentioned .. I also understand some people haven’t got much time to discuss with potential buyers and feel they are just tire kicking... tell them I have a buyer now.. and move on if they don’t want it.. any one feel same or indifferent?

 

[reddvltj]

Same!! Also dealing with repair services/shops. If you take your vehicle to a shop they should have the courtesy to keep you informed of their progress from time to time, especially when it is taking longer than expected.. My truck has been at a body shop for just over 2 months now. Everything I have seen come out of this particular shop is nothing short of spectacular, but I shouldn't have to call them to find out how the job is progressing. Here I am 2 months in and I have no idea when it will be done. I sent the owner a text yesterday and still have not heard back...

 

[pagrey]

I'm not exactly in the same boat, the world has always been buyer beware and it often isn't working on your schedule. Obviously selling something to a forum member is more like selling to a friend but as far as private party sales like craigslist most of what you list seems way out of touch, not with today but all together. Two days to ship? A week is reasonable or at a minimum until the weekend. Take random craigslist messages in order? I'd always work with a local buyer first. Hold items for buyers on the way when you have an offer in hand? No way, I am always clear, first cash offer in hand gets the item.

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

I agree with all 4 things. 17 years ago I learned the hard way as a seller when I put 7 or 8 different items on eBay at the same time. I did the best I could and only had two complaints through email which I fixed good enough to get all acceptable reviews. I've never sold anything else through eBay but I have put a couple things on Craigslist and didn't create problems. I haven't used them for several years either, but email seemed fairly simple to me. My son has sold a bunch of random things through FB marketplace. I kinda want to try that but I have little to any confidence in messaging. It seems like texts in general don't seem stay in any proper order. Maybe I'd reply to potential buyer #1 which bumps him to the top and then some more buyers ask about it which puts #1 in the middle then mix in any other random text I get from other people I know and where did #1 end up? Lost.

 

[pagrey]

Some of you guys might like OfferUp. Buyers and sellers are rated. It shows you the time it takes a buyer or seller to respond. If a buyer or seller didn't show up on time or didn't pay, even if there was another problem you know about it for every one of their transactions. It's a good system. A bit like ebay as far as buyer and seller ratings except for local sales.

 

[Hog]

All good replies, like I said this isn’t set in stone, no one should have to wait for replies or “let me think about it stuff” from a sellers point of view. But also buyers shouldn’t have to wait either, if your gunna sell it or buy it... do it

 

[Mr. Bills]

. . . I'd always work with a local buyer first. Hold items for buyers on the way when you have an offer in hand? No way, I am always clear, first cash offer in hand gets the item.

On a related note, one of my pet peeves is someone calling "dibs" on an item listed for sale on an online forum, as if such an announcement by some stranger on the Internet is binding on a seller, and then getting butt hurt when they learn that someone who paid the money first got the deal rather than them.

"Dibs" is something kids call out in a school yard. Grown up buyers understand that there is no deal until money changes hands and immediately contact the seller to negotiate terms and payment rather than worry about announcing their inchoate intentions to the rest of the world.

 

[Zorba]

While we're on this subject, don't list something here, get people interested in it, then say "If I don't sell it locally..." after people have agreed to buy it.

THEN come back a week later expecting the buyer to still be interested when they've necessarily moved on...

 

[Mr. Bills]

While we're on this subject, don't list something here, get people interested in it, then say "If I don't sell it locally..." after people have agreed to buy it.

THEN come back a week later expecting the buyer to still be interested when they've necessarily moved on...

What is "agree to buy it?" One has either purchased something or one has not. The consideration is the payment, not the promise of a payment.

If one doesn't want a seller to sell locally then one simply needs to fork over the cash without further delay. Until then a seller can sell to anyone else s/he chooses whether that person is local or halfway across the globe.

All "if I don't sell it locally" really means is that the online 'for sale' post isn't the only advertising method the seller is using.

 

[pagrey]

If this site had buyer/seller ratings like OfferUp a few people around here might not get a very good score.

 

[Zorba]

What it means is very simple. "I'll take it, PM me payment info", then I get "Oh, somebody's gonna look at it locally, if they don't take it..."

That's "Shullbit". There it is in the Queen's English, clear enough?

 

[Mr. Bills]

I know few sellers who would turn down immediate payment in order to wait for a local lookie-loo who might or might not buy their item. I wouldn't wait. First person with cash wins.

Has this actually happened to you? Perhaps it was an item that would have been inconvenient to package and ship, perhaps the ad stated 'local pickup preferred,' or maybe there were no locals looking at the item at all and it was the flower in your hair that queered that deal.

Seems odd is all.

 

[Zorba]

Yea, it happened to me. Here. Recently. I was more than slightly irritated. I was even more irritated when the guy came back several days later wanting to sell the item to me when I had moved on.