Here we go again

[bajaespuma]

I called the seller of the Filter-Flo pair in thread # 41789 and left a message that I was interested in the set. He returned my call a little while later, pleasant chap, and we came to an agreement. I asked him if he would be willing to accept $100.00 for the pair, as it was listed in the ad for "$150.00 obo". He accepted my offer and we agreed that I would wait for him to research using PayPal for the purchase and I would then arrange to have the machines picked up. When I returned from dinner there was a call on my answering machine and two emails indicating that he had subsequently received two offers at his asking price,  from two different parties it sounds like; and "to be fair to me" he wants to know if I want to up my "offer".

 

I'm not going to go into a hissy fit against ANYONE on this site, because I believe no one knew about my pursuit of this sale. Rather, I'm disappointed and a little disgusted that again, a Craigslist dealer feels no ethical responsibility to honor a verbal agreement of sale. I don't know, at this point, how I'm going to handle this situation, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to do business with someone who doesn't value his word. If any of you are going for these machines, you might want to consider who you are dealing with and get some kind of binding assurance that your sale is final and he's not going to lead you into a bidding war. I know I've called many sellers and been told, "sorry, it's already sold"and that's how the game works and that's that.

 

Not the end of the world, but when you write, obo, don't accept that offer if your intention is to hold out for more.

 

[vintagekitchen]

Seems to happen all too often today. I was taught the rules of business dealings by my grandpa, and always follow them. And I never forget his main rule - If you run into someone who doesnt follow the rules, dont ever do business with them again. I have stopped doing business with more than one shop over things like that. ( Caling for something I know is a simple repair, but I dont have the necessary tools to do it, and being told, "oh no, thats a very difficult repair, would cost a a fortune, let us sell you a new set.")

 

[travis]

People is general are unethical and flaky.  If you really want the set give him the $50 .  If he doesn't accept that, then he wants a bidding war and drop out entirely.

 

[pierreandreply4]

there is also the option of making a offer of least amount but make it final and non negociable that way if the seller do not agree on selling i am pretty sure that somewhere you might find the same set but in min conditon

 

[lebron]

I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL!!! Pretty much the same EXACT thing happened to me : ( It sucks but you just gotta move on

 

[pulltostart]

Ken,

Funny how that works on CL.  Unfortunately most of the sellers think "OBO" means "make your offer, but even if we agree on a price I'm free to continue to accept additional and better offers at least until I decide otherwise", instead of "make your offer and if I accept the item(s) are no longer subject to additional offers".

 

I've seen examples of lack of maturity/honesty/responsibility in multiple categories of CL (don't ask).  I think a lot of this is due to the impersonal nature of the web-based lives we live and a lot due to less emphasis on honesty and character in general.

 

Best of luck with your purchase.  Let us know if you get them!

 

lawrence

 

[mixfinder]

Can't Make a Silk Purse from a Sow's Ear

Ethic are never implied or promised in craislist.org negotiations. I have been screwed over by driving hours, borrowing transportation, buying items misrepresented in condition or finding no one to answer the phone or come to the door. Likewise as a seller I have been stood up, played out over several days and then have a buyer try to negotiate a new price after arriving. I use only a phone number, no delay in computer dialogue, take back up offers and give buyers a set amount of time before the item is offered to the next in line. Having money in the hand of the seller, often strapped for cash is paramount to being a fair business partner in a sale.

 

[beekeyknee]

You're right, fellas. Many people have no ethics or moral character. They weren't brought up right and they ain't livin' right. They don't know the meaning of the 'Golden Rule', what it is or where it came from.

I recently had the pleasure of dealing with someone with very high standards and was a delight to deal with. And last Nov. third I made a deal with a different person and drove to Kansas City to pick up a machine. They brought it on the back of a trailer and met me in the dark at a Home Depot parking lot in the cold, pouring rain and only wanted $25.00 for their effort. They let me open the machine and look inside while we stood there being soaked. I felt a little guilty for only giving them $25.00, but that's what they posted it for. I would have given them more, but I wasn't exactly flush at the time. I gave them the money, they waited until I got the machine on the dolly and helped me transfer it to my truck. I waved goodbye and said, "Thanks for coming out in the rain". I've had bad experiences and good ones and it seems a lot of the best experiences I've had are with people right here in the mid-west.

So you see, there still are some good ones out there. [this post was last edited: 8/11/2012-11:04]

 

[goatfarmer]

The seller said $150.00 OBO, figuring they were 30YO+ machines, and if someone showed up with $100, they were gone. When someone else inquires at the original price, things changed.

 He should have said, "sorry, I have a deal working on them, if it falls through, you are next" or similar. But I can also see the sellers side, someone 600 miles away says he wants to buy them, I have a  local buyer who will show up with cash.

 

[combo52]

GE FF Set

Ken sorry to here that you may not get this set, as has been mentioned by others there does not seem to be high ethical standards for many CL sellers. But I have found when the machine is some distance away you are not in a good position to bargain on the price, and the price the seller was asking was fair considering both machines were fairly rare. When We found the Easy Combo all the way out in the Portland Oregon area I immediately offered the seller double the $175 asking price and sent a cashiers check the same day as I knew it would take a while to work out the transportation of the machine back to Maryland.

 

At this point I would go back and offer the full price and maybe more, Good Luck,    John.

 

[kb0nes]

Craigs List Follies

I have seen a lot of flakiness on CL too, especially so when items are offered for free. Perhaps nobody takes it seriously when there is no money involved. Responses I have seen to CL online jobs postings have been very disappointing too. Breakdown in society and the way we communicate perhaps.

I had a dealing that I still fume over. A local seller had listed a pair of excellent condition B&W stereo speakers for a very good price. I wasn't available to pick them up until the next day and he stated that he had had some other offers. I told him that I would offer an additional $100 if he would hold them for me the next day. He agreed but later he called to tell me he had two buyers back out! He was still trying even though he had agreed to my terms! I got an email later that they had been sold...

I think a seller should honor the order of the buyer responses he gets that meet his asking price, I go by email time stamp. Best offers are a bit more sticky, but if the seller says its yours then they have to follow through. It sucks to be bid against but you have only two options walk away or offer more. You conscious and desire will be your guide.

 

[philr]

Ken, maybe the seller really got offers at the asking price and maybe he needed the extra money... It would be hard to blame someone in this situation. 

 

I agree with John, negotiating a price over the phone on something you really want is a bit risky. It's OK if you don't mind loosing the deal (I often offer 1/2 or even less the asking price when it's something I don't really want, and I often end getting them as their owners are about to throw them away!).  But on quite a few occasions, I have seen things for sale at really cheap prices or even offered for free and if the seller was willing to ship them, I offered more than the asking price because I know what's involved in shipping/handling items and I figured I wouldn't do it myself for such a small amount. 

 

Someone offered a dryer for free on this site and since no one grabbed it complete, she ended parting it out to send me the parts after I asked her doing so (she was also communicating with me during the process to know exactly what I wanted and how to remove these parts) . I was so happy with what she did that after I paid for the shipping, I sent her a $100 money order for the things she sent me (and packaged with great care). I'm far from being rich, I don't even have an income at the moment but I felt I couldn't offer less than that. She told me she was pleased and she did even send me an extra part for free after that!

 

Someone else offered a MW oven for $15 in a classified ad in Georgia. She thought it might be helpful for some local people as it still worked and she didn't want to throw it away. When I contacted her, she was a bit surprised to see someone from Canada wanted it and didn't really want to ship it as it was heavy but she did ship it to me even if I didn't pay for it. When I asked her how to pay, she said it was fine, that she was happy that someone would use it. I insisted and she gave me her PayPal address after I said that I wouldn't pay for the microwave oven itself but at least to cover the handling and trouble (and the international long distance phone calls she placed with her cellphone to communicate with me while she was having problems with my account number at the Fedex office). I did send much more than the asking price and I think she was a bit surprised and happy about that! And if I had been any richer, I would have sent more too!