food for thought...please contribute...or bitch slap me

[esty]

time and time again we all post things for sale in the for sale forum....i watch that section very closely as perhaps most of us do...

when we post something for sale on the forum...are we putting it up for grabs to the 1st responder or are we making a list from which to pick the lucky person...

for example...time and time and time again i see that the 1st person to state they will buy it isn't actually the person that gets 1st dibs...or at least that's been my experience...

perhaps if you don't actually want to sell it to anyone or the 1st person that states they will buy it, it would be beneficial to those of us that for whatever reason you've decided are not worthy of your parts to list the names of the members that are disqualified from buying the part

i suppose you'd have to ask yourself how you may feel if you'd been looking for that "part" and finally it appears for sale, you're the 1st person to state that you'll buy it only to find out that it was in fact sold to the 4th responder on the want list

it short...it's screwed up when this happens

if i'm the only one that feels this way i'll step down from the soapbox and you guys feel free move this thread to the attacks forum or delete it, forgive my bluntness and please accept my apology on the matter

[eastsidebimmer]

without a 2002FAQ auction gallery, there is no way to make it better.

I've listed parts on ebay in the past, provided the link in the FS section here and given everyone a fair shot. I've also traded things here on the FAQ or been given things (thanks again KC) that would have been impossible on ebay. I don't think we can have it both ways. Any other ideas?

[jimk]

Your logic is from the school of ethics. There are lots out there who need lessons.

I observe also, that sellers really want it to be an auction instead of a simple offer to sell for a price. The seller is too cheap to do a eBay auction (as little as it costs), fears it won't sell if he sets a reserve at what he really wants, doesn't set a price in the For Sale ad and wants you to make an offer, then gets insulted at the offer.

Hey, if it is to be an auction, go there. In the For Sale, set the price and sell it to the first that meets your price.

[KFunk]

There's no law that says you gotta take the first person that offers you the cash.

Some people would rather sell to people they know are reliable, and/or their friends, and/or they're local and you don't have to deal with the shipping hassle. You can't just exclude certain people, it doesn't work like that. If there's 5 people that posted around the same time, and the seller picks his friend since his friend has cut him deals in the past, oh well. The friend earned it by doing good in the past.

Its the same way when you post an ad in the newspaper. If a friend or relative calls you up, who you gonna sell it to? There's nothing legally binding, and its likely that nobody will know.

However, I would prefer that you are honest with all parties and state the reason clearly to them as to why you're going with someone else. But if they don't, thats just on their conscience, and the forgotten buyer might get mad.

whooopydeedoo, thats the way the world works.

[Napes]

Yea, I had that happen to me recently and had to assume the person had a different set of moral standards than I have.

Bob Napier

[esty]

whooopydeedoo, thats the way the world works.

there's a saying on the tip of my tongue that i'll try to paraphrase...

the bad people doing bad things until the good people take a stand to change it....

and no sir mr funk...i'm not saying there are bad people here....people with misplaced ethics and principles perhaps but not necessarily bad

if you wanted to sell it to your friends, why not email them with a sale notice instead of posting it here...or when you post it here, state it's only for sale in california or locally, etc...then it's clear who's in the running to buy the part and people like me that have tender feelings know not to ask

[Mike Self]

1. Perhaps a fairer way to list things would be to state something like

"first $20 offer gets the part." Then if that person bails, go to the second etc. Conversely, if you're gonna choose who gets the item, don't state the above.

2. While buying is different from renting, when I go to put a house up for rent, it's never "first come, first served." I rent to the person whom I think will make the best tenant. And with some sales, particularly high dollar ones, I want to insure I get my money--and of course the buyer wants to insure he/she gets the item as described. So there's a mutual trust factor which, at least in my experience with this board, has always been 100% (Way to go, everyone!). so far, though with stuff I've listed on the board, I've practiced "first come" -- of course most of the time it's more like "only one come," so the choice is easy!

cheers

mike

[auggiemize]

First of all, it sounds like you made it through the storms last night, as I know anyone with a caring bone was worried about you all west of the mountains.

The micro: I assume you are specifically addressing the (rubber) parts from last night. I saw the post at 10:35 with two views, and no replies, and immediately did what he said; I emailed to commit to buy,assuming that a board reply was not necessarily binding, and that wasn't what he asked for. Next I checked his profile on the board; one (1) post. Then I posted "email sent". In the meantime, you and a couple of others posted commits to buy or questions. My post was, I think, twelve minutes after the initial offering. I went to bed thinking that an almost simultaneous email and post to the guy means if he reads the email, I (might) get the parts. If he checks the board first, then I wont. My thoughts were that with one post (ever), that the odds were in my favor. As you know, until you pay, and its in your hands, nothing is fini. I'm not counting chickens...

The macro: We have all been burned thinking that we "won", only to find out, something else transpired. In the above case, I think guns were fired such that CSI (not an E9) can only figure out which bullet entered the body first. In other cases, I can only say wtf, pardon my french, when you feel like you're on Jeopardy, you know the answer, and your clicker is not working. No, there is not a clean answer, as there are no real rules, and this aint ebay. In general, it works. I'm sure, on the other hand, that you have had, as have I, deadbeats that commit to buy with a post, and then you never hear boo from them, or its two weeks later with a lame low-ball offer. Then you start over, re-list, and everybody thinks its a crap item, since its been listed before and didn't sell. There's a lot of "pay-it-forward" types on this board, which is what makes it such a great community. Unfortunately, there's a few in our society that will be selling "I survived the tornadoes of.." T-shirts in Memphis this afternoon. Take care

Dave V. in NC

[TTyMiller]

Yes unfortunately some of us are without ethics or as some of us would say not from the old school.

Which brings to mind when my emailed offer for some wheels was accepted meeting the seller’s price. Later in the day when asked how he would like payment he told me the wheels are gone someone came and got them. He then went on to explain to me that he was under no obligation to 'hold' the wheels for me. I attempted to educate the individual that 6 hours is not holding anything and that we had an agreement.

None of that seemed to matter to him and to think I practically gave him an NLA Nardi hub which I regret having done. This brings me to my only solution in such matters. I simply will not deal with that individual ever again not to buy from, sell to, assist or seek assistance from in the future.

I must add however that this has proven to be an exception here in this community.

[Jaycen_PNW2002]

If not then I think you blew it on this one. If you did and the seller received your email first then he blew it. He provided his email address; to me this means that email is his preferred mode of contact.

[Mike_R]

mmm I can see the direction you are going, but 2 minutes is not a huge gap in posting your interest in buying an item and someone who wants multiple items from the same seller would actually get priority in my opinoin. I can't see that just saying "dibs" on that item in a posting would give you any real claim unless the seller confirmend and then retracted. That would qualify as breaking an oral contract. With respect I think that you may have to back down on the guy this time. Just my .02 cents.

And we all know there are those here who would lend any help with no expectations and those few who only take.

[TobyB]

Yeah, the real thing is, the 'email me privately' bit

means that as a seller, I can sell it to whomever I want.

And if there's an email without a post, there's no transparency.

So even if everyone's ethical, honest and fair, it might not LOOK that way.

And sometimes, it's so hard to sell something that you really

want out of your hair, that just getting rid of it's the priority...

blah...

t

[Guest Anonymous]

I think I can go you one better. I emailed someone advertising parts. I do not think the type of parts and the amounts are particularly relevant. We agreed upon a price including shipping. The seller stated he did not want to use paypal so I offered credit card or personal check. He said check was fine, but he would wait for the funds to clear before shipping.

My check was received and his bank was paid within 4 days according to HIS bank. (I called them) Yet no parts.

After 10 days, I asked for a status and was informed that the parts were sold to another party - "because he paid more." As a "huge" consolation, he offered to refund the amount I paid. When I complained that we had a deal his response was "sue me." Needless to say, the fact that most of these transactions are very small, some few people feel neither morally nor legally bound and one can only hope the experience is returned in spades.

In practical parlance, there really ain't much recourse when you get burned. In my case, I got my money back, but I lost a tremendous amount of time and energy having relied upon someone's worthless promise. You can only do your best and lower your expectations.

Of course I feel the same way when someone drives the wrong direction down a one-way street to grab a parking space - for which I have been patiently waiting. The excuse I got from the very slim woman was "I am pregnant. Call a cop if you do not like the way I park."

[esty]

Which brings to mind when my emailed offer for some wheels was accepted meeting the seller’s price. Later in the day when asked how he would like payment he told me the wheels are gone someone came and got them. He then went on to explain to me that he was under no obligation to 'hold' the wheels for me. I attempted to educate the individual that 6 hours is not holding anything and that we had an agreement.

i hope those weren't the same wheels i bought...recently a dude posted a bunch of stuff for sale...i instantly said i'd buy them, in thread and email and even got an email confirming the price and that they were mine...did i ever get them...no...did i ever get a response to my follow up...no...do i give a rat's ass...no i don't give a rat's ass

as you said....we all have our book of crooks and that's about as good as you can hope for when crap happens

i wonder who ended up with those wheels anyway....?

[HarryPR]

While we're on the subject, let me tell you my ongoing story about ethics, old-school trust and the FAQ For Sale board.

A couple of weeks I put up on the FS board a set of new replica turbo flares. Someone emailed me and offered me $180. I accepted the offer, so the prospective buyer requested pictures. The flares were still on their original packaging from back when I bought them, so, I offered to do what other FAQers have done for me, to ship them and get paid via Paypal after the buyer checks them out.

Well, the flares arrived there almost two weeks ago and I've been getting the runaround regarding payment. I sent another email today, so we'll see what happens. I guess this will make me a little less trusting. However, I still think this is the best enthusiast community with lots of great folks.