Rant: Bad Deals

[eddy]

1 hour ago, AdamA said:

@Nico van Loggerenberg what would you have done in this situation as the Buyer?

Seller Posts ad: Bargain Bike for R10,000
Buyer Responds : I would like to take the bike, can I pick it up this afternoon
Seller: Sure we have a deal
Buyer: Great

1 hour later

Seller: I have someone else interested, they are at my front door with cash... are you still coming this afternoon?
Buyer: Yes I am, Please hold it for me
Seller: I can, but then you need to do an immediate payment for R5000 or cash send. if you are not committed then I am going to sell it to this guy. I can't risk loosing the sale.
Buyer: We had a deal!
Seller: I have a genuine deal standing in front of me, you might not show this afternoon.

Would you pay the deposit or not?

 

No, I would issue summons in the small claims court.

[AdamA]

1 minute ago, ChrisF said:

 

Aaaaa .... now we moving into horrible grey area (as per my post above) ...

Best to be upfront: You are welcome to come and view the bike.  Please note others have indicated a desire to view the bike.  The sale will be on a first come first served basis.

 

Aaah the grey area...

The buyer thinks he has a 'Deal' and the seller thinks he has a 'Viewing'
or the buyer thinks we have a 'viewing' and the seller thinks we have a 'deal'

What if the seller, thinking he has a 'deal'... goes and commits to another 'deal' expecting the buyer to pay full price....

To me, this is why the deal is only concluded when the money clears the bank. 

 

[ChrisF]

1 minute ago, AdamA said:

Aaah the grey area...

The buyer thinks he has a 'Deal' and the seller thinks he has a 'Viewing'
or the buyer thinks we have a 'viewing' and the seller thinks we have a 'deal'

What if the seller, thinking he has a 'deal'... goes and commits to another 'deal' expecting the buyer to pay full price....

To me, this is why the deal is only concluded when the money clears the bank. 

 

With any luck a few buyers and a few sellers are clearer in their WhatsApp "contracts" going forward ....

[AdamA]

1 minute ago, ChrisF said:

With any luck a few buyers and a few sellers are clearer in their WhatsApp "contracts" going forward ....

I know I will be !!!

[babse]

I 

[Steady Spin]

6 pages later and the only thing that changed is the OP’s blood pressure. 

[Nico van Loggerenberg]

48 minutes ago, Steady Spin said:

6 pages later and the only thing that changed is the OP’s blood pressure. 

I've been very relaxed since I phoned the seller directly after this happened and shat him out for a good long while. I didn't start this thread to change the minds of people who worship at the altar of the market, but to raise a tiny bit of awareness, and I'm glad to have engaged with Matt, even if it was essentially "It sucks but we don't really want to change it" 

 

Other than that, I've said my peace on this. If you don't understand the fundamental requirement of open, clear, and truthful communication, good luck to you. As I said before, first come first served is fine, if that is made clear. This is about communication, and sticking to your word when you make a promise. 

Wishing all the knuckledraggers many frustrating buying and selling purchases. May your hernias ever increase and cash in hand remain king! 

Edited July 12, 2021 by Nico van Loggerenberg

[Jewbacca]

*piece

[BaGearA]

9 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

*piece

 

[Jewbacca]

We are advocating clear and concise communication are we not? 

Edited July 12, 2021 by Jewbacca

[Steady Spin]

All my future sales will come with the consideration of what Nico would want. WWNW

#noknuckledragging

[Eldron]

2 hours ago, AdamA said:

Aaah the grey area...

The buyer thinks he has a 'Deal' and the seller thinks he has a 'Viewing'
or the buyer thinks we have a 'viewing' and the seller thinks we have a 'deal'

What if the seller, thinking he has a 'deal'... goes and commits to another 'deal' expecting the buyer to pay full price....

To me, this is why the deal is only concluded when the money clears the bank. 

 

Exactly this.

Even when an "agreement" has been reached the buyer can still pitch up and not conclude the deal - if the seller has turned away cash in (almost) hand then he's knackered.

Nothing is ever binary in the second hand market - I react differently to different approaches - friendly interested buyers get tons of time and info - rude tyre kickers are likely to get far less time and info.

I have had everything from guys putting the full amount in my bank account and waiting patiently until it clears then getting me to ship the bike to them without ever seeing it in the flesh (total trust) to some twat that hammered me on price claiming poverty and asking me to deliver (claiming more poverty and a rough life) only for me to pitch up at a rather larney looking company where he told me he only had 75% of the amount we had already agreed on and if I didn't like the new deal then I was free to leave with the wheels (total bellend move).

I reckon over 90% of my buying and selling happened with satisfactory outcomes for both parties. This isn't really a biggie in my opinion.

The only thing that is useful is good communication. That way everyone knows where they stand and nobody needs to start threads about how hard buying is.

 

[eddy]

49 minutes ago, Eldron said:

Even when an "agreement" has been reached the buyer can still pitch up and not conclude the deal - if the seller has turned away cash in (almost) hand then he's knackered.

 

 

No, if there is a contract he can issue summons and demand payment......

[Mountain Bru]

1 hour ago, eddy said:

No, if there is a contract he can issue summons and demand payment......

Can admin please offer a course in "how to not end up in court when using the classifieds"?

Maybe the solution to all of this drama is to put a generic message at the end of every ad to protect yourself. Something like:

"First come first served. I reserve the right to not sell stuff to you if your post count or rating is too low, or if you've been known to be a box in the forums. Nothing I say in a message constitutes a deal, only cash in my hand constitutes a deal. If you want me to hold something for you, I want a deposit. If I don't respond to your messages, it might be because I do other things apart from selling crap on bikehub, please be patient before starting a forum post bitching at me. If you lowball me, I probably won't answer for fear of accidentally entering into a contract with you and ending up in court. I cycle for leisure, and sell stuff to clear up clutter in my house, please don't take me to court. If you don't like my terms, feel free to not do business with me, just please don't take me to court" 

 

[Steady Spin]

 

6 minutes ago, Mountain Bru said:

"First come first served. I reserve the right to not sell stuff to you if your post count or rating is too low, or if you've been known to be a box in the forums. Nothing I say in a message constitutes a deal, only cash in my hand constitutes a deal. If you want me to hold something for you, I want a deposit. If I don't respond to your messages, it might be because I do other things apart from selling crap on bikehub, please be patient before starting a forum post bitching at me. If you lowball me, I probably won't answer for fear of accidentally entering into a contract with you and ending up in court. I cycle for leisure, and sell stuff to clear up clutter in my house, please don't take me to court. If you don't like my terms, feel free to not do business with me, just please don't take me to court" 

Saved for later

[Eldron]

2 hours ago, eddy said:

No, if there is a contract he can issue summons and demand payment......

Hands up everyone who has forced a potential buyer to sign a contract without seeing the goods and then successfully dragged then through the courts without wasting 100 hours of their life after the buyer reneged on the deal.