Backing out of classified ad deals
Selling things online is a great way to make more space in your home. I like using online classifieds like Craigslist to get rid of things like movies, books, and sometimes furniture. When it comes to asking me questions, people usually contact me through email and sometimes over the phone. Many times people will ask me if I could hold some things for them until they had time to pick it later during the week. Most of the time, these people never finalize the sale by never showing up.
It’s the idea of not talking to someone in person that somehow makes some people feel that they can bend the very rules they cherish when negotiating in person. It’s like friendship for many; you pretend to be sincere over the phone to people who have been there for you, and you act sincere to people who want to use you. The same way, many buyers simply back out of a deal without letting the seller know about it. While it’s normal to back out of such a sale at the last minute, it is anything but normal for a supposed buyer to simply disappear and not let the seller know what happened.
Last week, I had a buyer who called me 4 times in 3 days and requested repeatedly that I “please keep the tv” for him till Thursday evening. Well, he never showed up, and never responded to me. Could this be because of the embarrassment he felt when backing out of the deal that he had begged so hard for in the beginning? I’m not sure. Regardless, it’s funny how only a few people take the time to call or email and say “Sorry, I’m not interested anymore and won’t be coming by at 4” instead of making someone wait and lose other sales by telling other customers “Sorry, I already promised this to someone and they’ll come later during the day. Thus, I cannot sell this to you. Sorry.”
As for the 27″ Sanyo TV and the Sanyo DVD player I was selling, after the original buyer simply vanished, someone came yesterday and paid almost twice the amount I had originally wanted. Interestingly, not all sales end that way. Maybe online classifieds should have tutorials teaching buyers how to be effective at communication, and how to be ethical when it comes to negotiating a deal along with ideas on how to gracefully bail out. When a buyer is negotiating a deal for themselves, they should know that they’re also in turn making the seller negotiate a deal for themselves. Long live free communication between buyers and sellers. Long live Craigslist.
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( December 11th, 2006 at 10:28 am )
you know you can always put a condition to the buyer like “I will keep this TV for you at most 24 hours after the arranged meeting time, if you don’t turn up within that 24 hours, I will assume that you’re not interested in buying anymore”. Isn’t it make your life easier?
i still prefer the typical online selling method where i don’t have to meet the buyer. if the person do not pay me within a certain period, i just simply email that person saying “oh, sorry i’m not interested in selling to you anymore.” there is such thing as postal rule in contract law, whereby even if the buyer did not read your email, it is perceived that your obligation is done.
( December 12th, 2006 at 8:19 am )
Yeah, what Jerine said. You could also say that they have to pay first, like shoot you some money via PayPal. They are already online finding the ad, so that doesn’t seem too unreasonable…
( December 14th, 2006 at 1:44 pm )
paypal is a good way to avoid that, you don’t even need to ask for the a complete upfront payment, just get some $100 and the guy will think twice about backing off the deal
( December 15th, 2006 at 3:39 am )
Jerine — > Good point; similar to ebay auctions. The local classifieds I tried tend to end up with the buyer and the seller meeting each other. Good idea in the 2nd paragraph too.
Valerie — >
Thanks. That sounds like a good idea; have to list paypal next time.
Daniel — > Yes, using paypal and a deposit sounds awesome.
Thanks.
( December 20th, 2006 at 1:35 am )
We’ve had the same issues with people not coming for stuff they’ve asked for on Freecycle - I do think it’s something to do with them not having any investment in the thing; so I agree about taking a deposit.
( January 1st, 2007 at 9:28 pm )
Yes, you’re right. Investment in something creates more incentives to finalize an already promised deal/purchase. I wonder how taking a deposit through classified ads would work, though.
I should start using FreeCycle more.