"I'll Take It" in the Marketplace

[17Pilot 0]

I am somewhat new to attempting to buy things from the marketplace here on the forum and am not totally sure about the nuances of transactions. I had a situation that I would like to present to see if my frustrations are warranted or if that is just the way things are. I will not mention any names and the actual items, prices and times will be changed to protect the potentially innocent. I am just looking for your feedback.

 

Hour 0 - I PM the person selling the "widgets" and state - "I'll take whatever widgets are left. Email or call. "my e-mail address" or "my phone #". Thanks.

 

Hour 8 - Reply from seller - "$XYZ for the widgets. $A+$B+$C = $D. I'll accept $XYZ. Is that OK with you?"

 

Hour 15.5 - My reply - "$XYZ sounds good. Let me know when and where. I live in the "my town" area and work at "my job place", so let me know what works for you.

 

3 minutes later - Reply from the seller - 555-555-5555 my number. I erased yours by mistake. I'm going to "a range" at "at time and date". Call me if you get chance. Thanks, "The Seller"

 

Work being what work is for me, I was not able to call at a reasonable hour for roughly 48 hours. When I did call to confirm the meet up location and time, I was told that someone else contacted him and he was selling the widgets to that person for the same price.

 

Sorry if this is confusing, but just wondering if this is the way things usually go and I am just being a wus or if this is a legitimate gripe. Thanks.

[Destinydog 9]

it does go down like that from time to time... it is rare though.. Happened to me once and it sucked!

[siderman 1,138]

I'll split the blame. You did say the obligatory "I'll take it" and the sale should have been taken off the market. However to leave a guy hanging for two days and no contact I can see the seller wondering and getting restless. Its happenned before and will happen again.

[17Pilot 0]

I should add the the pickup date was still 3 days away.

[XDJohnTact 49]

Perhaps seller was afraid that after 48 hours of "no contact", you had buyers remorse and he jumped at a firm buyer? It does stink but happens sometimes.

[Maksim 1,504]

Tough situation, but.... personally I feel the deal was made with you. 48 hours happens. If someone needed to get copy of the PM, they can look in the email that was sent to them that has a copy of the PM included there. At the very least, I (as the seller) would contact the buyer and tell them, "Hey, we had a deal, you did not make arrangements yet, if I don't hear from you, will sell, or... would ask before selling to someone else."

 

Legit gripe.

 

Just because a deal is not convenient to close in the next 24 hours, does not relieve you of your moral obligation just because someone else popped up who will pick up asap.

[Caine 147]

At the very least, I (as the seller) would contact the buyer and tell them, "Hey, we had a deal, you did not make arrangements yet, if I don't hear from you, will sell, or... would ask before selling to someone else."

+1. It should be common courtesy to reach out the buyer to see what's up before moving onto the next person in line.

[mipafox 438]

I'll split the blame. You did say the obligatory "I'll take it" and the sale should have been taken off the market. However to leave a guy hanging for two days and no contact I can see the seller wondering and getting restless. Its happenned before and will happen again.

 

Purty much.

[maideneddie 35]

I will agree that the seller should have at least attempted to contact you before selling to another buyer. In this day and age of e_bay any computer literate person should know what proper selling etticate is. Chalk it up to experience and.... buyer beware.

[vjf915 456]

I think you have a legitimate gripe. You made a deal, and therefore the widgets should be yours until you fail to respond to the seller for quite some time, or you back out of the deal. 48 hours happens, easily. I hope J0n doesn't mind me posting this up, but I'm going to as an example. 11 days ago I put up a thread in the for sale section. That day, j0n and I made a deal for one of the items I was selling. We STILL don't have a day set when we are going to meet and complete the transaction. We are both busy people, and some things have happened that neither one of us can control, but we both understand. j0n knows that this item is his until he tells me he doesn't want it, or can't take it. We both understand that this transaction is not the most important thing going on in our lives right now. If we can hold off for 11+ days, the person you contacted should be able to hold off for 2 days. I say put up a -1 for the seller in the "marketplace experience" section and state what happened, it's appropriate.

[bry@n 195]

I have to go on record and say I can't stand the way the rules in the marketplace are!

 

 

 

If a person states I will take it, there should be some accountability to that and the deal is done. I think you should have pm'd and explained the circumstances but I think allowing 7 days for the transaction to take place is normal.

 

I believe if a person states that I will take it and the seller bails, they should be banned for min. of one week and if it happens again, banned for life. Same goes for buyer. If you say I will take it, honor your deal. Other forums have this in place and it works great. Problems get resolved by the admins and everyone is happy.

[djg0770 481]

I have to go on record and say I can't stand the way the rules in the marketplace are!

 

 

 

If a person states I will take it, there should be some accountability to that and the deal is done. I think you should have pm'd and explained the circumstances but I think allowing 7 days for the transaction to take place is normal.

 

I believe if a person states that I will take it and the seller bails, they should be banned for min. of one week and if it happens again, banned for life. Same goes for buyer. If you say I will take it, honor your deal. Other forums have this in place and it works great. Problems get resolved by the admins and everyone is happy.

 

By the same token, everyone makes mistakes, and for a first oops, some leeway should be given.

[vjf915 456]

By the same token, everyone makes mistakes, and for a first oops, some leeway should be given.

Also by that same token, mistakes like that need not be made if the rules specifically state behaviour like that won't be tolerated. This isn't like calling somebody a name, or disagreeing with their opinion on the site. I take my transactions pretty seriously and fairly.

[Ray Ray 3,566]

By the same token, everyone makes mistakes, and for a first oops, some leeway should be given.

 

It's easy to say when you haven't been screwed more than once in the marketplace. Bryan is right.

[bry@n 195]

I have bought on so many forums and the "usual" rules are unconditional I will take it posted in the forum, is the guy that gets it.

 

That means if I can't stand the guy but he follows the rule, he gets it. Same goes if they don't like me. It makes things black and white, not grey as they are now. Now I can understand if it was posted on multiple forums and the seller says or shows you a post where somebody else on the other forum beat you to it, then it is what it is.

 

This nonsense of seller saying it's yours it just shite!!!

[bry@n 195]

By the same token, everyone makes mistakes, and for a first oops, some leeway should be given.

 

 

Dan,

 

leeway is okay as long as the deal goes the correct way, that being the first "i will take it".

[totalabuse 27]

I have to go on record and say I can't stand the way the rules in the marketplace are!

 

 

 

If a person states I will take it, there should be some accountability to that and the deal is done. I think you should have pm'd and explained the circumstances but I think allowing 7 days for the transaction to take place is normal.

 

I believe if a person states that I will take it and the seller bails, they should be banned for min. of one week and if it happens again, banned for life. Same goes for buyer. If you say I will take it, honor your deal. Other forums have this in place and it works great. Problems get resolved by the admins and everyone is happy.

 

 

So is this why you don't follow them? You break rules 1 and 5 constantly and you have never gotten anything other than a friendly pm regarding it.

 

Rule 7 states "honor your commitment" people back out of deals all the time which is why you see people calling second, third, and fourth dibs. **** happens. There is a feedback area to let everyone know if something shady has gone on. We have stepped in to settle stuff in the past. People need to step up when they got beef and name names. This is a very civil site and we all do a great job policing ourselves. The last thing we need is more rules.

[bry@n 195]

So is this why you don't follow them? You break rules 1 and 5 constantly and you have never gotten anything other than a friendly pm regarding it.

 

Rule 7 states "honor your commitment" people back out of deals all the time which is why you see people calling second, third, and fourth dibs. **** happens. There is a feedback area to let everyone know if something shady has gone on. We have stepped in to settle stuff in the past. People need to step up when they got beef and name names. This is a very civil site and we all do a great job policing ourselves. The last thing we need is more rules.

 

 

To say constantly is a stretch. Have a I broken those rules, yes but not all the time. If I posted in a thread in the marketplace, it's because I was wondering about it (with the possible intent to buy). As far as the wts wtt stuff, sure I mis that but I made that mistake once? I may have even made it again, looked at the post and edit to change it right away. I have also received a friendly PM say dummmy, this rule xyz...read the rules again etc.. Just because I said my opinion, doesn't mean it's a personal attack on you for being the moderator. Other people, including Staff make these mistakes also and quite recently in fact.

 

Rule # 7 is a sham. THere have been people here that do not honor their commitment. I am not talking about buyers, when all of a sudden my car broke. That stuff does happen. It's more on the seller end where you say "I will take It" within 30 minutes of thread going up, to never here from the seller and then have it posted that it sold locally on a different day. On that day, there was 2nd's, 3rd....etc... When the seller puts a WTS add up, they are initiating a commitment. I have never backed out of a deal and never will. Even if a circumstance comes up.

 

I am not saying we need more rules, but rule 7 means nothing if people don't honor their commitment.

 

edit: I also have brought this issue up and I'm not afraid to name names. I did so and brought it to Maks. There are people that agree with me, they just won't post it in the thread, just like there are people that disagree and won't post. This isn't life or death, just my opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own.

[djg0770 481]

Dan,

 

leeway is okay as long as the deal goes the correct way, that being the first "i will take it".

 

I think my point was more aimed at "Oh I put this up for sale but decided that I don't want to sell it and so I'm going to take it down." not at "bry@n's a douche, I'm not selling him my belly button lint, he can go pound sand" (kidding about the douche part).

 

Though I reserve the right not to sell to FNIM (fat nekkid...)

[bry@n 195]

I think my point was more aimed at "Oh I put this up for sale but decided that I don't want to sell it and so I'm going to take it down." not at "bry@n's a douche, I'm not selling him my belly button lint, he can go pound sand" (kidding about the douche part).

 

Though I reserve the right not to sell to FNIM (fat nekkid...)

 

 

lol....belly lint is my favorite.

I know what your saying and agree there are some things that we can all understand. IMO, it seems like on other forums, I can say "i will take it" and never have to second guess what will happen next. Here, it's like is it mine or not, even if I am the first "IWTI"

[djg0770 481]

lol....belly lint is my favorite.

I know what your saying and agree there are some things that we can all understand. IMO, it seems like on other forums, I can say "i will take it" and never have to second guess what will happen next. Here, it's like is it mine or not, even if I am the first "IWTI"

 

Particularly on another forum, I often don't post an "I will take it" at all - I PM the poster and generally leave it that way.

[tony357 386]

I have 2nd dibbs if digg backs out...

[HuntingPaper 62]

Seems to me that rules on here are only enforced when personaly affect to the mods and I'm with Bryan, if you are selling something to other than the first person who says "I'll take it" you should be ban. (Waiting for this post been "accidentaly" deleted)

[tbtrout 141]

Seems to me that rules on here are only enforced when personaly affect to the mods and I'm with Bryan, if you are selling something to other than the first person who says "I'll take it" you should be ban. (Waiting for this post been "accidentaly" deleted)

Huh?

 

Anyway, if the OP has an issue with a seller then PM me and I will ask what happened or post in the review section that XYZ is a lying douchebag and explain why. It is a real simple thing.

[XDJohnTact 49]

Huh?

 

Anyway, if the OP has an issue with a seller then PM me and I will ask what happened or post in the review section that XYZ is a lying douchebag and explain why. It is a real simple thing.

 

I have to agree, if you have an issue with a seller (or any member for that matter) it is best to PM Maks or Tim. I have never had an issue that they could not resolve or give a reasonable answer to. That's why you have Admins! Moderators are good for keeping posts on track and civil, Admins should be the ones to settle disputes and control the ban stick! IMHO

[hd2000fxdl 422]

, Admins should be the ones to settle disputes and control the ban stick!

 

 

While I agree that MOD's and Admin's should control bans, we are all adults and really we should be able to handle most situations between the 2 members.

 

I don't think we need new or additional rules, but feel each person, both the seller and the prospective buyer should use common courtesy, especially for members who have been around here for a while. I know I have had nothing but a good experience in buying something here and I have also seen some sales where more than one person thought they were the first to respond, ie I'll take it" one person on the Forum, the other person via PM but have seen that situation worked out between the 2 people. I think Mod's and Admin's shouldn't need to referee transactions between adults.

 

Harry

[XDJohnTact 49]

I don't think it is a matter of moderating time stamps, we have all jumped in to buy something here and missed out and just figured we'll win it next time. I have been guilty of just sending a PM instead of posting IWTI and lost a couple of gems, but I survived. Face it, there is nothing for sale here that is that life changing.

 

The OP was talking about what he thought was a done deal that went south. If he had shot a PM top Maks or Tim they could have gotten to the root of the problem and tried to resolve it. Heck, maybe he should have PM'd the seller? Or not wait two days to have a conversation with him in the first place?

 

Instead, we have another rambling post with everybody's (valuable) opinion and we are all wasting our times diciphering every word and comma. (Not ME though, I am retired and have nothing better to do! )

[Maksim 1,504]

The seller has contacted me and will work with them to figure this out.

 

As far as forum rules.... once again, just because you post I'll take it, it does not mean you have a deal.

 

Until you and the seller have a deal, Offer made and acknowledged by both parties, it is just a listing.

 

If a poster lists something for sale, someone posts I'll take it, and gets in touch with the seller and the seller states it is SPF, or what not, until then, you do not have a deal. You can't make someone sell you something.

 

The whole I'll take it in a post is merely a courtesy and the order goes in case deal falls through, as a way to keep track for the seller of interested parties.

 

If you go to a store, they don't have to sell you squat. It is impractical to make someone sell you something, nor am I, or any other mods on this forum will be going door to door to enforce any deals. This is where the community comes in place.

 

Bryan, I'm sorry that you missed some deals, deal with it.

 

A legitimate complaint is this one, or one where a deal is made and someone backs out.

[Maksim 1,504]

While I agree that MOD's and Admin's should control bans, we are all adults and really we should be able to handle most situations between the 2 members.

 

I don't think we need new or additional rules, but feel each person, both the seller and the prospective buyer should use common courtesy, especially for members who have been around here for a while. I know I have had nothing but a good experience in buying something here and I have also seen some sales where more than one person thought they were the first to respond, ie I'll take it" one person on the Forum, the other person via PM but have seen that situation worked out between the 2 people. I think Mod's and Admin's shouldn't need to referee transactions between adults.

 

Harry

 

Thank you Harry.

 

Exactly spot on. 99% of the deals on here are perfect, and people work it out themselves. Yes, there have been some bad apples here, people who made deals, yet never followed through on them, and we know them. However the forum marketplace is a convenience to the members to bring prospective buyers and sellers together. The forum is not a convenience store, nor are we in Socialist Russia where you need a ticket, stand in line to get some bread.

[Maksim 1,504]

Seems to me that rules on here are only enforced when personaly affect to the mods and I'm with Bryan, if you are selling something to other than the first person who says "I'll take it" you should be ban. (Waiting for this post been "accidentaly" deleted)

 

lol. Actually, I am going to post this.

 

1. Rules are only here for the special doucehbags who can't follow common sense, courtesey and ethical values of how to treat people. For them, we have "rules".

2. Just because someone says "I'll take it" in a post, does not mean the seller will end up selling to that person. Few reasons.

1. Many times I have seen an "I'll take it" in a post, only to get a pm for less than asking price, or no intention of buying, just wanted to save their space in line and ask even more questions.
   
2. Seller has the right to pick whom he wants to sell to. We ask, ethically that you would sell it to the first person who responds, however it is not a requirement. First person with whom you have a firm deal on amicable terms gets it. The forum cannot and will not enforce deals. We do not go door to door to beat people up.
   

3. There is no reason to ban people. Nothing stopping them from re-registering. If someone screws up a deal, they will be ridiculed here, it is worse than any ban.

 

Lastly, if anyone doesn't like that we do not enforce deals, you don't need to purchase or sell anything here. For the .01% of the posts that get 100 responses in 5 mins because the seller underpriced something, I'm sorry. If you have an issue, take it up with the seller or post it here and let others know. Even if there is a rule that whomever said "I'll take it" wins, no one can enforce it. You can't make someone sell you something. Furthermore, there is absolutely no legal basis, as we don't know if the seller even knows. PM's there is a way you can track if someone read your message, on a post, there is not.