Online sales are frustrating or wonderful - share stories (edited)

[Granny_Weatherwax]

My DH and I decided to sell our popup camper.  As most everyone knows, the weather here in the midwest has been horrible. We've had extraordinary amounts of rain, flooding, high winds, and tornadoes.  I popped it up on Saturday to check for winter damage. Nothing, it is perfect.  I spent Saturday scrubbing the interior, washing the curtains and mattress covers, and going through everything we would be selling with the camper. Sunday I scrubbed and waterproofed the canvas. When it was dry and nice and sparkly, I took interior pictures. All of this done in between thunder storms and high winds. Yesterday, I closed the camper early in the morning  after it dried sufficiently (with a little bit of hand toweling) and scrubbed the exterior and made it shine.  Just as I finished, another storm hit. 

During the storm, I posted the pics online. I received multiple immediate hits. One lady offered full price but then recanted since our PUP doesn't have AC. During that time I received multiple verbal offers and requests to view the camper. Since it was raining and I was unable to open the PUP, I started making appts for today. One man offered me $300 over asking price. Immediately after, the woman messaged back and said she wanted the camper, even w/o AC and wanted to come see it ASAP. I told her she could see it but that I had an offer $300 higher than hers. She went ballistic. She was quite upset that I sold the pup out from under her and that I should have sold it to her since she was first. I told her I hadn't accepted the offer because I was under negotiations with her (even though she was upset about no AC) but that since she hadn't seen the camper and no money had exchanged hands I was still free to look at other offers. She was angry and quite rude implying that she would have already bought it but I was being difficult. She was worried I was going to sell the camper to the other buyer so I put "sold" on the ad and told other potential buyers I accepted an offer. I  was losing $300 but I thought this would appease her. I I told her it was raining where I was and I had to go to work but I would try to open it that evening if the rain stopped and I got home in time. I got off work at 9pm so her viewing the camper wasn't going to be an option. I messaged her she could see it today  when I got off work; possibly in the morning.

I told her I had to go to work and would text her when I got out of my morning meetings. I couldn't get away as I was in meetings until after 2pm. Before I could leave work, it rained two more times. I am not opening my PUP in the rain. She thought I was playing some sort of game because she sent me some very rude messages. Evidently, she bought another camper today while I was at work. She implied I was dishonest and that my camper was trash. I remained polite and told her I was happy for her and that I hope she enjoys camping. She replied with a few more rude messages.

So, here I sit feeling awful, like I did something wrong. I'm sorry it rained multiple times in two days (we've actually had 5 inches of rain in the last 48 hours). I"m sorry I have to work. I'm sorry my PUP doesn't have AC.

I could have sold my camper for $300 more than what she offered. I might contact the guy who made the high offer tomorrow and see if he is still interested. I'll also put the ad back online. 

Edited May 30, 2019 by The Accidental Coach

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Just now, WendyAndMilo said:

Can you address the rain issue in your ad, like “I will not be opting the camper up in the rain; due to the enormous amount of rain we’ve been having, please understand that your viewing appointment may be rescheduled or you can check xxxxx zip code for the weather forecast before making a viewing appointment.”

I’m sorry the lady was so rude 😞

That's a great idea. Thank you.

[cjzimmer1]

Yeah sometimes people act like they are so entitled, you just wish you had never crossed paths with them.  Go ahead and contact the the $300+ offer.  You don't owe her anything.

I once offered something on freecycle on Saturday morning and mentioned I wanted it gone that weekend.  Offered it to the first responder (which was within a minute of my post) and heard nothing back.  After several hours of no response, I moved on to the next person and had it out of my house that day.  8 days later the original person responds they would like to come for the item.  I told them it was already gone and they were furious and said something about I couldn't expect someone to sit around all day waiting for an email response and since I had offered it to them, I shouldn't have given it to someone else.  I was nice but in my head I was thinking, you managed to sit around and be watching freecycle close enough that you spotted and responded to my post in under 1 minute but couldn't be bothered to check back even 5 minutes later (because I had already responded by then) and thought I "owed" it to you to wait 8 days for an item I clearly stated I wanted gone the past weekend.  

So just move on and don't give the crazy lady another thought.

[moonflower]

I have found with online sales that when you get a rude, demanding person and give in to them in order to appease them, it rarely fully appeases them - it's like they smell blood in the water.  They always want one more concession, or two more.  I've started, most of the time, to learn to stop before I start.

[Shoeless]

Do not feel bad.  That lady was crazy and you owe her nothing. 

I sell a lot of stuff online, and I am very blunt with my expectations: first person to show up with cash in hand gets the item. I will NOT hold items.  I will NOT deliver items.  Google the directions to the meeting place.  I will NOT be providing turn by turn assistance if you get lost, (I had a guy who did not speak English get lost on the way to my house and it was a giant mess as he'd call his wife to call me to get directions to relay back to him.  It was a disaster). No, I won't call you to talk about the item.  If you want more info, you can email, text, or call me your dang self, but do not message me to say "I'm interested.  Call me". I'm not chasing you down. 

Seriously, be firm and do not feel badly about it.  Your camper will sell, promise.  

[*****]

I've learned the hard way as well to be suspicious of those that answer an ad within minutes or soon thereafter.  It's like they are just out to be obnoxious with sellers, without any intention of really buying.  Sorry it went so poorly for you.  Yes, you have to watch yourself with almost anyone who responds and always know the sale may not go through, even though it sounds like it might.  I once had a guy answer an ad quickly for homeschool materials I was selling.  It just sounded fishy. Sometimes I get a conversation going, just to check if the person really knows what he is looking for.  I could just tell he wasn't a parent teacher...that was the end of the conversation.  Not enough to do in their lives I guess.  Give it time, it'll sell.  

[geodob]

As MissLemon said, the first person to hand over the cash, gets it.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I am over my initial surprise but still cannot believe she was so rude. I reread the messages this morning and still have the same reaction.

Thank you for the advice. If I list it again I will be sure to put "no popping in the rain", "no holds", and "first with cash in hand". That information would certainly eliminate problems.

I really like our Pup and wasn't certain I wanted to sell it. This experience has me questioning the decision to sell even more. I guess I have to do some soul searching and decide if keeping it trumps having the cash on hand.

[G5052]

Yes, I hear you. I've sold a bunch of stuff locally and am about to ramp that up again. We have so much junk we don't need.

About 90% of the sales have gone beautifully. It's always the 10% that drive you nuts.

Then there are the sweet stories. We had an old, extra refrigerator and were moving. It worked perfectly, and I just wanted to give it away. I said "come and get it" to the first one. Theirs had multiple issues and seemed like it was about to die. Mine was actually the same model. He was very handy and figured he could use the parts from their old one on ours if it had problems. So we texted, and they were on their way. They ran out of gas ten minutes from me. So I met them with a gas can and got them to the house. We got the appliance into their trailer, but they needed another tie-down. I had one in a junk box that I was probably going to ditch. So I gave them that. And we stayed in touch for a few months. They were so sweet. I later found out that we had a mutual friend, and she spoke very highly of them. Just a struggling local family with good intentions.

[cjzimmer1]

21 minutes ago, G5052 said:

Then there are the sweet stories. We had an old, extra refrigerator and were moving. It worked perfectly, and I just wanted to give it away. I said "come and get it" to the first one. Theirs had multiple issues and seemed like it was about to die. Mine was actually the same model. He was very handy and figured he could use the parts from their old one on ours if it had problems. So we texted, and they were on their way. They ran out of gas ten minutes from me. So I met them with a gas can and got them to the house. We got the appliance into their trailer, but they needed another tie-down. I had one in a junk box that I was probably going to ditch. So I gave them that. And we stayed in touch for a few months. They were so sweet. I later found out that we had a mutual friend, and she spoke very highly of them. Just a struggling local family with good intentions.

Oh, those are the ones that make it worth dealing with the PITA's.  I once was giving away an old mattress and box spring.  They were a little musty from being unused in the basement but still serviceable.  This young couple wanted it and their only question was were the springs poking out of the mattress.  NO! - they were on their way to get it.  Apparently that was the state of their current bed and they were so grateful that even mustiness was in improvement to them.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I just bought a wicker table set from the same website. The seller posted, I asked to look, she said yes and gave me her address. I happily drove over. While I was on my way, she texted me and said someone else was also interested and I needed to hurry. I arrived, liked it, bought it. She contacted the other person and said it was sold. She helped me load it in my truck and off I went. Easy peasy.

Now I get to surprise my DD and DSIL with a wicker set for their screened in porch. It's a win-win!

[lynn]

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Block pushy people.  The first one that shows up cash in hand buys it.  Don't worry about being nice people some  are jerks.  We have sold many things through the years.  Most transactions were easy some people demanded more photos, delivery etc.   We just block negative or pushy people.  Things sold quickly for the right price.  If they want it they'll be there cash in hand.  Don't hold the camper on someones word.  Give them a reasonable time to see it and let them know if someone else is coming before them but don't hold it. unless they give you a deposit.   many people play games.     

 

 

Edited May 30, 2019 by lynn