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Sellers Etiquette

insect

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I always try to follow the rules to not get scammed and be vigilant, but I am a bit in the dark when it comes to selling stuff and not pissing people off 🙈

I think there are some rules regarding sellers etiquette, but a quick search I cant seem to find them. If there isn't should there be a sticky for Sellers Etiquette like there is for buying?

I don't sell stuff online often, I tread lightly when buying, but I forget to tread lightly when selling as well.

I made a thread yesterday selling some headphones and an amp and I said the price was neg to an extent, couple of minutes later I get a pm offering me about +-10% less than my asking price - I think maybe it will go quickly as its a decent price and hold out for my asking price, but maybe I should just take the offer and get on with it.

I decided to say I will consider it, give me a day or two - maybe I will get my asking price or if not I can take it.

Then I get an offer for only one item, I said ill consider if I get an offer for the other.

This morning I get asked to send more pictures to another interested party, the guy phones me and makes better offer than anyone to date - within 5% of my selling price. He also agrees to arrange and cover shipping, but as stated in my thread he would like to receive the goods first and then make payment when he is satisfied. Bit risky, but he has an high I-trader. He also asks me if I can commit to the deal, because he wants to sell his to a friend and if I pull out he will let someone down. Its been a hectic morning at work, I kinda forgot about the guy who contacted me first yesterday. So I said sure its a deal. He asks to ship on Monday, so I will get the money sometime end next week. Which isn't optimal, bit risky, but its the best deal so far...

When I posted sold on the thread, buyer one contacts me offers me my original selling price and immediate payment. Which is kinda now the best deal, and I will have the money in my account right now. I tell him I committed to buyer 3, he reminds me he was buyer one and I should have contacted him first before committing to buyer 3. I concede he does have a point in a way, but I will feel like a worm breaking my word to buyer 3.

So I guess I fucked up committing to buyer 3 without consulting buyer 1 first, it just happened so fast - hectic morning at work etc.

What would the correct thing be to do from here on? No matter how I look at it, one of them will be pissed :cry: Any future deals Ill be more aware and cautious before committing and tread very lightly!

Advice please?
 
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You should have consulted 1 first. But you committed to 3. You need to stick to 3, there was no commitment made to 1 and if im not mistake 3 can actually give you a neg/neutral itrade vs 1 can do nothing if you dont go through with it apart from being annoyed.
 
If you agreed to sell, than honour that sale.

Give the buyer 24 hours to pay up and if that doesn't happen, sell to the next person in line.

I also don't think it is wrong for your to contact buyer 1 and tell him that you have another buyer and push him to make payment.
 
insect
You'll get used to selling here eventually. You've clearly gone through the same process as any one of us has and it's the usual.

I always stick to my asking price because someone will pay it if it's realistic. Don't lower your price if you know it's fair. Conversely, don't ask nearly new prices for a "Monster Gaming PC- Top of the range!!!" that's 4 years old.

Have a sticky note that you can copy and paste as a reply - 'Sorry, the price is non negotiable, as per the thread'.
I sold my car on here for my asking price and put non neg in the thread, only to have lower offers put forward that were plain insulting. I sold it for the exact price I wanted
 
When I posted sold on the thread, buyer one contacts me offers me my original selling price and immediate payment. Which is kinda now the best deal, and I will have the money in my account right now. I tell him I committed to buyer 3, he reminds me he was buyer one and I should have contacted him first before committing to buyer 3. I concede he does have a point in a way, but I will feel like a worm breaking my word to buyer 3.

So I guess I fucked up committing to buyer 3 without consulting buyer 1 first, it just happened so fast - hectic morning at work etc.

Contacting buyer 1 and telling him/her that you have a better bid would change the deal to an auction - expressly forbidden in the rules.

You did everything right. Buyer 1 took the risk of offering a lower amount, and it backfired - not your fault.
 
You have to commit to buyer nr 3 as a deal has been struck? If you are not a new member why would you ship first before being paid? Yea I get that there are some risky deals but if you have been here a while and have no negative feedbacks then surely you should tell the buyer that you should pay first before shipping it off regardless of his itrader. If he isn't happy with the product with valid reasons then a refund is in order. But that's just my 2cents. Good luck

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You made a deal with buyer 3. Even though you've had better offers since then, that is considered an agreed deal. Fuck buyer 1 and 2. It doesn't matter that piet pompies contacted you first. YOU get to choose whom to sell to. What you cant do is backsies (i.e. Commit to one and now turn around for a better offer. Thats basically auctioning which is prohibited).

TL;DR
Fuck people who call dibs or even msg first. You decide who you want to deal with. Just stick to your word and then you're not an asshole.
 
Thanks guys, your input cleared it up, especially the auction part. I've committed to 3 and ill stick to that, rather lose money than break my word.
I learnt this the hard way, also after being low-balled.

Nonetheless.
 
I thought this was done, yet not.

After spending a lot of time on the phone with buyer 3, and informing him I will indeed ship to him with a 50 deposit, he seems disinterested now... Not responding to Whatsapp in the last 48 hours.

Weird because after sending him multiple pictures (24 in total) and a video of the item - he phoned again for the third time that day, after-hours to further discuss the condition of the item + ways to ship as safe as possible, offering to pay for additional shipping materials which I declined - as I have enough to get the item safely to its destination.

He seems very particular about the condition of the items he buys, even inquiring if the packaging had any marks on it, which is his right (it is his money after all) but the items are a couple of years old as stated by the thread.

You also have to be realistic, the items and the packaging can't be perfect like it just came out of the factory, that is why you are not paying new prices. If he feels the items won't meet his standards I have no problem if he cancels the sale, if he wants something in brand new condition rather not buy something that is 3 - 4 years old.

I think he rather needs a F2F deal - I am wondering if he will find some kind of imperfection on the headphones after receiving them to eventually bring the price down.

I am now getting a bad feeling about this and this deal overall - wish I could just retract it and find a local seller.

Why is this suddenly so over complicated?
 
Why is this suddenly so over complicated?

I dont know you from a bar of soap but sound like you're putting up with a lot of unecessary shit :)

You've supplied more than enough information on the item's condition. If people waste your time, just move on to the next potential buyer.

Aint nobody got time for this shit
 
Adding in my two cents to this :)

I consider offers as the basis for a queue and not people... IOW if P1 offers X-100 and P2 offers X and then P1 comes back and offers X, if I am willing to sell for X the order is first P2 then P1 based on the fact that P2 made the offer first. If P1 lowballed that was the risk he was willing to take and if he loses the sale he doesn't have any grounds other than to blame himself for not offering the asking amount at the onset.

My advice with regards to your deal is, if it feels wrong, it probably is. Send the prospective buyer a message saying that you expect a response within a certain amount of time (usually 24 hours for me) and if they do not respond that you're taking it that they're no longer interested in the item and that you're moving on to the next person. If they do respond and wish to proceed make sure you highlight any issues the item has even if it's the tiniest mark and make sure it's visible in the pictures you sent just in case he comes back and says item wasn't as described.
 
In general I agree with all the above stated, except. Been dealing on various online platforms, Ebay, bidorbuy, olx, etc. and nowhere is a deal done and concluded before the money is in your account. Sending a item to anyone you don't know personally without payment received is tantamount to just going outside and throwing it in the rubbish. Sorry if I'm stepping on toes here but the moment I can walk into a shop and take something of the shelf and tell them I'll pay when I get home is the moment I send an item without payment first.
 
Yeah. Agree with spydr97

Clearly the ancient law of: Take it or Leave it applies here
 
Ay man . Buyer 1 offered cash . First come first serve . Tell buyer 3 to pay or atleast put deposit immediately to secure the item failure to abide by your terms terminates the agreement and you sell to buyer one. Now you stuck with no buyer. Fastest sale is the best sale.

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