I was just wondering about what everyone here thinks. I'm upset becuase I a couple times this has happened to me. Today a fellow board member (who I'm not going to name publicly) had a popular item for sale. I instantly PM'd him with my interest. He replied with his PayPal address so I was happy, I PMd him back informing him that I was at work and would send him the money in an hour. He PMd me back stating he sold the item to someone else. I PMd said person and asked if he knew anything, he said he got the same PM as me from the same guy. If the seller was giving out his PayPal address to many people at the same time, he would have money from more than one person right? All I'm asking if if I'm wrong for being upset at this... ? This is a trend ive been seeing here recently. People arnt giving the first person to be interested the buy... I mean I understand "money talks" but I've always found the people here on TFW to be respectful and honorable abou the whole first come first served idea... Any thoughts?

 

I'd say report the user and let the mods handle it. I'm not quite sure what their game is if they deny first comers, since that's outright denying themselves of a sale (unless they're waiting for a better offer or something), but it's a rude practice all the same.

 

Maybe he just changed his mind?

 

He sold it out from under me is what he did... I have had this happen to me more than once, and I hate to say it but its mostly with newer sellers on here. It just bothers me that this is happening I guess, just because its not the way I would would work it out... Its a first come thing, and it should be honored.

 

Some people won't hold something for any amount of time. first person to pay gets it.

 

I can accept that. What would have happened if I did send money? And all the other people. All I'm saying is first to raise their hand gets it. But I dunno, I may just be wrong.

 

When I give someone my Paypal address I consider the item sold. If within 24 to 36 hours I get no response I'll move on. I have a job.. there's no need to act like a salivating dog over a potential sale. Folks on TFW are supposed to treat each other right not like the gripping greedy rats of the real world. What gives?

 

Well, if it was a scam to try and get money from multiple people, you could elevate things into a claim on Paypal because you sent money but the seller didn't hold up his end of the deal. As long as you kept evidence of him saying that he'd sell you the figure, there's nothing he can do about it.

 

I can totally see your point. But to me, first come, first served means the first TO ACTUALLY PAY. Calling dibs doesn't cut it in this day and age. If you have PayPal and a means to PM him, it could have been a done deal right there. Its in the same boat as getting sniped on eBay.

Now thats not to say you shouldn't be bummed out. I think we've all just barely missed that awesome sale we had hoped to find.

Other than perhaps the seller informing you that he had multiple people interested at the same time... I don't see anything done wrong here. As far as any scam you are potentially imagining - it is very easy for a seller to deny/return a double payment and you'd get your full amount back.

 

Agreed. Sometimes people get a non-payer or two and use that to justify treating future customers poorly. The only way I can see that being acceptable is if the seller is funding an emergency expense _and_ they make it clear ahead of time. But, in my first few sales post-Paypal, I'm finding the world of eBay turns alot faster now than it used to. Can you believe we used to wait a week for a check or money order to go through the mail?

 

this happens with what i buy and sell a lot too ( snakes...lol)

Think of it this way as a seller: Imagine you get promises of gettign paid the cash when you get home or next time you get paid. Beign a nice guy- you hold the item, and deny other interested buyers b/c its gonna be sold to someone. Time goes by- and guess what? you are never sent the money nor contacted again about it. your emails go ignored or the buyer says I dont want it any more. So you contact other interested parties, and they either bought the item from someone else, or spent their cash that they had on something else. This is very frustrating when you are selling! ( and i am not saying you would have done this)

Now me on the other hand- and i been given greif by other snake breeding pals and was told umpteen times of the stories i just said above- If some one is interested and past the inquiring questions, i'll hold the snake for them. If i have 2 people thinking about it- and both show interest to wanting to buy the same day- it comes down to who emailed me first saying they wanted the snake, and i tell the second in line someone else emailed me first and was ready to pay just like you have, so the snake is being offered to them first. if they back out, I will let you know and it will be sold to you. and someone who wanted a baby lesser i never heard back from, so some guy who was local who was interested when the snake was already spoken for was contacted, and the snake was sold to him.


There are a lot of buyers who flake out, I had my share of them, and others as well. It comes down to how the seller wants to deal with it. I dont like when things are sold out from under me, so I dont do it, but i can understand sellers who go by who sends money first.

Did he clearly state he would hold it for yous? If he received payment from several people- he could have refunded the extra payments after he go that first payer. However, call me old fashioned- like you, I wouldnt give out my paypal addey to several people over a sale- when my paypal addey is given out- it means that person has dibs on it, period. So, i understand why you are upset, but just realize, i dont think selling it to who sent money first wrong, even tho I dont do sales that way.

I am sorry you didnt get the toy this time. But I bet soon enough you will be unwrapping the shipping box and taking out your new treasure!

 

Except if he insists on a gift payment, which a lot of sellers on here do -- in that case, you're screwed if he doesn't ship anything if you agree to a gift payment, as you can't elevate things with that payment method.

It's definitely worth paying the dollar or two to cover the fees because then you can ensure you're getting your money back. It's the only way you can be safe, especially when dealing with anonymous strangers over the Internet on a forum where anyone can join.

Honestly, if someone wanted to they could easily rip off a ton of members here as I see a lot of people are so quick to hand over gift payments. It's a big mistake.

 

I've done this (sold under someone) once and the potential buyer that missed out started disparaging me with personal insults. I try to stay in contact with potential buyers and will notify them of other interested parties. But I do give them an ultimatum if too much time has passed. Either you pay now or I drop your hold and sell it to the next person in line. After all, a sale is a sale.

 

I would like to also mention that I think the OP has never tried to sell anything on Craigslist. I know its not entirely 'online' like deals made here and on eBay, but the buyer/seller principle still applies.

I've sold many things on CL. Any time it is more than a few bucks I experienced a situation where people will call/text/e-mail with tons of questions (showing interest) and then set up a day to come and get it (dibs). Then totally blow me off. It has become expected to assume they are full of shit until the money is handed to me. When selling a set of rims recently, it was about 25 - 30 people who blew me off in a 3 week period. That is 25+ people WHO SAID THEY WANTED THEM. Said they would be over. Then didn't show up or return messages. Should I have waited on all 25 of those people? One guy even said he would be over in a half hour and no-showed. Add to that the fact that paying online is often EASIER...

So sorry, OP. I don't feel your pain.

 

Speaking of Craigslist, I've been listing this PS1 with a couple of used games for $20 flat and I keep getting a bunch of flakes as well. And many people insist that I drive out to them instead of meeting somewhere neutral. Some of them live 20-30 minutes out of the way. I even had some jackass ask me to drive 30 minutes his direction for my $5 copy of Gran Turismo.