ethics with craigslist question

[cros36]

thanks for all the responses guys. i told guy 2 that i have someone coming friday and if it falls through then i will get ahold of him to see if hes still up for it. i guess the lesson here is i should have said first come first serve to just avoid the complications and get the money faster. makes sense, just didnt think of it. but i still dont want to be a dick to guy 1. hopefully he does burn me just to harden me up a bit.

[johncj5]

I just bought a van on Craigslist. I contacted the guy on a Monday and told him that I borrowed a truck and trailer for the following Saturday to make the 450 mile trip to pick it up. He said he would hold it until saturday when I got there to see it.
I think I would have beaten him nearly to death if I showed up after driving that far and he sold it to someone else.

[CRFyou]

If you have a proper gentlemen's accord for a big item, then that's one thing.

But your random CL dude is just, statistically, a waste of a seller's time.

[NGH450]

i always catch myself doing that....getting a call and then agreeing on a price and then them saying they cant get there for a week...and then getting a better offer the next day. better off saying in your add 1st come 1st serve not going to hold item without cash deposit.

and second note its so much better meeting someone somewhere rather than at your house...cause you never know what some crazy person will do if they turn out to be not happy with their decision to buy....just a thought never had anything comeback on me but it could happen.

most of all be honest and stick to your word.

[jaysimon]

and second note its so much better meeting someone somewhere rather than at your house...cause you never know what some crazy person will do if they turn out to be not happy with their decision to buy....just a thought never had anything comeback on me but it could happen.
.

I've always wondered that, guy comes to look at the bike you're selling, just to get a peek into the garage at what you aren't selling, that he may want to get his paws on.

Pretty ultra-sleazy, but you never know.

[UncleMonkey]

If you or him didn't say first come-first serve then you'll have to stand behind your word. Just remember for next time.

[Bandersnatch]

Guy one......
He is shopping with no money. That's that.
He shouldn't have called or emailed you unless he was ready to buy.

Also It was rude of him to "make you wait" and possibly pass up selling your stuff for money....not warm fellings.
It's a craigslist deal.
If you sell it before friday he should understand. He is a big boy and should be able to get over it. But as a courtesy you should call him if you sell it so he doesn't drive.




Also, try not to give out your address or go somewhere to meet someone unless they are on your way. And unless someone is "en route" don't waste your time waiting for people on CL either.

[ThePete]

One thing for sure if you put anything up on CL be prepared to deal with ANYTHING. Make sure you have copies of all your paperwork and handle your part on your end. The DMV has been getting nasty with going after stuff with any kind of sketchy paperwork after the fact. We've dealt with a few issues that have become a pain in the ass. When I sold my wife's ninja the guy didn't do the paperwork on his end and we have had to resubmit our paperwork 3 times before the DMV laid off on trying to collect back registration. This was like a year after we sold it. Then it was when she sold her car, originally it came down from Canada when she moved down and even though it was paid off the registration still had the lien holder on the paperwork, we had to track down a release on the car about a year after we sold it so the buyer could register it under their name, this is after we submitted it two years before we sold the car. Now we are hassled with a total loss on a car we bought in 2010 that was wrecked out of country. Our insurance owns the car now and again we have submitted paperwork stating the car was totaled 2 times already and just got a letter this week saying we will owe back fees and my wages will be garnished if I don't pay. Insurance company has submitted paperwork 2 times also and I'm not just facing lost wages since the military does not take kindly to indebtedness.


Sent from the handicapped stall.

[MitchMotors]

I think since you offered the first guy to wait till friday, you made the right decission now to stand to your word.
I got my first classic car that way. Called the seller on wednesday to wait selling it since I couldn't come before saturday. Was a 6 hours ride and worth every minute.
Sure, maybe the first guyy won't show up on friday but at least you made a decission you feel comfortable with.

[24Cycles]

My rule for sales in general is its for sale until the cash is in my hand to anyone willing and ready. That said if someone tells me they are getting in their car and driving from whereever it is they are coming from. I have no problem holding the item until they come and pay or walk away.

I recently had someone come look at parts make a offer tell me they needed to go have lunch and think on it. 10 minutes later someone called said they were on the way from LA to look at same parts. The guy having lunch called from down the street at lunch called said he would take the parts. I told him he would have to wait as someone was in route to view them.

He was mad and I told him before he left to think on it others were interested. I come from the old school method. If you know you want or need something and its reasonable then dont waste everyones time. Buy it when your there or it just doesnt fit your budget picture or whatever.

The guy from LA walked in saw the stuff across the room and stuck the cash in my hand before even laying his hands on the goods. You never know if your dealing with a buyer or a time waster lookie lou.

The flipside is if you told the guy you would hold it until tomorrow or even next year it boils down to you. Are you a man of your word or ....

You can keep your word or you can simply call him tell him you have someone that wants to come now cash in hand and buy for what is advertised but you will keep your word if hes keeping his.

Allow him to tell you what to do. If he calls you out on your word keep it. Sometimes you find the guy was drinking or tweaking or wife said hell no. He just wasnt a man of his word and didnt let you know you were off the hook.

[Guest]

Let everybody know right off the bat....first come-first served

This is the only way to sell or buy shit, anything else will eventually lead to problems.

[TemeculaTerry]

Yep ^

[solo48]

I always sell "first come first serve". I just sold an old ford ranger i had on craigslist, posted it on a tuesday and by thursday i probably had 30 or so emails from people that were gonna come check it out on sat. each one got a reply of " if it has not sold by sat. then i would love to show it to you". come saturday, i pulled the truck to the end of my street, parked it and sent a mass email to all interested party's stating where they could go and check out the truck. at first there was no sighn on the truck because it was merely there to be checked out by the cl crowd but i figured i would throw a for sale sighn on it just so it wouldnt get towed for vehicle abandonment (no tags on it). after about an hour, the truck sold to a passer by and i never heard from anyone from craigslist period. long story short, had i been waiting for anyone to contact me from the 30 or so that were "interested" i would for sure still have that truck sitting in my yard. not even a single email back from any of them to tell me they had a change of heart. That being said, people can promise you what ever they want but the guy that is going to act on it is a no--nonsense character that will go out of his way to make it happen. first come first serve is a motivational term for me, if i want it bad enough i will make it happen...

[turtlem1969]

I always tell people that " want to drive down on saturday to look at it " to call me friday night before they leave because it could be gone by then, if they call back friday evening and it aint sold I ask them what time are they coming and let them know I'll give an hour wait before I sell it to the next guy, unless they call and let me know they are gonnna be late.

[bkrtrsh]

I've wasted to much time waitin for the guy that's "coming right over". Money in hand is where it's at. You come with the cash, you leave with the goods. Sad but nice guys finish last. Most o f the time anyway...