FB marketplace oddness

[Dankology]

I'm on holiday at the moment and, as always, checked out the local Facebook marketplace listings for potential goodies...

 

Arranged to buy a guitar amp two days ago, lots of messages including an unsolicited demo video from the seller but 24 hours ahead of pickup he's messaged to say that his neighbour has bought it instead.

 

About a month ago I arranged to buy a sitar on marketplace. The following morning, just as I was about to head out to pick it up, a very similar message arrived.

 

What gives? Am I just unlucky? My suspicion is that the sellers have genuinely both mentioned the sales to their mates who have said "I'd have given you more than that"...

 

Which just leaves me puzzled - who doesn't speak to their mates before going to the minefield of FB marketplace? And why are people so comfortable backing out of a sale nowadays?

 

Bah and humbug.

[Burns-bass]

22 minutes ago, Dankology said:

I'm on holiday at the moment and, as always, checked out the local Facebook marketplace listings for potential goodies...

 

Arranged to buy a guitar amp two days ago, lots of messages including an unsolicited demo video from the seller but 24 hours ahead of pickup he's messaged to say that his neighbour has bought it instead.

 

About a month ago I arranged to buy a sitar on marketplace. The following morning, just as I was about to head out to pick it up, a very similar message arrived.

 

What gives? Am I just unlucky? My suspicion is that the sellers have genuinely both mentioned the sales to their mates who have said "I'd have given you more than that"...

 

Which just leaves me puzzled - who doesn't speak to their mates before going to the minefield of FB marketplace? And why are people so comfortable backing out of a sale nowadays?

 

Bah and humbug.

It’s a den of scum and villainy and nothing good from using Facebook. 
 

Last time I was on there (year ago) I got ripped off with a guitar I bought. When k tried to sell something I was assailed by scammers. When I finally did sell something the guy “buying it for his kid” sold it on for a profit. 
 

FB sucks and the money you save sometimes seriously isn’t worth the effort dealing with time wasters, con artists and liars.

[PaulWarning]

Facebook Marketplace is the wild west of buying and  selling sites, although I did sell my Mum's car on there, cash on collection of course

[Cliff Edge]

On the plus side I’ve bought 3 nice basses off there, one during lockdown and the others since. Maybe I was just lucky. 

[police squad]

the world is full of entitled keyboard heroes.

In the old days, you placed an ad and someone phoned you. People were more genuine then.

Now it's too easy to back out and people really do waste your time.

Just a fact of life

I do use marketplace and have had some success

[Newfoundfreedom]

I'm sorry but I think that's perfectly acceptable even if it's somewhat annoying.

 

First come first serve. 

 

If someone local turns up at the door with the cash before you they take it. 

 

I've had the same from the other side of the coin many times. An "interested party" who wants something. Several messages, arrangements made etc. Item put on hold. Only for them to then go silent at the last minute or not turn up. 

 

Now the buyer can make whatever arrangements they like, but if someone turns up first with the cash it's theirs. 

 

[Burns-bass]

16 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I'm sorry but I think that's perfectly acceptable even if it's somewhat annoying.

 

First come first serve. 

 

If someone local turns up at the door with the cash before you they take it. 

 

I've had the same from the other side of the coin many times. An "interested party" who wants something. Several messages, arrangements made etc. Item put on hold. Only for them to then go silent at the last minute or not turn up. 

 

Now the buyer can make whatever arrangements they like, but if someone turns up first with the cash it's theirs. 

 

I think if the seller makes that clear then absolutely. However, if you make an agreement and then go back on it, you’re a wrong un.

[tegs07]

12 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

It’s a den of scum and villainy and nothing good from using Facebook. 
 

Last time I was on there (year ago) I got ripped off with a guitar I bought. When k tried to sell something I was assailed by scammers. When I finally did sell something the guy “buying it for his kid” sold it on for a profit. 
 

FB sucks and the money you save sometimes seriously isn’t worth the effort dealing with time wasters, con artists and liars.

Generally if something is worth less than £50 I leave it outside with a free, take me note. If it’s more I try to find a friends/family giveaway or my wife’s local FB group. Sadly Market place, eBay, Gumtree are now rife with scammers, time wasters and some seriously rude people. I would rather gift someone a used bike than have my faith in humanity taken apart bit by bit.

 

This is a real shame as in the early days of Gumtree and eBay I bought stuff a lot and usually it was a pleasure meeting people from all walks of life from the very scary looking dude in a very rough part of Dagenham who turned out to be a lovely guy to a real toff in Kensington who was hilarious. Oh well.

Edited July 19 by tegs07

[Dankology]

3 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I'm sorry but I think that's perfectly acceptable even if it's somewhat annoying.

 

First come first serve. 

 

If someone local turns up at the door with the cash before you they take it. 

 

I think this is where I would differ.

 

If I'd been in contact with someone (not least someone who was significantly changing travel plans to buy the item), my response to the local would be to tell them that they're next in line if the original sale fell through.

 

Admittedly, there isn't a law that says that should be the way of things but it just seems like common decency to me.

 

Funnily enough a similar thing happened when we were buying our house. Our offer had been accepted, mortgage was being sorted etc etc when we were informed that another buyer was interested and we should submit a further offer. 

 

We held to our original offer and the other buyer apparently put in a massively inflated one. They then stopped communicating and the sale fell through. Amazingly (or perhaps not) the estate agent didn't get back in touch with us and the seller nearly lost out on the house they were buying due to the delay. It was only when I made a cheeky phonecall direct to the seller that everything went through.

 

A massive aside, I know - but hopefully evidence of at least a tiny element of karma in the world's workings.

 

Of note, the amp in question is still on marketplace, now with updated photos...

[Ed_S]

3 hours ago, tegs07 said:

Generally if something is worth less than £50 I leave it outside with a free, take me note.

 

I'd go with "£50 - post cash through letterbox" - somebody will usually 'steal' something they think has value much quicker than they'll take something labelled as having none, and the less time it's out there, the less chance that somebody will come along and just destroy it for fun and leave you to clean up the mess.

 

My faith in humanity is perhaps a little worn, but I'm rarely disappointed.

[Cliff Edge]

Our apple tree was very productive last year and we left windfalls at the end of the driveway in a cardboard box every day. The apples disappeared every day, the box didn’t. But if we left them in an old supermarket carrier bag, that went too. 

[TimR]

8 minutes ago, Cliff Edge said:

Our apple tree was very productive last year and we left windfalls at the end of the driveway in a cardboard box every day. The apples disappeared every day, the box didn’t. But if we left them in an old supermarket carrier bag, that went too. 

 

Carrier bags are 50p now! Probably worth more than the apples.

[TimR]

4 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I'm sorry but I think that's perfectly acceptable even if it's somewhat annoying.

 

First come first serve. 

 

If someone local turns up at the door with the cash before you they take it. 

 

I've had the same from the other side of the coin many times. An "interested party" who wants something. Several messages, arrangements made etc. Item put on hold. Only for them to then go silent at the last minute or not turn up. 

 

Now the buyer can make whatever arrangements they like, but if someone turns up first with the cash it's theirs. 

 

 

All you do is arrange for them to "turn up at the door" after the first person was due, depending where they're travelling from will depend how much later. Give enough leeway time so you can call them before they leave home.

 

The problem is you don't know if either of them will actually show up. 

 

In the world of mobile phones it's not hard to let people know it's been sold and not to leave home. 

[Dankology]

33 minutes ago, Cliff Edge said:

Our apple tree was very productive last year and we left windfalls at the end of the driveway in a cardboard box every day. The apples disappeared every day, the box didn’t. But if we left them in an old supermarket carrier bag, that went too. 

On our road there's a family with hens who have long had a box of eggs and an honesty box in the garden.

 

A few months ago they made a rather grander box for the eggs as one of the kids wanted a project. Last week the local kids nicked all the eggs, emptied the honesty box and smashed up the egg house. 

 

I'm just grateful our house didn't get egged.