Am I outdated? When is an 'offer' actually an 'offer'?

Yep, got to go look at stuff. My dad has a buddy that was looking for a Corvair for his son and he to do as a project. A lady in Hillsdale, MI had one in the paper (12 years ago or more ago) and when his buddy called, she was kind of rude about it. Said it was a '65 Corvair, extra engine and interior. She wanted it gone and everyone that called about it wanted to know more about the car than she knew so they wouldn't drive out to the sticks to look at it. She said her husband cared about the car more than her and then he went and died and left her the pile of crap. She told him to show up with a trailer and $500 and a way to load it all because she wasn't doing any such thing.

Well, he rolled out there and sure enough, there was everything there she said would be there. Took him a few hours to get it all loaded by himself but he brought a cherry picker and winch. Full second interior, full second motor, put gas and a battery in the old car and fired her up. Brakes needed some work, paint was rough. He paid her in cash and got out of there in a hurry. She was bitching the whole time about how the SOB died and left her all the trouble.

Oh, and she didn't know cars. It ended up not being a Corvair. Close, it was a Corvette. His 16 year old ended up having to find a different project!

Go look, show up with cash. Don't make offers unless you are THERE. You never know what you'll get.

 

Holy wasted bandwidth, Batman!! Eight pages.... really?

SORRY- make that NINE.

 

i don't care,this thread needs to go.......
there are cars to be built and stuff to do.

it's christmas time

somebody close this thing..it's out of control!!!

 

Usually When someone tells me they'll be there on "said" date to look it over I will tell them, "OK, but I have another person lined up to see the vehicle before said date, and I will sell it to the first person with cash"

It's common sense that the first person with cash gets the item unless a deposit was made or in rare cases I take a person on their word with a handshake, but never take someone's word over the internet.

First come first serve.

 

I just sold a Harley project on CL a while back for cheap. I knew it was cheap, and so did everyone else that called, but I needed it out of the garage so I could start work on my car. I must have had 20 emails and calls within the first few hours. I told them all the same thing, whoever shows up first with the cash, OR sends me a sizable deposit thru Paypal gets it. One guys says he's coming from 100 miles away, but doesn't want to send a deposit. Another guys calls and says three words, "I'll take it" and sends the full amount thru Paypal. They all knew what kind of value the bike and the extra parts held, but one just stepped up first. Guy who didn't want to send a deposit was PISSED when he got there and found out it was sold. Started telling me what a piece of S*&T I was for not holding it for him.

If cash isn't in hand, Paypal had better be.........

 

What? And miss out on the continuing adventures of Meatwhistle and Douchebag??

 

And that will never be "outdated"!

 

This is how is should go over the internet.
Will you take paypal? A money order? Or have a friend go locally and give a deposit.
then the seller should at least hold the item within a greed upon time.
I skipped from page one to eight. But this is how it has worked for me and I to a lot of email shopping and selling.

 

I don't understand why this thread was allowed to live so long...show me the money!...end of story...

 

larry...merry christmas...
this thread sux huh??
come see us in the spring time!!!!
as long as we are wasting bandwidth !!haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

If you're trying to sell something in today's market, only an idiot would turn down cash right in front of him. Who knows if that guy will actually show up on the weekend or not? I get emails telling me some king in Africa needs my help to get his money moved to the US of A, too, email doesn't mean shit. The guy should have offered up a deposit, or come sooner to talk in person.

I've even had people make offers on eBay stuff then back out, the last car I sold there I kept listed right until the guy who flew in from out of state to buy it, paid me cash and drove home in it.

 

same guy emailed me from africa,you want a partner???

 

This kind of happened to me, when I was the buyer. I called a guy about a '69 Olds 350. One of the more desirable Olds small blocks. Price was $100 on criagslist, damn cheap. I told him that I would be there on the weekend to come look at it, but if it was on the up and up, I'd take it. Well, it rains 8 inches that night and we proceed to have what they refer to here as the "500 year flood". Half of the city was under water and we were sandbagging and helping people that were under water. Going to look at the engine that was 50 miles out in the country was the last thing on my mind. Didn't really need the engine right away either, but it was a screamin' deal.

A year later I find the number in a drawer I was cleaning out. I had forgot about the engine! So, I call the guy and ask him if he still has it. He says yeah, but now it's going to cost me $150. I ask him why and he says that he told 2 other guys it was sold and that I never showed up.

Well, I figure I can talk him down and I tell him that I'm coming to get it. I head right out that night to go look at it. The engine is what he says it was and I tried to talk him down, but he wouldn't budge. I gotta give the guy credit to sticking to his guns. We start talking about cars, and proceed to look over several projects he's working on. We're just two guys getting to know each other by talking cars. I can tell he's a straight up guy who probably did trust that I was going to buy the engine and that he DID turn two guys down on a gentlemans agreement over the phone. So I pull out the $150, he loads it up, we shake hands and I'm on my way. I'm sure if I would have called him a week later (after the flood) he would have still honored the $100.

In the end it was still a screamin' deal, and he got paid for his inconvenience. I felt good over the entire deal as I was driving away...

 

We have a WINNER!

This has been the root of the problem/debate in this thread. The seller said he would take $1500 for the Land Cruiser and the original potential buyer said he would be there on the weekend to look it over. RIGHT HERE is where the seller SHOULD have said "If someone shows up with cash before the weekend I'll sell it to them. The potential buyer had every right to be pissed because the way the first post is worded, he had every expectation that the vehicle would be there on the weekend. Everybody is assuming the potential buyer was a flake and wouldn't have showed up anyway. We don't know that, and probably never will. It could be just as likely that the potential buyer has more integrity than most of the people who've posted on this thread.

I'm not sure who said it first but there was definitely poor communication on BOTH sides of the deal.

Thor

 

The guy was wasting your time.

Same here. I don't tell them "No" cuz, to me, selling something isn't about me being right and telling you that you come across like an ass for trying to negotiate over the phone, email, etc without even looking at it first; selling something is about getting your butt over here to look at it first. My response has always been, "How 'bout you come over an look. Who knows, you might not even want it?"

Had a guy call about my bike when I was selling it. Said he was an hour away and was "coming to look at it, really wants it, has cash" and told me not to let it go to anyone else. I responded directly with "I'm not promising it to anybody", I mean, who knows from over the phone?

In the meantime a gentleman shows up and hangs at the front of the garage listening to my end of the phone conversation. I get off the phone, he looks the bike over, hands me my asking price and I hand him a signed title. I call first guy back to save him a trip, he swears at me and hung up.

I took the wife for a ride in the car to the bank.

 

440 Dave, You did just fine don't let the looser's attitude bother you. Have a Merry Christmas! Bob

 

Tell 'em (fist off, over the phone) next time that you need the money so you can get drunk/loaded ASAP and you're jonesing so bad for a fix you're gums are starting to bleed.

This will do three things:
1. Only attract serious buyers.
2. Let them think you're a loser with nothing to lose (so they won't try and sue you for something).
3. Make them think twice about pulling some punk crap with you.

 

The first guy that is interested and makes a some kind of commitment is first in line. The next guy I'll get back to. If the first guy doesn't follow through, he's out.

I've had situations where we agreed to a deal on the phone and was the first to respond and the guy held the deal open for a week; so I could travel to see the vehicle.

What I hate is for you to make a deal and then you drive to get there and the guy sold it before you got there.

 

When I posted earlier I actually expected this thread to be closed when I returned late tonight. I figured that there would be some serious name calling and acting like children. Metalshapes you out there Holmes? I assume the mods are laughing like I am at some of the tomfoolery and crappola being written back and forth.-Weeks

 

Age old story and nothing new. Any fool knows it is not a deal until at least some cash trades hands. That goes way back before the internet and still holds. Even with sleazbay and especially true with craigslist. The guy is a fool and he missed out on a deal he talked you down on anyway. Too bad for him, but good lesson none the less. Hopefully he'll learn and next time he offers a deal, maybe he'll actually step up to the plate. With the internet, he could have at least sent you a few bucks via paypal or something to hold it. I'll come by and check it out is not even close to a deal, sorry. If he had said I will definitely take it, please hold it for me or call before any other deal, then that would be different. doesn't sound like the case here. At least you e-mailed him to let him know. Most wouldn't even do that.

 

Ok, the ONE thing no one has come out and mentioned in this entire love-fest: How would 440Dave have reacted if the same thing had happened to HIM? Sure, he might have said "I'll be right over to check it out, with the cash". But what if the seller got off the phone and someone was at the door with the asking in hand?

Dave gets there and the Cruiser is sold, Sold, SOLD! No phone call to say it's gone. Would he be pissed? I'm guessing yes... Why NOT specify first cash takes it? Why NOT get a number to call the guy back if it sells before the specified meet? THAT's what makes you a douchebag. And I guess that makes me a meatwhistle...right?

You won't ever go wrong on a deal if you deliver exactly what you would EXPECT if the money was going the other way...IMO

 

It's time

 

Several years ago, I put a Buick convertible in the Pomona swap meet on Saturday for $25,000 .... and also had an ad in Photo Buys. A guy in Pomona lifted the car cover and called me on the car. He offered me $25,000 cash; I agreed to the deal and said I would see him at the meet the next day, Sunday, to exchange cash and title. Later that day, a different guy called on the ad, said he was very interested and wanted to see the car asap. He drove to my house the same day (Saturday) and we drove to Pomona together to look at the car.

When we got there, he wanted to buy the car and had $25,000 cash on him. Problem was, the original guy was there too and said we had a deal and he wanted me to honor it. (He was right, I had agreed to the deal on the phone.) The second guy said he wanted the car and would pay $26,000 .... then he said he'd pay $27,000. I had to turn down the $27,000 and sell it to the first guy for $25,000. I had made a clear commitment (on the phone) and had to honor it, although I lost at least $2,000 that I could have made. The second buyer went away empty handed and pissed off.

I'm sure there are many people who think I did the wrong thing but I don't think so. Yes, I lost the extra $2,000 (which I needed) and yes, I pissed off the second buyer (that I never had a real deal with) but the whole thing was my fault. Since then, I'm very clear when selling a car that there is no commitment of any kind until the car has been seen, both sides agree on the price, and cash has been exchanged. With me, there is no longer any possible confusion because I make sure that everyone knows that I'm not holding the car for anyone and the price is not set till the money is handed over.

I'd suggest that you learn from my mistake and make sure that every potential buyer knows that you're not holding anything and that the price is not set till it's paid. Make sure everyone knows there is a difference between conversation and confirmation.

 

Bird hair...priceless.

I had a dickhead insist I was going to take his over the phone offer for an early Bronco because I was simply asking too much. He was on his way over right now and his offer ($2K less) was the highest price I could ever expect. Wow, I had no idea. "Are you sure, cuz if you're right then OK." "Yes I'm sure and I'll leave now." "Ok, hold on while I get a pencil and give you directions." "Ok, I'll hold..." I put him on hold and left him there. Did I have a deal with this monkey-spank or not?

I offered a car for sale, no ads, all in person or phone, to 3 different people. It was a totaled O/T car with a clear title and time was an issue. All 3 knew they needed to arrange towing, payment, meeting time where the car was. All 3 knew that the 1st one with a firm commitment got the car. 2 out of 3 wanted it and the one who couldn't get it done was disappointed but recognized the fairness of the offering and asked that if ever again he'd be glad to do biz. Like I said in the 1st reply, man up and throw it ALL out there, even to the people you're closest with, or more likely ESPECIALLY with your closest. If you can't do that you're a shady bitch that shouldn't be doing it or too much of a panty-waist to handle it.

 

I'm amazed my post got 9 pages long! OK my original question is answered by the majority. I was afraid it would spiral downwards with the name calling, but the bird hair has brought it back up to the level of sophistication I was hoping for. Thanks Adjustablejohnsons, your timing is im'peck'able.

 

I have had this happen to me. I told the seller I would be there at 9am the next morning to pick up a motorcycle and I had cash. Someone beat me to it and although I was pissed, I understood.
There are a lot of flakes especially on CL. About 1 out of 10 inquires is actually a serious buyer, even when they say they'll come to look at it.

 

...after 9 pages on this subject I think we are all seeing the main reason all those old cars are rotting in peoples fields or back yards and NOT FOR SALE.... selling a car is a pain in the ass sometimes.

 

Agreed. I traded one of my old ones off this weekend for a later model car that was worth less but after trying to sell it for close to a year was over it. Traded one I kept dumping money into and couldn't drive for one I can turn the key and go.

 

If I ask a guy if he'ss take $xxx for whatever and he says sure, I e-mail him back with an "I'll take it" and arrage for payment and pickup/delivery. If he then sells it after I said I'd take it, I get pissed. He agreed to the terms I set forth, then went back on them. If I haven't said I'll take it and he sells it, no biggie, I haven't called dibs and he's free to sell it to whomever he wants.

 

I had one a few months back that the guy I bought it from saw it listed on CL along with a detailed summary of everything I had fixed/replaced. He emailed me and said he would buy the car back from me for what I paid him along with what had been repaired. I had long lost his phone number so I emailed him back and told him this is what I have spent on parts alone with no labor and I would take that plus the purchase price so he could have the car back [he was the 2nd owner] and never heard from him again even though it was 2g less then I had the car advertised for at the time.