Buying & selling pet peeves

[JTR357]

One thing that irks me to no end is slow shipping. When I'm selling something & the buyer makes a prompt payment, I go out of my way to get it in the mail to them. I just feel like that's the right thing to do. Their payment was prompt, why shouldn't be my shipping? More than a few sellers will take my money, then wait days to ship.

As a seller it irks me when people/buyers start asking questions after the fact that it was already sold.

Another pet peeve is when a seller says "Let the pictures do the talking". That's not acceptable. DESCRIBE your product in full detail.

Also, it goes without saying, don't give me an insulting offer. If I'm asking $200, don't offer me $100. I will just ignore you.

 

[ooitzoo]

One thing that irks me to no end is slow shipping. When I'm selling something & the buyer makes a prompt payment, I go out of my way to get it in the mail to them. I just feel like that's the right thing to do. Their payment was prompt, why shouldn't be my shipping? More than a few sellers will take my money, then wait days to ship.

As a seller it irks me when people/buyers start asking questions after the fact that it was already sold.

Another pet peeve is when a seller says "Let the pictures do the talking". That's not acceptable. DESCRIBE your product in full detail.

Also, it goes without saying, don't give me an insulting offer. If I'm asking $200, don't offer me $100. I will just ignore you.

I mostly agree. I think slow shipping is alright provided its communicated. I've sold items on here and outright said "this won't ship until [whatever date]". I find that to be totally acceptable as the buyer knows ahead of time the shipping timetable. BTW the opposite is also true. If you buy something then pay for it promptly.

Forum rules for selling outright say "describe your item in a pessimistic way" so I agree with not letting the pictures do the talking; for one thing, I can't tell anything about the action or lockup from pics.

 

[JTR357]

I mostly agree. I think slow shipping is alright provided its communicated. I've sold items on here and outright said "this won't ship until [whatever date]". I find that to be totally acceptable as the buyer knows ahead of time the shipping timetable. BTW the opposite is also true. If you buy something then pay for it promptly.

Forum rules for selling outright say "describe your item in a pessimistic way" so I agree with not letting the pictures do the talking; for one thing, I can't tell anything about the action or lockup from pics.

I get that. It's when it's NOT communicated & they say "I'll get you tracking info asap" then 3 days go by, that irks me. It happens a lot.

 

[JTR357]

Just sayin, you buy from me you're getting your stuff in the mail within 24 hours, more like 12 tbh.

 

[JTR357]

I had a seller laugh at me for that, saying it was unreasonable when I said I made it a point to get him his payment fast & I should expect the same with his shipment.

 

[ooitzoo]

I had a seller laugh at me for that, saying it was unreasonable when I said I made it a point to get him his payment fast & I should expect the same with his shipment.

In that situation, I'd request a refund and move on with my day. If someone is willing to cut corners and make a show of doing so then it's a short hop to straight out theft.

I do want to caution, things do happen and people do have lives. Once in a while, if someone slips on their responsibilities and communicates it, I'd say that's fine. It's the "fcuk you, I'll ship when I decide to" that's the problem

 

[JTR357]

In that situation, I'd request a refund and move on with my day. If someone is willing to cut corners and make a show of doing so then it's a short hop to straight out theft.

I do want to caution, things do happen and people do have lives. Once in a while, if someone slips on their responsibilities and communicates it, I'd say that's fine. It's the "fcuk you, I'll ship when I decide to" that's the problem

Agree 100%

 

[JTR357]

90% of the people here are honest & trustworthy. It's just that 10 we gotta weed out.

 

[luethge]

90% of the people here are honest & trustworthy. It's just that 10 we gotta weed out.

 

[luethge]

People who don’t list basic specs - Blade length, steel type, blade play etc.

People who ask for feedback but never leave it.

People who lowball fair prices thinking this is Craigslist or Fleabay.


These things make me less than pleasant.

 

[ooitzoo]

90% of the people here are honest & trustworthy. It's just that 10 we gotta weed out.

I think its closer to 99% though recent events have caused me to re-evaluate

Agree with the sentiment though

People who don’t list basic specs - Blade length, steel type, blade play etc.

People who ask for feedback but never leave it.

People who lowball fair prices thinking this is Craigslist or Fleabay.


These things make me less than pleasant.

I agree with the first two.

As far as "lowball" goes, I think its a bit more subjective. Let's say you list a knife for $200 that's easily available for sale for $175 online (bladehq, amazon, etc.) is it unreasonable that I offer you $150 for it? I think that's fine. Though I do agree that if the going price is $200 and I make an offer of $100 that's not cool.

I have, from time to time, told folks "you're probably better off selling this to someone else" before making an offer that would be insulting. This usually happens when I don't really want the knife but its part of a throw-in on a trade or something similar.

 

[kreole]

I think its closer to 99% though recent events have caused me to re-evaluate

Agree with the sentiment though

I agree with the first two.

As far as "lowball" goes, I think its a bit more subjective. Let's say you list a knife for $200 that's easily available for sale for $175 online (bladehq, amazon, etc.) is it unreasonable that I offer you $150 for it? I think that's fine. Though I do agree that if the going price is $200 and I make an offer of $100 that's not cool.

I have, from time to time, told folks "you're probably better off selling this to someone else" before making an offer that would be insulting. This usually happens when I don't really want the knife but its part of a throw-in on a trade or something similar.

I was kind of wondering where that line is too, and that's why I just never make offers and instead wait til they drop. One that came to mind is there's a Spyderco Slyzs Bowie listed at $550 currently. They don't go for over $450 and the last few sold were in the $300s. Where's the line there? It's hard when sellers don't know the market

 

[Sharp & Fiery]

I’ll make an offer…whatever I feel the knife is worth to me. If someone is gonna be offended, so be it.

There are plenty of times I would love if someone made me an offer…especially when I feel generous.

 

[luethge]

What I consider unreasonable would be a serious low ball

One example from a few years ago.

XM18 - Original owner purchased new at $450 - $470 ish after taxes / shipping

I Barely used it.

Listed at $400

Potential buyer offers $275 and gets pissed when I decline.

Not mad at anyone trying to get a deal - we all work for our money. I get mad when the person who low balled takes offense when I decline.

The one thing that truly pisses me off though - SCALPERS

Buy a knife for $550 and try to sell it here for $1100. To each their own - just wish some people kept the scalping elsewhere. People can do whatever they want with their property / money..

* Also , I apologize if my caffeinated rant derailed this thread. I greatly appreciate the community here.

 

[Sharp & Fiery]

What I consider unreasonable would be a serious low ball

One example from a few years ago.

XM18 - Original owner purchased new at $450 - $470 ish after taxes / shipping

I Barely used it.

Listed at $400

Potential buyer offers $275 and gets pissed when I decline.

Not mad at anyone trying to get a deal - we all work for our money. I get mad when the person who low balled takes offense when I decline.

The one thing that truly pisses me off though - SCALPERS

Buy a knife for $550 and try to sell it here for $1100. To each their own - just wish some people kept the scalping elsewhere. People can do whatever they want with their property / money..

* Also , I apologize if my caffeinated rant derailed this thread. I greatly appreciate the community here.

This makes sense to me.

Also, kudo’s on replying…even with a “no.”

 

[ooitzoo]

What I consider unreasonable would be a serious low ball

One example from a few years ago.

XM18 - Original owner purchased new at $450 - $470 ish after taxes / shipping

I Barely used it.

Listed at $400

Potential buyer offers $275 and gets pissed when I decline.

Not mad at anyone trying to get a deal - we all work for our money. I get mad when the person who low balled takes offense when I decline.

The one thing that truly pisses me off though - SCALPERS

Buy a knife for $550 and try to sell it here for $1100. To each their own - just wish some people kept the scalping elsewhere. People can do whatever they want with their property / money..

* Also , I apologize if my caffeinated rant derailed this thread. I greatly appreciate the community here.

I agree with your XM18 example. There's an effective market price that we should strive to baseline to.

Scalpers is a far more complex topic though. For one thing, how do you know what the seller paid for the knife in question? Maybe he paid $550 or maybe he paid $1200 and is trying to recoup some funds. For another, there is a market price for things. The seller is under no obligation to sell materially below that. We all know (or should know) there is effectively no way to make money here. If someone gets lucky once in a while then IMHO let them have it.

 

[LEGION 12]

I will add something that bothers me , not sure if it just me but bundles and lots don't need 5 different knives , or 2 watches .

 

[ooitzoo]

Playing 20 questions in the comments to a sale thread always irks me. If I miss something obvious in the description then cool ask away.

The problem starts when you into "what's your best price on this?", "can you ship this to my uncles sister-in-law's first cousin in Timbuktu?", or "can I pay for this in panera gift cards and good vibes?" When asked in PM, I'll tolerate it. When asked in the thread, I'll be less then cordial.

 

[luethge]

Playing 20 questions in the comments to a sale thread always irks me. If I miss something obvious in the description then cool ask away.

The problem starts when you into "what's your best price on this?", "can you ship this to my uncles sister-in-law's first cousin in Timbuktu?", or "can I pay for this in panera gift cards and good vibes?" When asked in PM, I'll tolerate it. When asked in the thread, I'll be less then cordial.

100% agreement

 

[brancron]

One of my pet peeves is the apparent drop in basic knife literacy. Maybe not so much on Blade Forums as on reddit's Knife Swap subforum, which I used to use often. Just the other day I was selling several different knives there. I always try to briefly describe the action, detent, lockup, blade seating, etc. With some of the knives I'd say "good detent," or "light detent," or "strong detent." On a Benchmade axis lock knife (which has no detent) I wrote something like "no detent, of course, but strong bias towards closure and does not shake loose." I had multiple people messaging me saying "what do you mean by 'no detent'? Have you modded the knife?" I was honestly shocked.