Rant against private sellers

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bigjim

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May 7, 2005
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OK so we have a deal.

This means you need my shipping address so you can have the item packaged and addressed and ready to go as soon as you get payment.

Once you have my money is not when you start looking for a box, decide how you are going to ship it, and ask your boss for time off sometime next week so you can go to the post office. :mad: If you get my money order by 12 noon for instance..... Ship out the gun or knife that day.

The time to stop sending friendly communicative E-mails is not once you have the tracking number indicating my express mailed postal money order is on the way, or worse yet right after you have payment.

If you are fast to reply to sales questions don't change your pattern or tone after a deal is reached. Makes you seem shadey and untrustworthy.

Remember I don't know you. I want you to keep up the pretense you give a darn until after I have the product. Not being at the ADDRESS YOU CHOOSE to sign for the money when it arrives is WRONG!! Not e-mailing that day to let me know you have it is WRONG!

I do a lot of buying and selling on the net and this has been bugging me lately.

FYI I have several deals going right now and this rant is not directed at those sellers unless the shoe fits.
 
Private sellers do not have shipping clerks. Instead, they have real jobs, families, and other responsibilities. They also don't have UPS computer terminals, scales, and printers and a shipping dock. Instead, they have to pack the box up themselves, drive it to the post office (which, with gas the way it is these days, can cost a couple of bucks easily), stand in line, and mail it themselves. This can easily take the better part of an hour... time for which the private seller is simply not paid.

I try to get the knife shipped within 48 hours of receiving the payment (if it's a money order or cashier's check). I think that's about as much as one can ask from a private seller. This often means I ship the knife before I've even gotten to the bank to deposit the money.

Private sellers also do not have receiving docks and receiving clerks on hand during all business hours to receive incoming payments. Instead, private sellers have jobs to go to, children's programs to go to, and elderly neighbors who sometime call and ask, "can you come over and help me move this heavy chair?" So, sometimes, private sellers will not be at home when the postman calls with the payment. And that will slow the transaction down a bit.

If you want the services of a receiving dock to be sure your payment is always received on the first attempt and if you want the services of a shipping dock to pack and ship your knife the same day, then you want a professional dealer and you shouldn't be dealing with private sellers.

Private transactions require a bit more patience.
 
None of that has anything to do with the points Jim made, yes we all have lives. His points were just use some common sense. It takes days at least for the payment to arrive, by the time it does you should have the package ready to ship, yes if something comes up it comes up. The point was that some people wait until payment arrives before even starting then find they don't have the address, then send off an email, then check it the next day, so there is at least another day gone. Same with communication, be one way when they are trying to get payment, be another way when you are asking about the package being shipped.

-Cliff
 
I've conducted hundreds of transactions with bf members. Not all transactions have been perfect but trust has never been an issue. I've encountered more integrity on these forums than I have anyplace else in cyber world.
 
miguet said:
I've conducted hundreds of transactions with bf members. Not all transactions have been perfect but trust has never been an issue. I've encountered more integrity on these forums than I have anyplace else in cyber world.
Click to expand...

While I have been ripped off on other boards I have never had a problem here either.

This was a rant against sellers that put something up for sale with having put the slightest amount of thought into what that means for them.
 
I agree with miguet. I have been very fortunate to have positive dealings with everyone I have sold/traded with.

This is not a job with private sellers. This is secondary to their private lives. I am included with this. Most people here understand this. Dealers are expected to provide prompt service. That is their livelihood. I understand if a private seller takes a few days to get something to me. I hope others are as patient with me.
 
I used to do all that stuff, and sometimes even shipped out items before the money arrived. Not anymore.

I don't pack something up until I have the payment in my hand. Why?
Because quite often people change their minds and don't even bother to tell me, so I end up with a packge for them all ready to go, for no reason.
Or even if they do tell me, why have to unpack it again?
 
Here is a example of how it should go, nothing left to chance all out in the open. Very nice.

Thanks Don,
Great Communication.. I will post positive feed back on Blade forum.

Jim

-----Original Message-----
From: Don Dxxxxx [mailto:ddxxxxxt@cox.net]
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2005 3:59 PM
To: 45xxxx@sbcglobal.net
Subject: Re: Avenger money in route

James,

Thanks! I received the money order tonight when I got home from work.

Based upon your e-mail I went ahead and packaged up your knife and the documentation and sent it off this morning prior to 8:30 A.M. by Express overnight mail.

However, they tell me that your town isn't large enough to get mail overnight from Wichita, and so they don't guarantee delivery until Monday.
The postmaster said that she thought that it would arrive on Sunday to you though.

Sorry, it can't get there any sooner but you'll notice she signed the package in at 8:29 A.M.

Don XXXXX
----- Original Message -----
From: <45xxxxx@sbcglobal.net>
To: <dxxxxxxz@cox.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 09, 2005 3:16 PM
Subject: Avenger money in route


> Don,
>
> I put a Postal money order # 07991395198 in postal
> express mail to you this morning. They say it will
> arrive by noon Friday.
>
> USPS Tracking number is ed892004524us. This may well
> be in your hands prior to showing in the system.
>
> I added a Extra 20 Dollars please upgrade shippinmg
> to Postal express mail. ( total 230)
>
> Here is the SHIPPING ADDRESS Once more:
>
> James Fletcher
> C/O
> XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX>
> If you run in to any problems please keep me informed.
>
> Thanks
> Jim
>
>
>
 
Jim,

It was a pleasure doing business with you! I'm in agreement that private individuals should do all possible to get either the money or the goods sent as soon as possible. And, as mentioned, communication is key to all transactions. As shown above, based upon your communication I certainly had no misgivings about shipping your knife prior to receiving your money order.

I'm just disapointed that the post office can't get the knife to you any sooner than what they guarantee.

Thanks again for everything!
 
Happens to me all the time.I send knives all the time before payment.
Screw em.
Randy
 
I understand not wanting to pack up a knife before the money arrives, but at least get the packaging together, have the label written out, and be ready to seal it all up and get it to the post office.

If you don't trust the buyer enough to go that far, why deal with him at all? I prefer to ship as soon as I get that email "The money (or trade item) is on the way." "Private seller" is another way of saying fellow knife knut. We're all supposed to be here because we enjoy it.

I will go along with Gollnick, though, that some people really don't have the resources to rush their end of the deal out. A little understanding goes a long way in working with them, especially if they're up front about it.
 
I ship the same day I get payment if at all possible.If the payment is made on a saturday or Sunday then I will ship on Monday.If there is going to be a delay of any kind I let them know and tell them exactly when it will go in the mail.
I hate it when someone waits to ship something I have bought and I will not do that to someone I am selling to.
 
i ship within a day of when i make the deal, it doesnt take long to box the stuff up, and i always ship simultaneusly with the other individual.

i am lucky my wife takes care of the actual post office trip for me bless her heart.

it is a drag when ya hurry up to ship and the other individual jax around for a few days, but its something ya have to live with i guess.
 
I've never had a problem on the Forums. It's the dumbass at the convience stores and fast food joints that think about payment AFTER the item is purchased and the clerk has "punched" the register. You know it's going to cost something, get the money out. :grumpy:
 
I completely agree. I have bought and sold and if I'm the buyer and I just sent out what may be several hundreds of dollars I don't need the stress of wondering if I'll get my knife.

On the other foot, how would the seller feel if I took a couple of weeks to send him the money. Just like he doesn't have a shipping dept I don't have a bank in my bathroom. It's a big PITA for me to get a M.O. but I get out there and hustling to put it together.

I sent a guy $250 in the form of a check as a downpayment for an item. Never heard from him. Called, emailed, did everything but send the FBI. No word. Ended up having to stop the check for a $25 fee. And I consider myself lucky it only cost me that much.

Bottom line, if you're selling something and my money arrives, I expect an email within 24 hours with a confirmation number or a very good explanation....JC III
 
Funny to read this thread this week, I just sent out a MO for some ammo, the guy emails me on Monday to tell me he gets it, which is fine, then tells me he'll probably be able to ship it out thursday when he gets some time off. I got a little pisssed when I read that becuase when i sell things on ebay or where ever I try and ship them out as soon as possible. He seems to have to time to bump his ads twice a day on several of the forums he is selling things on.
 
I have not had any problems with buyers, traders or sellers on this forum. If I am involved in a trade, I send the item out usually the next day after the trader and I have agreed. For sales, I usually send it out the day after I receive the MO, whether it has been cashed or not, and I usually send the item out first class with a delivery confirmation. I also send the tracking number to the buyer. When I am buying something that costs more than 100 bucks, I send the money order with a delivery confirmation. It may be anal, but I just like to keep track of where my money is going. Whether it be a trade or a sale, I pack well, and I expect others to do the same. I haven't had any complaints, and if I did, I would accomadate those parties.

I'm here to have a good time, but I try to be as professional as possible in the Exchange.
 
I have never sold anything here but I trade on a regularly and I can think of only one time on a trade the guy shipped a week after he received mine so that was a bit disrespectfull I think.

The last trade I did was with RRG and this is my kind of trader,I shipped 2 hours after email confirmation that we had a trade and when I got back home from the PO he had already sent my knife and emailed the DC# lol. Never thought someone would beat me on shipping,I usually have the knife in question for trade boxed up and a Priority label and DC label on it ready for the address of whoever its going to.

A bit of advice for procrastinators,the post office has all kinds of priority mail boxes,labels just sitting there free to use so take a couple of each size and have them ready at the house,its not brain surgery. Now for those of you who ship ground all I can say is shame on you! Most of the time its less then a buck dif in price and well worth it,priority hardly ever gets lost like ground,and its alot faster. Ive been trading knives here and on other forums for about 5 yrs and of those hundred or so items shipped ive yet to lose a single one with priority mail.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
If I am involved in a trade, I send the item out usually the next day after the trader and I have agreed. For sales, I usually send it out the day after I receive the MO...
Click to expand...

silenthunterstudios, I'm not singling you out, just using your quote as an representative example...

I don't really understand this way of thinking, at least not here on the forums. Everyone seems to understand that in a trade, both parties ship at the same time (equal risk). However, during a cash transaction, why do some people feel that the seller takes more risk than the buyer? It is still a trade, after all...

As some others have noted on this thread - if you don't trust the buyer enough to send the money, why deal at all?

Matthew
 
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