One thing that irritates me when dealing with people

[radiotvnut]

The other day, a real estate agent who I know told me about a radio/record player combination that was in a house that they were about to close on and the owners only had a short time to clear the stuff out. Last night, she got in touch with me to let me know that this morning would be a good time to look at the radio. So, me and another friend that we all know met her over at the house.

The radio was a typical '48 Philco AM/FM console with a pull-out drawer under the dial that contained a 78 rpm record changer. It used a 12" speaker and two 6K6's in PP for audio output. Besides a missing knob, the cabinet was in nice shape. The problem was that he wanted $150 for it. I nicely told him that his price was on the high side and he wanted to know what I'd give him. I offered $50; which, I think is a very generous offer for an average '40's radio/phono console. I also explained what all is involved in getting it going again and that's the reason I couldn't give no more than that. He didn't say anything at first and my friend bought some things from him.

After my friend was finished dealing with him, the guy told me that if he couldn't get his price for the radio by next Friday (the day he has to be out of the house); then, he'd sell it to me.

I don't blame the guy for trying to get as much for the radio as he can; but, I'm not into this "come back later" sort of thing. I put that in the same category as these estate sales who won't budge on a price; but, will tell you to come back tomorrow for half price day. When I'm at a sale; I'm ready to deal and I'm not likely going to return the next day or next week. From a selling standpoint, I've learned that if someone is standing in front of you and they are wanting to deal; then, you'd better deal with them. Otherwise, they may not come back and I may get stuck with the item. Years ago, I was trying to sell a color TV for $75. A lady looked at it and offered $60 and I turned it down because I knew I could eventually get $75 for the TV. She finally agreed to $75; but, said she'd have to go get the rest of the money and that she'd be right back. Guess what? She never returned and I ended up selling that TV for less than $75. I learned a valuable lesson from that experience in that if someone is there with money in hand, it's best to deal with them. Nowadays, it's hard enough to sell something and I don't think it would be in my best interest to give the potential buyer "time to think about it". Get the money while he/she is in the mood and say "thank you". It might not be as much money as you'd like; but, it's better than not selling the item at all.

The guy who owned the radio was nice and it will depend on what kind of mood I'm in rather or not I go back after the radio if he calls. One side of me says to get it and add it to the pile that's already here. The other side of me says to forget it and develop the "you should have sold it to me while I was willing to buy it" attitude.

I was talking to the real estate agent outside and she agrees that no one is likely going to give him $150 for that radio and he will most likely get in touch with me about buying it. She also clued me in that one of the local high priced antique shops wanted to buy everything for one price and that they were the ones that clued him in on what to ask for the radio.

Sometimes, I feel like I'm at an auction instead of a tag sale. If these sellers are wanting to hold out for the most money; then, maybe they should have an auction.

Another thing that irritates me is people who can't make up their mind what they want for something. Years ago, I ran a "wanted" ad in the paper for records. An older woman called and I told her over the phone that I never pay over $1 for LP's and I don't pay over fifty cents for 45's. She agreed to that over the phone; but, when I got to her house, she tried to charge me more money. I reminded her that was not what we agreed upon over the phone and she gave me some line on the order of, "these are in such good shape and I need to get more money for them". I looked through the box anyway and picked out two or three LP's that I would have paid her price for; but, she then wouldn't sell them to me unless I bought the whole box. I had to get out of there before I said something ugly to her. As for me, when a price is agreed upon, that's the price and I don't take it very kindly when people back out of an agreed upon deal. I think people think that once they get you over at their location; then, you'll go ahead and pay their price.

[Jon A.]

That last part reminds me of a "pick-up only" ad for a free ColorTrak console from around 1985. I had asked over the phone if there would be something to test it with, even offering to move it into position for testing if need be. I was told that there was. When I actually got to the place, the only "testing" I was able to see was snow on the screen, and was told that they don't have cable or anything else to test it with. I certainly didn't want to pay anyone's hauling fee for what might be a dud. I told the woman that I would have to think more about it, and of course never went back.

[radiotvnut]

Years ago, some old woman called in response to one of my "free pick-up of non-working TV's" ad and said she had a 13" Zenith she wanted out of her way. So, I went to pick up the set and it still had the repair estimate taped to the screen from where she took it to the shop and it was determined that the set was either not worth fixing or was going to cost more than she wanted to spend. So, I picked up the set, thanked her, and started walking towards the door with it. She started making funny hand motions and mumbling. I asked her if I could help her with anything and she wanted to know what I was planning on giving her for the TV. I reminded her that my ad said "free pick-up of non working TV's" and that she said nothing about money over the phone. "Well, it should be worth something". I offered $5 because I knew it would piss her off. She declined the offer and I left the TV on the floor. What I should have said was: "Pay you for this piece of junk? I should be charging you to haul it off!"

When I was a teenager, we were coming home and I saw a tube type Magnavox color console on the curb. My Mother wouldn't let me take the TV without asking permission. So, I knocked on the door and this crabby old woman answered. I asked if I could have the TV and she told me that it was no good. I made the mistake of telling her that I could use it for parts and that's when she wanted money. I told her that it was out on the street for the garbage man and I was only trying to be nice by asking her if I could take it. Her reply was, "If you can use it; then, it should be worth something to you". Me: "OK; I'll give you $5 for it". Her: "It's worth more than that, I'll guess I'll just give it to my Son". Had I gone back after dark, the TV would have probably still been there. From that point on, I never asked if I could have anything out of someone's trash again. If it's on the street, it's fair game.

[Jon A.]

In regards to my 1982 ColorTrak, I think that I was chasing the same one for some time. A free ad popped up one day, no picture, just the vague description that it was an RCA with a wood grain cabinet, and get this, "cathodic screen". I had never heard that terminology used before. I answered the ad, asking for the model number, no response. The original ad was deleted and re-appeared with the model number FGR4/8WR. I asked about it again, forgot what I asked that time, still no response. The ad disappeared, so I thought someone had taken it. Some time later, another ad for an old RCA TV surfaces, this time for 40 dollars. I asked for the model number; same as above. Also, this ad used the same mangled terminology. This person and I exchanged quite a few messages before I went to check out the TV. She said that no picture was available in the ad, but other stuff she had for sale was pictured. My fish died during this time and I was quite upset about it, and was going to back out of buying the TV partly because of this, and told her why. I had just quit caring about it for the time being. She got annoyed with me, saying that she had been holding it for me and that others were interested, and that those offers had "gone cold". Total snow job I'm sure. I arranged to get the TV anyway, figuring I might regret it eventually if I don't. The older woman lived in this über-fancy condo building, a place I would never want to set foot in again, so it's not surprising to me that she would be obsessed with money. I'm glad I have the TV, but I don't want to ever see that old bag again. This is the only TV in my collection that I actually paid for. Her other ads, insanely overpriced.

[hi_volt]

The other side of the buyer/seller story....

I do occasionally sell stuff on CL, and sometimes dealing with "buyers" is frustrating. People that say they want to come over and look at the item you have for sale, then never show up or have the courtesy to call. People e-mail you and try to negotiate price before they even come over to look at the item. I'm usually willing to negotiate, but I need to do it in person. Or the one that gets me going the worst.....people call or e-mail and tell me they definitely want to buy, but can't come over until next week...and would I hold the item for them. No....I won't. I politely tell them that I'll need to sell to the first person that comes over with the cash, and they can call me the following week if the item is still listed.

[radiotvnut]

Originally Posted by hi_volt

The other side of the buyer/seller story....

I do occasionally sell stuff on CL, and sometimes dealing with "buyers" is frustrating. People that say they want to come over and look at the item you have for sale, then never show up or have the courtesy to call. People e-mail you and try to negotiate price before they even come over to look at the item. I'm usually willing to negotiate, but I need to do it in person. Or the one that gets me going the worst.....people call or e-mail and tell me they definitely want to buy, but can't come over until next week...and would I hold the item for them. No....I won't. I politely tell them that I'll need to sell to the first person that comes over with the cash, and they can call me the following week if the item is still listed.

I agree with you 100% on everything you said. I've had people call about something I have for sale, act interested, say they'll be over in 30 minutes, and they never show up. It would be much better for them to simply say they are not interested; but, that would be too polite. Frankly, I think some people pull this crap just to get under one's skin and they have no intention of buying. A few years ago, a guy called about a TV I was selling, asked me a bunch of questions, and tried to get me down on the price. He claimed he would be by at 3 the next afternoon; but, of course, he didn't show up. About a month later, he called again with the same routine. The third time he did this and wanted to know what the price was and where I was located, I told him that the price and my location was the same as it was the last two times he called. I never heard from him again.

I also will not negotiate over the phone and I don't try to negotiate with others over the phone. Buyers need to see what I'm selling and I need to see what I'm buying. After everything has been touched, seen, heard, smelled, etc; then, we'll discuss price.

Just the other day, a woman wanted me to hold a console stereo for her; but, she then started giving me a list of reasons why she might not have the money right away. Guess what, if someone comes along with the money before she does, it's gone. I too have played the "hold it until next week" game too many times and it's not worth the headache. When I was a lot younger, I held a big console color TV for a guy without a deposit. While I was holding it, I could have sold it a half dozen times and then the jackass didn't show up to get the TV when he was supposed to. Way after I sold it to someone else, he showed up to get it and got mad because I no longer had it. "I told you I wanted that TV, blah, blah, blah". "Really? You didn't put a deposit down and you didn't come back when you said you would; so, I sold it."

I've even had people bring me stuff to be repaired, act like they needed it fixed yesterday; then, I break my back to fix their item, only to hear, "can I wait until the 3rd of next month when I get my check to pick that up". It's real simple, don't take your TV to a repair shop if you can't afford to have it fixed. Then, there are the ones who leave their repaired items over here with no contact whatsoever and then I have to worry about disposing of their junk and hope they don't come back on me in 5 years. Fortunately, I've just about stopped fixing other people's crap (I've got enough of my own to fix).

I've also ran into people who don't quite grasp what the phrase, "no warranty" means. I wouldn't sell anyone a bad item for nothing; but, the fact remains that a used item could break at any time and I have no control over that. I sold one guy a TV for $40 and in a few days, he was back with it. I offered to fix the TV for free; but, he didn't want that. Then, I offered to give him another TV; but, he didn't want that, either. He claimed that I was selling junk and he wanted his money back. After he cussed me and kept getting louder and louder, I handed him his $40 and told him not to come back. My friend, who sells a lot of second hand stuff at a community yard sale, has sold TV's for $10-$20, only to have them come back in a month and the idiot buyers make such a scene that it's easier for him to give their money back just to get rid of them. Heck, back in the day, I've paid that much for TV's that didn't work. Of course, back then, a used working color TV of any size was worth decent money.

[jmetal88]

Originally Posted by hi_volt

Or the one that gets me going the worst.....people call or e-mail and tell me they definitely want to buy, but can't come over until next week...and would I hold the item for them. No....I won't. I politely tell them that I'll need to sell to the first person that comes over with the cash, and they can call me the following week if the item is still listed.

Hey man, we gotta try! I mean, I understand nobody wants to guarantee anything to me if someone else shows up with the cash first, but I at least want to express my interest if I see something I really like that I can't come pick up right away. That's what I'm doing with the set I'm interested in now, and I'm glad I did, as it turns out I called the guy just a couple of days before the listing expired and I would have lost his contact information otherwise. He says there's been very little to no interest in the set that I want, so there's a good chance it'll still be there when I call him again to arrange a pickup time on Friday, and I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't called him early.

[Jon A.]

Locals on kijiji complain all the time about respondents who don't show up or email back. The result is often a formula-1 race to get anything that's posted. I have lost out on at least three FREE items because I couldn't get there fast enough for the lister's liking. The worst incident was when I responded to an ad for a vacuum cleaner; the moron actually offered to hold it for me, but then told me that another guy wanted it and asked me how close I am to his location. I was some distance away, but said that I was able to leave right away. He then stopped answering my emails.

[radiotvnut]

There's one flea market that post pictures on facebook and they sometimes get radios. I've asked them to hold things for me and they will; but, I feel like it's because they know me and they know that I'm not a flake who doesn't follow through.

[zeno]

What drove me nuts were price guides. I collect doo-wop
45's and had a sign at the shop looking for them. If they
had seen a guide it was a pain & rarely ended well. They never
read abt condition, 1st press, 2nd press, reissues, boots etc.
Also no idea of retail, wholesale, quantities etc. Finally just
told them 25 cents each if playable sight unseen or make
two piles. One junk the other for offer. Also told them if I
found something valuable I would put them in contact
with a specialist to confirm the record & auction it. Worked
better that way but sadly fresh material has dried up.

73 Zeno

[radiotvnut]

Looks like I missed out on the Philco. My friend talked to the real estate agent, who told him that the radio was gone and that the owner didn't say anything to her as far as where it went. It's just as well because my A/C is acting up and there's no telling how much it will cost to fix it. The only thing that irritates me is the thought of someone actually giving this guy $150 for something that doesn't even work and I can advertise the hell out of something that I've restored to perfect working order and all I get is a handful of bottom feeders who want something for nothing. Maybe I should take all this broken crap over here, pile it all up, put a big price tag on it, and have an estate sale.

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by KV-1926R

That last part reminds me of a "pick-up only" ad for a free ColorTrak console from around 1985. I had asked over the phone if there would be something to test it with, even offering to move it into position for testing if need be. I was told that there was. When I actually got to the place, the only "testing" I was able to see was snow on the screen, and was told that they don't have cable or anything else to test it with. I certainly didn't want to pay anyone's hauling fee for what might be a dud. I told the woman that I would have to think more about it, and of course never went back.

Was just catching up on the free ads, and the said potential junker has been re-posted, still pick-up only. Good luck in getting rid of it for free lady.
http://halifax.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-s...AdIdZ410685292

[Countryford]

I know this is two months old, but I'm going to bring it to the top.

Couple of years ago, I was calling on a used car that I found on craigslist. I told the guy that I would be on my way. He said ok. I left the house and when I got there(over 35 miles), I told the guy I wanted to see the car. he told me, that he just sold it. I wasted my time and gas in driving to see it, just to find it is sold. If someone else was planning on looking at it, he should have told me when I spoke to him on the phone. That way I could have waited to hear back after they left. Oh well.

On the other side of the coin, just recently I was planning a trip to visit my dad in Minnesota. Planning on driving up there. So a month before the trip, I started checking Craigslist. I found in Minneapolis 2 1956 AMi Jukeboxes. I called the guy and told him that I was interested and that I wouldn't be there till the following month. I really wanted them and mentioned I could mail a deposit, have someone come and purchase them for me, or something else. He told me not to worry about it, and that he would just hold onto them for me. I kept in contact with him for that month, and when I got up there, they were still available. I purchased them both and hauled them back home to Arizona.

[Jon A.]

Yeah, most people here won't hold onto anything for a day or so, even if it's a free give. They expect me to drop everything and race over there to even have a fighting chance of getting the item, even less likely as I have to use buses. If an ad says "first come first served" I don't bother with it. Just yesterday a free ad for an old woodgrain TV stand didn't specify this; I responded saying that I had plans to see my mom in the hospital and if it was a "first come first served" thing I couldn't be bothered and that I have to use buses. No reply of course. I did get a decent console TV brought to me recently for free though. That's a rather rare exception to the rule.