just need to rant about attempted mower buy

[Oleozz]

I'm no angel but I would not have done what the seller did. I would have waited until you showed up, sorry you had to drive that distance for nothing. Something good will come your way, you weren't meant to have that mower.

 

[RollTideRam]

Sorry you went for the drive, but I cannot blame the seller. A phone call is no commitment to buy..cash in hand makes the deal.
Although it would have been nice if the seller had called you on your cell phone, he's under no obligation to do so. From his point of view, you were coming to see the mower...not necessarilly to buy. He also had no idea if a potential buyer would even show up, did he?
He had a cash buyer on site and he made the deal to best suit him.
I think many (if not most) of us would have done the same thing.

I would not do this to anyone. If you call first, you are first on the list. I have had things sold out from under me, and I did not like it. I will not do this to anyone. I sold my Deere 650 to a man 400 miles away. He told me he would be here in two days to get it. I could have sold it to three local people before he got to my house, but he called first. JC

 

[Farmwithjunk]

In the event I plan on buying something that requires any sort of substancial drive, I make my intentions abundantly clear, OVER AND OVER.

"I'll be there at XX:xx o:clock tomorrow AM". Repeat several times.

I make certain they have my cell #. "Call if there's ANY change in plans".

Sounds like you did most of these things.

I've sold a BUNCH of stuff over the years. I've got more'n my share of "I'll be there in the morning"/no shows. Still, I have to live with myself.

If I make a deal, I keep my word. I EXPECT everyone else to do the same.

That said, 5 years ago, I drove from central Kentucky to Minot N. Dakota to pick up a tractor I "bought", only to see it go past me (in the opposite direction) on a trailer just minutes before I arrived.

NO, I was NOT a happy camper.

YES, the "seller" ran in his house and locked the door, thinking I was about to unleash a can of whoopazz on him.

I happens. All you can do is rave and rant.

That's one of the countless reasons why I like internet websites. Good place to rant.

 

[GaryCrowell]

I understand the frustration but I'm still unsure of whether or not you heard the words "I'll hold the mower until you get here" out of the guy. If he told you that then sold it anyway then he was in the wrong and deserves condemnation, but if he didn't promise to hold it for you then you've got no reason to complain. I don't sell much stuff but once I had a litter of lab puppies for sale. One lady called me and wanted me to hold a puppy for a couple of days until she could come and look at him, I refused to promise to hold it and told her I couldn't promise it would still be there. She got in the car that evening and drove up to my place and got the puppy. I wasn't rude about it but there are a lot of tire kickers out there and as soon as you start promising to hold things you're going to get screwed by a no show. In my opinion it's bad business to agree to hold something for someone who's just coming to look at it without a promise to buy. I personally wouldn't ever promise to hold something so as to tie my own hands. If you really wanted that mower then you could have driven up first thing with cash in hand, bought it, and told him you'd be back in a couple of days with a trailer to pick it up.

 

[CDsdad]

.....I've sold a BUNCH of stuff over the years. I've got more'n my share of "I'll be there in the morning"/no shows. Still, I have to live with myself......

A lot of people don't have much of a conscience, and have no trouble living with themselves despite themselves. I'm like you. If a man said he was coming to buy something of mine, I'd wait until he didn't show before I took other offers. And if he called with a good reason, I might hold it for him a little longer. Occasionally, I will probably get suckered by doing the right thing, but I sleep well. Some people don't care, which shows by some of the occurences posted here.

 

[Bedlam]

Was the timing so tight that the seller couldn't have called the traveling buyer and tell him hey sorry but.....?? If the timing were that close I think i would have told the second 'buyer ' that there was someone ahead of him.

 

[Tig]

I'm going to sell a boat next week. After reading this thread I'll be sure to make it clear, first come, first served. I think that's fair to everyone.

 

[scuvnut]

Unless something more was said and discussed between the OP and the seller I do not see how this is an ethical failure (other then he should have called the OP to tell him it was sold). From the way I have read this, the OP made an appointment to see the mower. If he liked it he would buy it. There was no agreement to buy so when the seller had an actual buyer in front of him he sold it. The old phrase "one in hand, two in a bush" comes to mind.

I do feel bad for the OP as most of us have been in his position before but I do not blame the seller for selling when he had a legitimate buyer at his door. If the cutter was a great deal and something the OP really needed he should have went that same day or at least made some sort of an agreement to get the seller to hold the cutter till he could see it. Some times we can't drop everything to go and if you miss out on a deal then you live with it and keep looking for that next deal. I have found some great deals and have missed some great deals. That is what makes this game fun for some of us.

I'm not going to get into this with you, but suffice it to say, I respectfully disagree. You are certainly entitled to your opinion. Enough said.

 

[Bird]

best way to start is just to start.......I had found a good deal on a 15' bat wing bush hog, called the seller yesterday (first day in the paper, about 2 hrs away, but more to come with that) spoke to him at length got directions and set up a time of 0745 this morning..... I called him again last night at 2130 to assure him I was coming and that I'll be there on time......I agreed to call him when I was about 15 min out this morning.....well guess what? when I called him after being on the road for almost two hours he tells me he just sold the mower! what! I just spoke to you last night and told you I was coming and now after almost 2hrs of driving pulling a 30' gooseneck (no less) you've sold it! I told you I was coming.......silence on the other end of the phone....then he said well it's first come first served....didn't we have an agreement that I was going to be there at 0745? yes was his answer, well it's not 0745 yet.....anyhow you get the point.....so I've wasted about $150 in gas and 4hrs of time for nothing.....buyer beware! why are people no longer reliable? ok I feel alittle better, but only alittle!

I see two sides to this. You don't say that your promised to buy the mower; only that you told him when you'd be there. And you don't say that he promised to hold the mower; only that he agreed that you could come to his place at that time. So, if that's the case, then I couldn't fault him for selling to the first person who showed up with the money. IF you made a firm committment to buy the mower or IF he promised to hold it, then yes, I'd think you had a legitimate complaint.

Last year, I sold a boat on Craigslist. I had two different people call and say they'd be here to look at it. Neither one showed up or called back. And I would not have hesitated to sell the boat to anyone who had shown up. But then I had a guy call from about 215 miles from here, and quite frankly, I did not expect him to drive that far to buy a boat. However, he said he was coming with the money. So there's no way I would have sold that boat to anyone else before he got here, and he did, in fact, do exactly as he said he would, came with the money and left with the boat.

 

[Willl]

Originally Posted by moloss
but when you tell someone I will hold something until a certain time

He told you he was going to hold it for you with zero money down ?

 

[Farmwithjunk]

A lot of people don't have much of a conscience, and have no trouble living with themselves despite themselves. I'm like you. If a man said he was coming to buy something of mine, I'd wait until he didn't show before I took other offers. And if he called with a good reason, I might hold it for him a little longer. Occasionally, I will probably get suckered by doing the right thing, but I sleep well. Some people don't care, which shows by some of the occurences posted here.

I sold a plow a few years ago to a guy in Florida. He sent the money, set up a date to pick it up, then never showed. I called his phone #. Disconnected. I sent a registered letter to the address on the check. Returned....Moved....No forwarding address..... Apparently he ended up getting a divorce shortly after buying the plow. (as I found out much later) I set the plow in the barn and ended up holding it for 2-1/2 years. It WASN'T mine any longer. After that 2-1/2 year wait, I FINALLY heard from the buyer. He was going though old business and found where he'd bought the plow from me. He no longer had a tractor, any ground to use it on, or any way to come get it. He called expecting to find out that I'd sold it again.

Long story short, he told me to sell it and keep the money for "storage". I did, money was donated to a charity in the original buyers name.

Sometimes doing the right thing can be a burden, but no matter what, it's still the right thing.

 

[RedRocker]

It's just the courteous thing to do if you know someone is driving a long distance to at least hold it till the agreed time. If you don't want to do that, then make it clear up front and there are no hard feelings.

 

[moloss]

Wow I was not expecting so many responses! I forgot who said it but you do have to be able to sleep at night......if I had something for sale and someone said that they were going to be there at a certain time to look at it (regardless of distance) and someone else showed up before hand and wanted to buy it I would still not sell it to the second guy until the first guy said he didn't want it.......more trouble absolutely but it's the right thing to do.....just b/c something is easier to do doesn't mean it's right.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I'm not going to get into this with you, but suffice it to say, I respectfully disagree. You are certainly entitled to your opinion. Enough said.

No problems, if everyone always agreed with me this board would be very boring.

 

[CDsdad]

Sometimes doing the right thing can be a burden, but no matter what, it's still the right thing.

You should have put that in bold type. That's a lost truth today. I won't pretend to be overly righteous, I'm an ornery cuss(but not an old one yet), but I'm an honest ornery cuss.

 

[Champy]

Nothing to do with selling batwings, but on the topic of Character.....After my father past away in 2004 I used some of his insurance money to start a memorial scholarship at his old high school. Criteria is listed below. Note that it is not based on grades; need; or accomplishments....but is based on CHARACTER as voted on by faculty. I just sent off in the mail a plaque for the latest recipient and happened to be reading this thread.....



Honoring the student who has shown strength of character by being a trustworthy, respectful, responsible, fair, and caring citizen.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, philosopher and poet (1803-1882)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TRUSTWORTHINESS
Be honest Don't deceive, cheat or steal Be reliable do what you say you'll do Have the courage to do the right thing Build a good reputation Be loyal stand by your family, friends and country

RESPECT
Treat others with respect; follow the Golden Rule Be tolerant of differences Use good manners, not bad language Be considerate of the feelings of others Don't threaten, hit or hurt anyone Deal peacefully with anger, insults and disagreements

RESPONSIBILITY
Do what you are supposed to do Persevere: keep on trying! Always do your best Use self-control Be self-disciplined Think before you act consider the consequences Be accountable for your choices

FAIRNESS
Play by the rules Take turns and share Be open-minded; listen to others Don't take advantage of others Don't blame others carelessly

CARING
Be kind Be compassionate and show you care Express gratitude Forgive others Help people in need

CITIZENSHIP
Do your share to make your school and community better Cooperate Get involved in community affairs Stay informed; vote Be a good neighbor Obey laws and rules Respect authority Protect the environment

 

[mjarrels]

As a seller... Bird in hand is worth more than two in the bush!

mark

 

[radman1]

If I was the seller, I would have held it for him. Especially, if he had just called the night before and I hadn't sold it. I would only hold it for a "reasonable amount of time". Anyone willing to travel 2 hours to see something for sale and bring a trailer is probably going to buy it at my listed price. If I had received any other offers or if anyone else wanting to see it, I would have taken their number and returned their call if it was still for sale.
I recently called about a 7' bush hog mower on craigslist. Someone was coming to see it in an hour away according to the seller. I lived about 10 minutes away. The seller gave the guy coming first option and he bought it. I wasn't mad but thought it was reasonable.

 

[ELMO67]

Geez, in the old days when people weren't so politically correrct that would have warranted a punch in the mouth.

 

[rox]

FWIW, I would not have done what the seller did. I think what I would have done was scheduled the second caller to come right after your appointment. A person driving from that far away I wouldn't have done that.

Now here is a real interesting sidebar to your experience. I am looking for a particular low water sprayer Micron - manufacturers of specialist horticultural and agricultural sprayers as we need a protable one and the backpack sprayer is too heavy on my back. I researched and then got prices on the Micron ones and also this one mankar.eu - Herstellung und Vertrieb von ULV-Sprühgeräten I was real surprised at the prices. That one from Germany the lowest priced one was 800 Euros and for the Micron one was about 250 Euros. So of course I search on the internet and get US prices which I fugure are going to be cheaper. I was lucky and I found one woman in Norhern California, Miss Eloise 76 years old who ahd placed an ad in her local paper back in February to sell hers. The ad said it was only used once and still in the original box for $65, Hot Dang!!! I had no way of knowing that the ad was from back in February as they were not dates. All ti had was her phone number so I kept calling and calling but no anser. Finally one night I was determined to stay up late enough to reach the person placing the ad. I stayed on the couch and every few hours I would wake up and call ehr using Skype. Finally I woke up at 4am my time and I got through. Imagine her surprise that me over here in France was calling her about the sprayer. Well she was certainly a very nice woman a very interesting woman actually. She lived msot of her life abroad teaching English. Drove in a VW bug from Afghanistan accross Iran. We got to talking and she had a gut feelign that I was for real and not a scam. She doesn't have itnernet at home, but uses the libraries computer for e-mail. I tell her I will send her and e-mail and send the check right away. On the phone with her I went to the USPS website and we got an estimate of what we thought the postage would be. I went on line to my bank US bank and cut her a check on line for $115. I think I cut the check on a Thursday and by that next Monday she had the check already in California. She did nto even wait for the check to clear, she took a lot of effort to get it packaged just right and wnet to a special guy she knows who did a most excellent job boxing it up. I gave her a lot of information in my e-mail about us and said if she Googled on our names there would be enough info from newspapers, etc. that would prove I was legit.
So she didn't even wait for the check to clear and mailed it out right away. I got the sprayer and it is jsut as she said, jsut like new. I am waiting for our chemical rep to deliver the concentrated liquid round up and can barely wait to get started. It is a nice sprayer!! I will use it to walk down the tree line and keep the weeds under control. My husband tills between rows but with the irrigation lines running down the line of trees it is tough to till there.

I am sorry the the seller of the equipment you were interesed in buying was nto courteous enough to give you the courtesy of a simple phone call to let you knwo that he had sold the equipment, at the very least. But take heart there are probably more Miss Eloise's out there then there are like the guy you dealt with.