How do people manage their F.S threads?

In the last few weeks I have been the 1st to engage the seller (which was confirmed) with serious intent. Both sales were +$5k. I then sit there for 30-60 minutes seeing the seller "engaged in conversation". After a 2nd email chasing up the situation I get similar replies.... Watch is now sold.

People obviously deal with sales however they want. I personally reply in line to those that have emailed questions and offers. Then do the same again, resulting in what I see is a fair sale. I sold a watch 2 weeks ago on here to the 1st guy to email me, which included a question....even though the 3rd person to email me said "i'll take it".

It seems the only way to avoid this is to immediately say i'll take...then ask questions after and possibly pull out if things aren't right for you.....

I mean if you engage a sales person in a shop with a question... would you be happy for someone to butt in and say I'll take that please... only for the seller to say OK. I know I wouldn't.

 

Common courtesy would be to address the inquiries as they come in. But you know that does not happen. Sometimes sellers do not want to ship overseas and prefer a local deal. Or they see a familiar name and jump to that..
Unfortunately, it happens.
Glad to hear to you use the same morals others use as well...
Cheers!

 

Hi @TTG

I get locality is a factor. But when the seller includes worldwide shipping and does not set the price as firm, it does open the door to a question or two?. I personally wouldn't expect someone to send me thousands of $s/£s without clarifying a few things first.

I guess I need to change my tactics. My main gripe is being told I was 1st to contact them but the watch is now sold!!!

 

I agree.. Not acceptable..

 

So why not start with "I'll take at asking price if you can just confirm x and y. Assuming that's fine, I'm your buyer".

When selling there are plenty of people who ask loads of questions, never to be heard from again, so the best buyer is often the one who shows their money first.

 

Well i thought i made it clear it was a serious enquiry.. my gripe is not getting a reply to questions when its the 1st enquiry, then being told it's sold.

Its not like ive been here 3 days with 2 posts.

Anyway, like i said, i just wondered how others manage their sales threads.

 

I understand your point. If Im a seller and in negotiations with a person, but a second person gets in touch, I'll usually tell both parties who is first in line, and let the first person know speed may be of the essence as a second party is interested.

However, if I'm a buyer and want something I don't take a chance. I generally send a first enquiry along the lines I posted above, to make sure I don't lose it. When I sell, im a private seller so it's not my livelihood. However, I come from a family of jewellers and I'm aware that if people need a quick sale or its business, then show me the money.

 

Allow me to share a mistake I once made with two regular members: you have to check the times the PM comes in. The top of your list is actually the most recent, and the earlier PMs are further down as they get further back in time. Two messages came in within two minutes of each other, and I responded to what I thought was the first PM when it was actually the second so I had to go back and apologize to the member I replied to first because he actually was the second offer. Luckily, he was very understanding about it.

Another situation is the seller got a better offer from somebody else and engaged them first. As mentioned above, money can usually be the deciding factor.

 

This happens much more frequently than I'd like - usually from newer members. Experienced collectors ask two or three questions and pull the trigger.

Money talks louder than words. Personally, back when I worked on commission I absolutely LOVED when some potential customer said "I'll be back" or "I'll think about it" and left on a last-one clearance item, only to come back the next day to find the very next person jumped on the deal. Sorry to say it, but that puts a smile on a seller's face. I almost always told them to put a deposit down or you risk losing the deal, to which most doubted me or gave me an eye roll..... which made it doubly satisfying to tell them "I'm sorry but the very next person through the door bought it". Bottom line: first with the money gets the item no matter who saw it first. You might not be happy with that kind of situation but that's reality.

 

First one to commit to an agreed price gets OHPF for a certain period (couple of hours) from me.

Do I get the £££ in time it's his... If not, it's back to point 1.

Don't expect me to turn away eager buyers because it takes you 2 days to gather £750 ... and I never hear from you again...

But then again so far I never seemed to have had problems...

 

Hi, well that is exactly how I do it. I appreciate it isn't always easy. Having a question ignored for 40 minutes then being told you were 1st to email, but its now sold, just winds me up.

That was what I was hoping to do. Oh well gripe over

 

I think it's a question of how serious the potential buyer is. Inquiring is one thing. Interested is another. For example if someone approaches me with, "I'm interested in acquiring your watch, can you tell me more..." as opposed to general questions and inquiries. In the event that the person asks some time to think about it then I view this as non committal. If a person asks to hold the watch so he can make a proper decision then that person is first in line and so on. How long would I hold the watch is relative to the potential buyer's level of commitment but usually 24 hours. Then I move on.

 

Any seller in this hobby knows you're serious if you offer a decent deposit and tell them you want to flip a watch or two to pay for the balance. We've all been there and most times the seller will hold an item even for 30 days to let the buyer collect the funds unless they're selling under duress of some sort.

 

I agree with both of these comments. If I agree to buy an item I will pay immediately. I would not personally hold a watch longer than 24hr without payment unless a meet was arranged or something similar, cash etc.

My email asked about shipping, price and included info about a few recent trades I had done. I admit I did not say I WILL TAKE IT... but asking some questions when about to sent 000's into cyberspace isn't unreasonable i.m.o.

It was the 1st one sent, 8 mins after the thread went up .... 40 minutes later im told its sold. Anyway it's not the way i'd do it... and like I said i'll change the way I approach it next time.

 

Some buyers can be difficult and ask a gazillion questions, I'm sure we have all had our share. However, I am in full agreement with the consensus, if you have a multiple bidder situation, I make sure to tell everyone where they stand and prior to promising the sale I email all interested parties as well. It's called karma.

 

Very educational thread, thanks for all of the insights. Could be a good sticky.
Best regards,
S

 

At the end of the day, if it was not meant to be...It may just be to your advantage..
There will be others..

 

@ulackfocus I agree with this totally...but in my opinion this situation is different.

I see it as more like this...

A buyer walks into a shop and enquires about a last one clearance item on show. Engages the salesperson in discussion regarding price and delivery.

Sales person leaves me standing there 40 minutes without replying....whilst a 2nd buyer enters the store and says, hey I like that, i'll buy it.

Sales person says.. ok sold.

 

Thank you, onwards and upwards!