Claudio Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 I listed some items in the marketplace and on CAF. I had a guy email me about wanting two of the pages. We emailed a little yesterday morning trying to work a deal since one of the pages he requested was already taken. He was thinking of substituting another page and a partial trade. I haven't heard from him since but he did say he would take the one page that was still available. Yesterday, my last email to him was... "So, what are your thoughts?" Today, I sent him a reminder email at 5am (that is the same time we emailed yesterday). Usually, I wouldn't worry too much but I have two people who would like to buy the item if the prospective buyer backs out. How long should I give him before offering to the next guy? I worry this could be a phantom buyer too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquareChaos Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Claudio said: I listed some items in the marketplace and on CAF. I had a guy email me about wanting two of the pages. We emailed a little yesterday morning trying to work a deal since one of the pages he requested was already taken. He was thinking of substituting another page and a partial trade. I haven't heard from him since but he did say he would take the one page that was still available. Yesterday, my last email to him was... "So, what are your thoughts?" Today, I sent him a reminder email at 5am (that is the same time we emailed yesterday). Usually, I wouldn't worry too much but I have two people who would like to buy the item if the prospective buyer backs out. How long should I give him before offering to the next guy? I worry this could be a phantom buyer too. If you don't know the guy, no one else vouches for them, you haven't received any money or a firm "I'll take it / we have a deal"... 24 hours seems fair to me. Perhaps send another email saying you have others asking, so if you don't hear back from him by <time>, you'll open them back up. Edited October 24, 2017 by SquareChaos Clarity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhamlau Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Honestly this might not be a popular view but I have one rule: a deal isn't a deal until cash hit hand. I've had so many guys ghost on me in both buys and sells I just dont even consider a deal as done until cash hits hand. I don't consider a buy done either til I get a tracking number. To many guys back out and disappear that you can't take it personal, just know that until that happens, anything is possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESeffinga Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 I can sympathize with both. I've had guys go totally tothemarketdownthestreetforsomeCRAZY because they asked me if a piece is available, and if the price is my "best". I write Guy #1 back same-day that yes the price is the price, and hear nothing back. Second guy comes along 36 hours later and says I wanna buy this. No word from the first guy, so I say OK, and sell to guy #2. Guy #1 comes back and freaks out about me about selling out from under him. He was traveling and didn't have a chance to respond. Threatens to hit all social media about me, etc and so on. Knows what kind of collector I am now, etc. and so on. It's happened a couple times in different scenarios, but at this stage, I usually just make buyer #2, etc aware that someone's inquired before them, and I'm giving them all a day to respond (making that known from the get go), so everybody gets a shot in the order they contact me. If they don't respond in short order, I move along. But it's odd what some people think is the way things should be done. And a sense of entitlement or the idea that simply asking about a piece means it's "theirs" even though they've not made it expressly known. The problem being for every one of them that is serious, there are maybe 2 dozen just tire kicking and time wasting... fantasy shopping. As if knowing they could buy a piece for a certain price is all they really wanted to know. With no interest in the actual purchase. Weird. Mr. Machismo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeGiant Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 On 10/24/2017 at 12:02 PM, Claudio said: I listed some items in the marketplace and on CAF. I had a guy email me about wanting two of the pages. We emailed a little yesterday morning trying to work a deal since one of the pages he requested was already taken. He was thinking of substituting another page and a partial trade. I haven't heard from him since but he did say he would take the one page that was still available. Yesterday, my last email to him was... "So, what are your thoughts?" Today, I sent him a reminder email at 5am (that is the same time we emailed yesterday). Usually, I wouldn't worry too much but I have two people who would like to buy the item if the prospective buyer backs out. How long should I give him before offering to the next guy? I worry this could be a phantom buyer too. Tough call for sure. I am a buyer only in this hobby so I don’t have experience on the selling side. In you situation, there are risks either way you go if one of the people inquiring are not serious buyers. If the first person is serious and you sour them on the deal with a quick and hard deadline they could walk and the second might also flake out. Could happen the other way if you hold out too long on the first person and they drag the exchange through the mud. I think I would try and make sure I had a good gauge on each potential buyer and would give the first person the chance to decline before moving along. If I felt the second person was a serious buyer I would tell them I was giving the first person X amount of time and if they don’t commit/pay it is theirs. How much time is hard to say – I would think 24-48 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claudio Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 40 minutes ago, JadeGiant said: Tough call for sure. I am a buyer only in this hobby so I don’t have experience on the selling side. In you situation, there are risks either way you go if one of the people inquiring are not serious buyers. If the first person is serious and you sour them on the deal with a quick and hard deadline they could walk and the second might also flake out. Could happen the other way if you hold out too long on the first person and they drag the exchange through the mud. I think I would try and make sure I had a good gauge on each potential buyer and would give the first person the chance to decline before moving along. If I felt the second person was a serious buyer I would tell them I was giving the first person X amount of time and if they don’t commit/pay it is theirs. How much time is hard to say – I would think 24-48 hours. I am pretty confident the 2nd buyer won't flake. I just didn't want to pull the plug on the first guy too soon. I haven't heard from him since Monday at 5am-ish. I gave him until today at noon to respond. More than 48 hours. I think I am comfortable with that. I emailed him Tuesday morning, Tuesday evening and this morning with a final warning. SquareChaos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeGiant Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 7 minutes ago, Claudio said: I am pretty confident the 2nd buyer won't flake. I just didn't want to pull the plug on the first guy too soon. I haven't heard from him since Monday at 5am-ish. I gave him until today at noon to respond. More than 48 hours. I think I am comfortable with that. I emailed him Tuesday morning, Tuesday evening and this morning with a final warning. More than fair IMO. Good luck with the sale! Claudio 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...