Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Keeeping your word in the hobby

OK I need to vent. Recently subjects came up about "people there with the money versus" "I'm on the way please hold it for me." If I know the person I will hold it, if not they better be very damn convincing as I've learned my lesson again and again. Many don't show! Also I had someone complain to me about a recent auction in that they tied the bidding on the item with someone in the audience, maybe even going a tad higher, but still lost the bid to someone that was right there. In this case I'm going to side with the auctioneer. You know not everyone always pays the auctioneer and you know the saying, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." What really prompted this was I had a "nice guy" beg me to get him "all the back issues of PCM Magazine" I could find. I told him that would take me an hour plus to dig through piles of back issues, sort them, etc., I'm a busy guy, and would do it only if he agreed to buy them. I asked for a credit card so I could have some security in doing this and he said he would call me the next day with his card. I've left 6 messages. The pile of mags is still sitting here, it's been three weeks and he is not calling back. I had another guy beg me not to sell a globe on my site, he wanted it, told me that three times! I held it for two plus days. Didn't even have the decency to call me back after I called him and SPOKE to him three times. Kept saying, I'll call you back don't sell it, I want it. Never again...Idiots!!! OK I feel better now! Scott B.

Just the part of selling that sucks

PM sent scott

Oh,btw those pcm's will sell in a heartbeat.

A mans word means a lot in our hobby... This hobby has a smaller group of people than one might think. One bad deal because of your word travels fast!

Yes true, your word is huge...

I think what you experienced are lessons most of us who sell on a regular basis learn pretty quick. There are people who are forthright and keep their word and there are people whose eyes are currently bigger than their pockets and those whose promises are fleeting.

As a regular seller I'll tell a prospect that they've got first option on something but only to the point of a specific day/place/time, after which it becomes first-come first-serve. If they don't come through then my conscience is clear.

I also have many people who say they want one thing or another, but unless they are a regular customer I don't go out of my way to secure that thing and just let it come as a matter of course. And even when I do buy something for a regular client I make sure of the amount they are willing to spend and still ensure that my investment in that is at a point where if they don't come through I can sell the item at a discount to move it out of my possession.

The biggest thing to remember when dealing with people in these matters is to be clear what you will and won't do and set limits that they are well aware of ahead of time. Beyond that on a personal level you have to not hold a grudge or ill will toward others as that is detrimental to yourself.

Human nature being what it is, setting these limits and not getting in a turmoil will serve you well in the long run.

PT

I sometimes get the feeling that some people enjoy window shopping for things they think are cool but cant afford, like if I cant own it at least I can waste a sellers time window shopping it. I have a 69 Mustang on craigslist here for sale and I get tons of emails but no one ever actually comes to see it.

Its the old saying money talks and B.S. walks...most of these buyers walk

Yup talk is cheap and money talks. Actually yells at most sellers!

Coinsides with the addiction concept; some guys just can't control themselves when an item is offered for sale.....maybe if they stall or lead the seller on they can get their next paycheck or borrow the money.......then reality sets in!

Just had this happen, a fellow wanted a Barber Chair I had for sale, he came with cash, and fell in love with another one I had. Said he didn't bring enough cash for both, but here is a deposit, I'll be back next Sunday with the rest to pick them up. Long story short, that was 6 weeks ago, and after a full host of excuses, all debunked by his active posting on face book, he finally came back today, mad at me, because he couldn't come up with the rest. So I let him have the one he originally came for, once he paid the $200 owing. It's so simple, say what you mean, and mean what you say.

That being said, selling real estate for the last 8 years had made me much harder than I once was, my tolerance has diminished LOL!

Scott I hear you,time is money. Its sad that people agree to buy and then don't follow through. What is really sad is as seller gets burnt time and time again it makes it hard for collectors that really live by "I'm only as good as my word" to do business. I guess paypal and other forms of quick payment is somewhat a blessing as some don't seem to get it.

Said this time and time again here. Something to do with the way a person was raised. Or the lack of raising one receives.

Scott, you are a quality guy and certainly didn't deserve such inconsiderate behavior.

Kevin

Hey thanks for the comments I guess I'm used to all this but it still annoys the heck out of me. Good thing is 98% of the rest out there are good people and that makes up for the knuckleheads! Scott B.

Nothing is more infuriating to me than to have someone tell me they will take something and then blow me off. I know there can be legit reasons that sometimes arise that make it impossible to finish a deal as planned but the very least you can do is to complete the deal in a timely manner as promised and tell me what the problem was! I would rather you fess up and say that you overbought or something came up that was more important and you just don't have the money than to just ignore me. When you say "I'll take it", that's what it means. I'm am too trusting most of the time but I will only get burned once by the same person. It's a good feeling when you extend the trust to someone and they honor their side of the deal. I enjoy helping folks get what they want in our hobby, lots of guys have helped me the same way. Like you say Scott, its the 2% or less of the jerks that ruin our day sometimes but how to know exactly who is a two percenter will always be impossible......I knew if I started responding to this post I would write too much...off my soapbox now....GB