Feedback - FROWNS

[Thad E Ginathom]

I agree. Nobody minds some bargaining, but, if carriage was included you can deduct it if  collect is not bargaining, it's penny-pinching. And completely wrong if the original price had been agreed to.

[Hankosaurus]

Smart move, Krish.   Our fellow Members offered wise counsel above.   One cannot overstate the importance of integrity and trust when evaluating a potential transaction.   If something seems "off," it's best to politely back away.   Happy Day.

[ashutosh1979]

it was not about a petty ₹53. It was about a buyer springing hidden conditions after a clear agreement had already been reached. If a buyer behaves with this kind of manipulation early on, what's to stop them from making up fake damage or other issues once the package arrives? I decided to abort the sale entirely.

I totally appreciate your point and support your decision, I had a similar but opposite experience with another user, where the other party graciously transferred the partly courier fee albeit after a small delay and a reminder, I would have posted a grins feedback but do not even have the user name, so let it be. I would be happy to discount the partly courier charge as token if we deal again. It is not a matter of money, it is the sanctity of the deal that matters more.

Thanks for sharing this incident, it sets the tone for proper behavior to be expected here.

[gsferrari]

By that point, the underhand cunning and lack of transparency eroded my trust in him. For me, it was not about a petty ₹53. It was about a buyer springing hidden conditions after a clear agreement had already been reached. If a buyer behaves with this kind of manipulation early on, what's to stop them from making up fake damage or other issues once the package arrives? I decided to abort the sale entirely.
Some might say I should have just given the nominal discount and "made the damn sale," but forum transactions rely entirely on mutual respect and trust built up in those early conversations. Moving forward.

You are absolutely right to reject the buyer. In this case it is not the value/payment you are rejecting, it is the individual. The moment a buyer does something questionable, I am quite happy to eliminate them from consideration because it indicates a bent for cunning, unethical and mischievous deeds.

Peace of mind trumps a few extra Gandhis in your pocket. Good riddance!

[Krish Chandran]

I recently faced a rather strange and frustrating situation with a buyer on my WTS listing, and I wanted to share it here as a cautionary note / "frown" regarding transactional etiquette.
I had put up an item for sale at ₹8,500. In my initial listing, I accidentally omitted specifying the shipping terms. When a potential buyer reached out, he stated: "I agree to pay ₹8,500/- including shipping." That was anyway my intention and I agreed. I assumed the next straightforward steps would be a standard UPI/bank transfer and shipping.
Instead, the buyer began dragging his feet on the payment and wouldn't share his delivery address, stating he would "let me know." Sensing a case of buyer's remorse, I politely checked in to ask if he was reconsidering the purchase.
His response caught me completely off guard. He claimed that since I had already agreed to absorb the shipping costs, he now preferred to personally collect the item—and demanded that I "kick back" the courier costs to him as a discount on the item's price!
After some back and forth, when he realized that Speed Post from Pune to Nashik would cost a mere ₹53, he abruptly pivoted to "Okay, please ship it to me."
By that point, the underhand cunning and lack of transparency eroded my trust in him. For me, it was not about a petty ₹53. It was about a buyer springing hidden conditions after a clear agreement had already been reached. If a buyer behaves with this kind of manipulation early on, what's to stop them from making up fake damage or other issues once the package arrives? I decided to abort the sale entirely.
Some might say I should have just given the nominal discount and "made the damn sale," but forum transactions rely entirely on mutual respect and trust built up in those early conversations. Moving forward, I explicitly stated on that WTS post that the price was the same whether shipped or collected.
Watch out for these kinds of mind games!

[chrome]

No point being sore about it, which I am guessing you are NOT but you cared enough to post here anyway so I am letting you have my 2 cents.

Thanks for sharing your opinion. Appreciate it!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Example : I recently sold a Raynox macro lens to Thadinginathom (Nick). After he paid me in full, as I was cleaning the lens, there was some noticeable damage to it. I immediately refunded Nick and even gave him the lens-as is to play with / use as he deem fit. I have never transacted with Nick before.

This was true generosity. I wouldn't expect it from a seller.

True generosity combined with a great two or three hours at Guru's place. I'll never forget the photograph of a mridangam That he has on the wall. Masterful!

[gsferrari]

The short version of the story is:
The forum member had multiple items for sale. I was interested in one item. I contacted him regarding the item and said a friend of mine will come to collect it and payment will be done during the meetup to which he agreed.

This is normal. No deal has been made at this time in my view. He is as committed to you as you are to him. As you did not want to pay up front / book it with a non-refundable advance UNLESS item is not as described, his commitment to you is commensurate a.k.a non-committal. It is just a verbal agreement with no commitment from or to either party.

From my perspective, an agreement was made on the listed price (as we did not negotiate on price) and when the payment would be made. Due to unfortunate circumstances the meetup did not go as planned. The seller said since the other buyer was ready to pay for the whole lot immediately, hence they went ahead. If I was made aware of this then I would have happily transferred the payment then and there.

Again this is you hedging your bets and the seller hedging his bets. Think of it this way, buyers can easily back out (and they do!) citing personal tragedies as reasons to back out. Seller might have turned away someone with the funds AND the intent to close immediately. There is ZERO fault on part of the seller.

It is not his duty to intimate you as you are neither co-owner of his gear OR committed to him with some form of advance payment. Had you paid an advance, he HAS to notify you. In that scenario you could have paid the balance amount and secured the gear.

One of the reasons I've always appreciated this forum is that it has traditionally been built on trust and goodwill.

There is no breach of trust here in my view. If you know the seller personally and have dealt with him/her before then it is a different conversation, one that would never appear here on this thread in the first place. Bharat Varma buys pretty much everything I list for some reason and the understanding is tacit. He just says "guru I am taking it" and there ends the matter.

In this case neither you nor the seller know each other personally to the point where one's verbal intent to buy can be trusted enough to drop another deal with the prospect of immediate closure.

In my previous transaction here, there were multiple interested members. I had a discussion with the seller and he decided to hold the item till said date, after which the next member would get the chance. These were explicit terms said and not "implied". The transparency meant nobody felt blindsided.

This is where the question of trust arises. I never take an advance / blocking amount because I simply don't trust anyone to keep to their word / verbal agreement. If I know the person, I trust them. if I don't, I don't entertain these approaches which indicate the buyer simply wants to hedge their bets.

So I'd like to hear from the members:

When is a deal considered to be committed? If another buyer is ready to complete the purchase, should original buyer be informed and given an opportunity to respond? Should sellers explicitly state their policy on holding or reserving items, or we are suppose to "interpret" them?

Commitment to buy is either paying in part/full and reserving the gear. You can always have the understanding that someone will inspect it and if it fails to meet the description in the listing, a full refund is to be initiated.

There is simply no concept of reserving items on verbal indications. The odds are stacked against the seller almost always in this case. Maybe other sellers are ok with it but I certainly am not and I don't recommend anyone allow themselves to be held accountable with zero financial commitment (or 100% commitment in my case) from the buyer.

Example : I recently sold a Raynox macro lens to Thadinginathom (Nick). After he paid me in full, as I was cleaning the lens, there was some noticeable damage to it. I immediately refunded Nick and even gave him the lens-as is to play with / use as he deem fit. I have never transacted with Nick before.

What matters here is Nick paid me in full immediately after reaching out. That is commitment to buy, nothing else matters.

If you want something, pay the seller.
If you don't know the seller and want to hedge your bets, expect that you may lose the opportunity.
No point being sore about it, which I am guessing you are NOT but you cared enough to post here anyway so I am letting you have my 2 cents.

[Bharat Varma]

Thanks.
Both IDs banned.

[Krish Chandran]

Okay. Another day - another case of multiple IDs.
Same guy using at least two IDs at the same time :-

https://forum.jjmehta.com/index.php?action=profile;u=51268
https://forum.jjmehta.com/index.php?action=profile;u=53426

Upto the MODs to decide the action warranted.
Or if any warranted in the first place !

Good Catch !! Keen eye.