Am I outdated? When is an 'offer' actually an 'offer'?

He should have at least appreciated that you contacted him to let him know it was gone instead of wasting a trip to you on the weekend.

 

I never barter over the phone - I hate it when somebody calls and asks "what's the least you'd take for it?" How can you start knocking me down on the price when you haven't even seen what I'm selling yet? It might be the best one you've ever seen and worth MORE than I'm asking!

I always say "I don't know, come look at it and make me a CASH offer and we'll see."

Having said that Highlander makes a good point, too many young guys now don't give a shit about keeping their word or honoring an agreement. I was always taught a man's only as good as his word.

That's not directed at the original poster, just my experience.

 

I always figure it's still for sale until cash is in hand. I have no problem discussing price via email or so ahead of time. Lets you know if it's in the ballpark some times, but until you show up with cash it isn't sold. I'd of done the same. Especially on a "i'll look at it this weekend" type of deal. No one ever shows up anyway.

 

"First one with cash buys it" goes in my adds that arent mail order...I will be there to look it over now that I MADE you an offer doesn't buy it.....too many tire kickers out there

 

I have no idea who this guy is. But if you are serious about buying something your don't leave lose ends floating around. Accept means that if a deal is FINALIZED (I will be by at such and such at time to BUY the car) I would take that amount of money.

If the buyer showed up and didn't like it would he have been obligated to buy because he made an offer? I am going to go out on a limb here and say you will say no and why? Beacuse NO DEAL had been made.

 

I personally am at the point I wont even accept deposits, All or nothing.I wouldn't let the first guy bother you. Welchy hahahaha First guy with all the cash is a done deal.

 

That was the fair end to the sale. Under those conditions, you could not have done a better deal, and the kid W/O enough money got himself a lesson cheap.

I've been on the other end of the same (as buyer), and I ponied up and got the car. But it was always my choice.

As far as folk saying you shouldn't play games, well, most of us know that the 'game' you were referring to is 'life'. And we're all players in that game until the first spadeful hits the casket.

Well played.

Cosmo

 

now your comin off as a douchebag! i bet it made you feel good doin that to a kid !!

 

we used to have a trade paper around here. it came out on tuesday evening. i would put something in and get 2-3 calls. talk to them tell them about it then get i will stop out saterday to look at it. well after a few saterdays spent waiting. the light went on. i am missing my saterdays for these no shows. so i would say what time before noon because i am not waiting allday for a maybe.

all that long winded rant to get to. money talks b.s. don't get you no where.

 

He said he "would" accept 1500.

The guy never gave him the money so nothing was ever finalized.

If he had actually "accepted" the 1500 THEN it would have been a deal. The flake also said he would be there to look it over.

This is the stupidest thread. Why am I here. Nevermind.

 

When is an 'offer' actually an 'offer'?

What's the confusion?

An offer isn't a purchase, or a contract. It's an offer. If money isn't offered, only words, then it's speculation, not even an offer.

A contract to purchase is not a purchase, it's a contract to be executed at a later time, maybe even in a minute from now.

A purchase is when somebody says X $$$, hands the product over in exchange for the $$$.

An offer can turn into a purchase in a heartbeat, by laying down the cash and it being accepted by the other party.

 

I got to agree. These days a mans word ain't worth much and while that's a sad state of affairs it is what it is and you have to cover your ass. If you have it advertised for $2000 and some yahoo offers $1500 without even looking at it and you accept, sure as shit when he gets there he's gonna nit pick it some and drop the offer some more maybe $1200 or a G. So why should you feel like you have to honor his offer unless you have cash in your hand or a non refundable deposit ? You want to make an offer by email or over the phone on something then be prepared to make a good size deposit through Paypal or some other instant method. You don't make a deposit, you don't have shit.

 

Haha that's what I was thinking... At least the threads not about 4 doors, James would not approve..


I figure if I'm selling something the first person with the $$ is the person that gets it.. Unless I agree to wait for some one... You can tell me you'll be there the second tuesday of next week... But that doesn't meen shit unless I say cool I'll wait for ya...

 

You still NEVER answered my question yet !
What does ACCEPT mean ? The seller made an agreement on line and he "ACCEPTED" the offer . That means both parties have agreed on a price . That means it's a deal for said agreed price between both parties .

Now if the seller wasn't smart enough to get the information from the buyer then that was his mistake , no on else's . If the guy said he would be up that weekend the seller should have asked when ?

Like I said , That was BAD COMMUNICATION from the seller for not asking these questions ! The seller accepted the offer of $1500 for the sale of his Landcruiser ! Bottom Line !
If you don't understand that then you are in another world !

Anyway the seller made some mistakes on the sale of his auto and will hopefully know the best way to conduct a sale the next time .

Glad to here you at least sold the Landcruiser , but don't give in quickly on the first offer ! You can always get their name & number and tell them you will think about it !

RetroJim

 

From a buyer perspective.

When I called on the ad for my car for sale, I was the first person the first day to call on that wednesday. I spoke with the owner and told him I would like to come look at the car immediately. He said that he would be outta town until the next Tuesday. WTF? Is there anyone who can show me the car anytime between now and then. Nope. Ok well can I have the first look and offer. Sure no problem he says. I call back being impatient on that saturday and he says no still no one to show you and we got a problem. What's up? I asked. Well seems he had been getting about 25 calls a day from Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and all over California. He stated he had put obo on the ad so he had to offer the car to everyone else also. WTF? I was mad but could understand he had no idea what he had upon placing the ad in the camera ads here in Bako.

Long story short, I had to pay less then what they generally sell for a car needing complete restoration does, but more then what the ad stated as the beginning offer. I got my dream though and will have her cruising up and down "THE STREETS OF BAKERSFIELD" as the Buck Owens song goes very, very soon.-Weeks

 

US cash seals the deal! i had car on ebay and struck deal around them. guy flys in looks at car, hears it run and i tell him the deposit is non-refundable and car has to be paid for before it leaves. guys sends deposit and then starts slow walking me telling me it's gonna cost to much to ship it so i offer to deliver it for cost. ok but soes your insurance cover car while being delivered? WTF! i just made deal to deliver car for 1/2 of any carrier and i'm being asked this shit. finally wait a week for payment and nothing so i call leaving message that 7 of the 10 days is gone to hold car. phone rings next day and i'm told "wife doesn't feel comfortable sending money" i reply "well you have 2 days to change her mind then or deal is void and take care" guy sends me a e-mail threatening my family! now things have gone too far so i contact his local pd. and tell them story foward the e-mail to detective and 3 weeks later the detective calls and apologizes for not getting back to me sooner that he had a chat with said offender at his place of work with his boss right there and got him into hot water with boss because he had taken time supposedly to visit sick sister not look at car and assured me i would never hear from him again! detective asked if i had sold car and i said the morning of day 11 for cash!

 

Gotta go with the majority here. Been burned too many times on both ends to go with anything but
Selling
No holding
No deposits unless it's for less than 24 hours. Saturday night and can't get to the bank until Monday? Hold your money, if it's not sold by then, come back.
No pay now, pick it up later unless you have a very good reason and I hold all paperwork in case you flake.
No refunds, so look it over good.
No 'bring it by so I can look at it'
No paperwork issues or other surprizes. If the ad says clear title or nothing, I have the title ready to go. If it says no title, I will not get you one at that price. If it has wheels in the picture, it will roll on those wheels and have all the other parts shown unless stated in the ad. None of this crap about the hood is extra....
I will be as honest as I can about the condition. I will not tell you it's rust free when it has rust.
If the ad says call between 7AM and 9PM, and you call between 9PM to 7AM, I will want your name and you do have to pay more (stupid tax).

Buying
I will have the amount I'm willing to pay, and a way to get it off of your property.
If the part or car is difficult to remove from it's location, I expect you to let me know in advance, so I can plan for that.
I will not say I will be there at a specific time and not show, unless it's really an emergency, and you will get a call.
I expect you to be there at the agreed time, and if I'm travelling a long distance, I appreciate a call if it sells.
I expect you to answer my questions honestly.

 

good set of rules..much like my own
I have appended your list with my added caveat in red.

 

Accept means to receive. He said he "would" accept 1500 dollars if the guy brings that much money. He never received 1500 dollars. The guy said he would be up there to "look it over". That is open ended and indicates he may not pay if he doesn't like what he sees.

Since when is it the sellers obligation to do anything. He still owns the item and is responsible for it until the money is recieved.

 

I have to agree with Reto Jim, a deal is a deal.
First off you stated that you agreed to the cash amount, you were obligated at that very moment. All though I see it as a case of a total lack of communication on both sides, then you started in about the dirt bike deal going up for sale obo, now that to me means you are will to take less for it.
Then you start boasting about having a spontaneous auction going, well when you made the comment about how the only one was disappointed was the kid.
It seems to me, because you made mention of that, that you some how derived pleasure in teaching the kid a lesson.
I may be reading more into it than I should but I think you are part of the problem with our society today. I do agree with Cajun Kenny, you have made yourself out to be a total fucking douchebag.

 

Early bird gets the worm, period...

 

The only thing I don't agree with is the bit about having a way to remove the car at the time of purchase. That worked 20 years ago but these days with the internet it's not always that easy. Example. I recently sold an OT Monte Carlo SS on Evilbay. I and the car are located in New Hampshire. The buyer was in Arkansas. It would be pretty unreasonable of me to demand the guy drive up here with a trailer or the deal is off. He paid in full via bank transfer immediately after the end of the auction and started calling transport companies. I got the price I wanted and had the money and the car at that point so why in hell would I care if it took a couple weeks for him to make arrangements to get it moved ? I sent him the title registered mail as soon as the money cleared my account and left him to search for a reasonable shipping company. So what harm was there in that ? Doing it your way may work in CA where there are a zillion people running around with trailers and pockets full of cash but here in Mayberry if we want to sell something sometimes we have to be nice....

 

NHBandit, got me there on that, but I have never listed anything except locally.
If someone sees a local ad from far away (possible nowadays), I would bend that one, thanks!

Come to think about it, I did have a guy hold a car for me, but it's as you said, EBay, he had the cash, and we had a complete agreement on the storage and pickup of the vehicle.

BTW, Chino Valley is a small town in AZ, not a part of the vast spread of LA!
I have to drive 2 hours south to hit a big city (Phoenix), which is why I can understand the communication prior to sale thing all too well. It's also why I will be prepared to cash and carry, since I sure don't want to make it 2 round trips!

 

Damn I'm mad because someone had an old landcruiser for sale and didn't tell me!!! I just love those old toys. I have three currently....OH Well. I'd say if the guy really wanted it, he would had either came to see it right away, or offered to send ya something to at least hold it until he was able to look it over. Either way, it was his loss and you didn't welch on nuthin. Do you have other landcruisers? like maybe an FJ45 pick up?

 

I didn't read all the replies. I never make an offer unless I'm willing to hand over cash.

To say, "will you take $1500"? Yes. "I'll be there this weekend to look it over" isn't a deal.

I might ask "are you firm on the price" but if it's sold when I get there, it's sold.

 

I sold my first car when I was 12 years old, I'm 61 now and have sold a few since then. I always sell to the guy with the money who is interested enough to be standing in front of me. I think all this e-mail and text bullshit is fine for saying you are interested but when it comes time to buy get in the same room with the person selling, with cash. That said, I think you made a mistake by agreeing to 1500 on the weekend. Next time just say OK if I still have the car on the weekend it's yours, better call before you come over to see if it's still available. It's kinda like two fouls in a football game, they offset each other, in this case you win cause you own the ball.

 

Personally, I would only accept or make an offer in person, any other way is bullshit.

 

440Dave knows where you can probably get one for about $2500.

 

i think if a person is serious to buy an article they will show up with the means to buy the article that is forsale , i always say he who shows up with cash in my hand is the new owner of the article , talk is cheap , and most are window shoppers or looking to flip something for a proffit

 

I was at the swap meet with a for sale sign on my car. A guy stops by and saids, "Take the sign off, it's sold!". We exchange info and a few hours later, he comes by with his brother. He takes the car for a drive, then hems and haws. I put the car away and tell him to call when he decides. After that, it's cash or deposit only, or the car is still for sale. A couple of months later, I sell it for $2K more than what I would have sold it for the first time.