Hot Rods Texting and Hot Rod Sales

................Young love, ain't it special!

 

I see a lot of different things on the various sites. I dislike the people that text the half price or less offers. I am usually polite and tell them they need to come and touch what ever I am selling. Then they must lay cash down in as they make the offer. Those guys seldom show up. With the rest I try to tell them they need to see the item in my second reply. If they do not ask for my address in their next text I basically write them off. I learned to do that when I had a pay for each text plan. At $0.10 a text I learned not to waste a dollar to sell a $10 item.

 

I find myself a buyer much more often than a seller and I can tell you text messages and emails ain't going away. I will definitely text or email a seller first for additional info on an item and to get a feel for what kind of person I'm dealing with. I'm not making 20 phone calls and leaving messages trying to get in touch with somebody to spend my money. After that phone calls can start.

I find there are a lot of sellers out there who just can't get out of their own way long enough to sell something. You send an email to some people with 2 or 3 simple, concise, questions and maybe, get back a muddled answer on one. How many people trying to sell something don't respond to back to anyone on their ads? Or the sellers that post their sideways cellphone pics of the car taken at dusk in a soft rain with just the nose sticking out of the garage? Weeding through knuckleheads is part of the game.

As to selling something I would agree that if the initial correspondence contains "what's your bottom dollar", "what's rock bottom", or offers 50% of asking they should be immediately written off as jackasses and forgotten. There are plenty out there.

 

I don’t know the technical terms but when you receive an address via text it comes up as a link that can be “clicked “ on that brings up directions. It really is the best way to receive and address or phone #

 

Best thing about people who text is I can block them on my phone if they are idiots. Of course I can do that with calls as well. My phone is set to do not disturb, only my listed contacts will ring, so I have
to actually check the phone for messages, either voice mail or text, but can do so on a time I choose.

 

People seem to have legitimate reasons to not use texting or smartphones and I guess I can respect that but there are definitely huge advantages to it.

Think about 30 years ago, pre-eBay, if you wanted to buy or sell old car parts, it would often mean placing an ad in Hemmings, waiting a month for it to publish, and for any interested buyers who wanted pictures, the seller would have to take some on a film camera, and mail them out, with no guarantee of a sale or even a response. If a sale was made, payment came in check form, and would often have to be held for weeks until it was safely cleared. Or wait all year for the big swap meet, blindly hoping to find what you want to buy, or find buyers for what you want to sell.

Text and cell technology is an equally big leap. If I text my address to someone, they have a hard copy on their phone that they will not misplace, which will link automatically to directions and can give an accurate estimated arrival time. If a buyer wants a picture of some specific detail, it can be sent almost instantaneously. Downloading pictures to a computer and sending them via email is not nearly as efficient. Phone conversations are fine if both parties have available time at the same time. Texts can be returned at any time.

People definitely abuse these things, but human nature is to blame for that more than the technology.

 

I have often texted with questions or clarification prior to calling, and I have answered them for things that I am selling. The seller can answer at their convenience, or not at all if they wish. It’s just another means of communication to me, I have no need to take a stand one way or the other. And I am old.

 

I’m a little bit of a dinosaur in some ways too but I’ve embraced the computer technology and I love my iPhone 11 pro.

It takes amazing pictures too.

During construction of my RPU my phone and computer were invaluable to source parts and information here on the HAMB and elsewhere.

My alliance membership along with my lifetime subscription to TRJ are the best things I’ve done for myself in the last while.

Selling and buying is so much easier now and so is keeping in touch with my kids.

On top of that I met my Texan wife through a online dating site that her friend signed her up on when she was up here in Canada visiting her sister who is also married to a Canadian.

Without the computer the odds against us meeting and connecting would be pretty high.

She’s amazing and life is great with her.

( No she’s not looking over my shoulder )

Some of you guys should get with it and enjoy the benefits of the modern technology

 

On the HAMB? Naaah lol
I always ask them to text the address to eliminate mistakes, plus sometimes one just doesn't have something to write on or with. We have a large parking lot in town that gets little use and easy to find, so I just meet folks there instead of giving my address, pretty safe

 

I didn’t mean to imply that I don’t use email or text messages. I didn’t retire until I was 72 so keeping up with computer technology was mandatory. Receiving electronic drawings, CAD files, timely emails and text both sending and receiving was a way of life. What I was trying to say was because potential buyers didn’t have to identify them self’s I received a lot of texts, emails, scammers who were really not interested and offers that were ridiculous. All that took up a lot of time. That’s not to mention buyers who scheduled a time to come look and just never showed up or those that did were there just to go out on the sailboat with no intention of buying. I will admit I did get a tremendous amount of email inquiries maybe I just wasn’t very good of sorting them out.

 

This is me too, I just bought a pretty expensive SUV through texts and a few emails, I called to confirm a few pieces of paperwork were what was requested before faxing back the purchasing agreement, it's 2020 also known as modern timers, old times that only want to do business the old way are severely limiting your market.

 

So for me to give you my money I need a cell phone, be able to text, have a fax machine, wi-fi. I'll shop local.

 

Guys on messages boards using computers and phones to gripe about technology.
Some even brag about not using technology while using technology to do deliver that sentiment.

 

My market is open to all forms of communication not to just one solitary antiquated way, and I had to go to Office Depot for the fax machine. I'm an ordinary guy that does a lot of buying and selling, like was mentioned earlier you can run into some non ordinary people on both sides of that coin and a properly worded/photoed text can really cut to the chase.

 

I use text, email and phone when buying or selling. You still have to go through the song and dance and weed out people the best you can no matter that avenue you choose.

 

I don't have a mobile so texting is not an option. The only time I hear from any of the grandkids is when I'm talking to their mom and she hands them the phone.

 

I only have a land line, which I mention in any ads I put up on our local Internet selling site.
Nonetheless I have gotten texts, they came in as weird computer generated voices on the 'phone.

As for people making offers on items I have for sale by email, the last two I replied "sure", and of course never heard from the boneheads again.

 

I checked, yep, sure enough, I'm using pretty a recent form of communication to reply on this thread.

Between the big keyboard, the spell check, and the 18" monitor I'm looking at, communicating on this thing is pretty easy, even if I can only type slowly.

I'm also looking at my flip phone. The screen is 1 1/2" square, the numbered key pads are about 1/4 the size of the letters on the keyboard and my thumbs are about 1" wide. I have to press the numbers 1, 2, 3, or even 4 times to get each letter I need to text. Then, after I'm all done, my spelling sucks so bad, you probably couldn't read it anyway.

This message that took me 5 minutes to type out would have taken me at least 25 minutes to try to text, if I wouldn't have messed it up 1/2 way through and gotten mad and threw my phone before I got done. There are reasons some people don't text. Gene

 

When I was a kid I went to an auction in Vermont with my father. This was in the mid 90s. The guy had tons of Stutz cars and parts. When he was alive he only corresponded through mail when guys wanted to buy parts. No phone calls. He preferred gold and silver for payment too. It could take years to get a part from him.
Guys sounds like a weirdo huh? Like why wouldnt you use a phone when its so much easier and faster.

 

The older I get , the more I hate talking on the phone to people. I don't mind texting, I'm less engaged . I part out a few cars a year. Its less hassle to text than talk to me.

 

The latest technology aid for texting, also doubles as a writing device replacing the traditional #2 pencil

 

I'm not sure what that red thing is. But I do like talking much better than texting. I don't do voice mail, or whatever that is? I do love my #2 pencils!! I've always loved doodling Hot Rods on about everything. I also like my phone. Only because I use it to TALK to my grandkids. It's also the best camera I've ever had. Plus I can look at the HAMB when I'm at the Dr.s office.

 

The “red thing” is a stylus tipped pen Ron, used by large fingered texters to accurately stab at the small keyboard on their phone.

 

When I first picked one of these up I thought the tip was an eraser ....if the right person was looking and videoed me it probably would have gone viral ....whatever that means ?...lol.

 

I agree, communicating by text can usually result in long and sometimes a boring form of communication. I use sites like Craigslist if I am selling something local. In my add I state that I do not respond to E-Mail or Text unless you provide a valid contact phone number. I always provide a cell number so that they can contact me. It still amazes me how many people apparently do not read the entire add and still try to text or communicate by E-mail. I simply ignore those responses. Most of the people I do actually talk to are great. In a few cases we have kept in contact and continued to share, barter and sell items to each other. Tomorrow I am meeting with someone I sold some toy cars to a few months ago. He has been building himself a collection and we have been doing some trading and sharing ideas with each other since we first met.

 

Sold my Morris by using the hamb classifieds . The guy PM'd me and gave me his number. I called him and all the rest of the conversations were texts.
I like at least one phone call per transaction.
Just had to change my phone number. The person that had my old number was dodging bill collectors and kept giving out her old number which was mine. I would get 2or more calls per day looking for her. Pain in the ass.