Experience with Users/Buyers on Here Ghosting

[tedster]

Can’t control every aspect of second hand online market platforms.
One has to put up with certain drawbacks. It doesn’t seem it was like this in the past. I miss the days of “I’ll take it” in the thread post.
Now it’s low balling + ghosting.
Advise to self: keep guns at a minimum, this way I don’t have to sell that often, or better not at all.

I am about to apply the same principle to other goods that I tend to pile on.

 

[tedster]

I want a button to report bad grammar and spelling errors!

I'm kidding. Kinda.

This would be helpful for thread titles though as it affects searches.

Now, this is the worst! Low balling + bad English!!

 

[Wolkenflieger]

There's already a button to report them...

Seriously though, this is a way for people to publicly shame. This happened quite frequently on the L, site with people constantly threat crapping and being in pissy moods. Lol. Now we're trying to change that, but putting in some checks and balances because when you let things go, you can see how things get.

There was an insane amount of the thread crapping. IMHO, same problem different time, different solution. I think if people don't care then it's not a big deal. Plus it's one of the more common issues people have here. Much like people used search quite often with out location fields but now we do.. We're here to enhance the experience to make things easier for people.

I come from a world where if there's consensus, we can use technology to fix minor issues so we can push things forward to scale. The less you have things to complain about the better it is for everyone. As long as there's a common set of rules and everyone knows the impact, then the computer governs the rules in place. That ends up being less work for the moderators to get in the middle. The rules just have to be fair and penalties have to be significant enough to make a difference.

I look at it more as gamification. The whole value add here is the reputation building in different areas, but reputation doesn't only go it can go down too. Ultimately, I'm just trying some different approaches to get emailed/reported/etc. If we can push it back to you guys to self judge, like the feedback which is post, and add one that pre sales, then we have both scenarios covered.

Both parties would have a good picture and adds value to our platform for more quality on both sides which should make everything smoother.. That's idea at least. I'm not going to work on it right away, but I see this constantly come up. Same thing with flakers and ghosters. It's not hard to just say something out of courtesy to the other person. If you do it you're rewarded. If not nothing, else leave a bad taste.

Keep in mind, this is only in DM's. Not a public rating, but publicly viewable

Even better, only show the rating when receiving a DM about an ad specifically. Then the seller can assess the rating with whatever the prospective buyer is writing.

So, it shouldn't be publicly viewable since it's about buyer behavior unseen by most, and there's no action for anyone to take until they get a DM from marked user.

This also allows the poorly-rated user to have untainted DMs and post activity unrelated to ads in order to save face and possibly improve behavior.

I'm against this idea generally but it can be made less punitive if the intent is to correct behavior while allowing someone to save face too.

 

[ikeo1]

Can’t control every aspect of second hand online market platforms.
One has to put up with certain drawbacks. It doesn’t seem it was like this in the past. I miss the days of “I’ll take it” in the thread post.
Now it’s low balling + ghosting.
Advise to self: keep guns at a minimum, this way I don’t have to sell that often, or better not at all.

I am about to apply the same principle to other goods that I tend to pile on.

IMHO it was like this in the past and will still be the case in the future. It's always romanticized as if no one ever got a negative. Flakes, low ballers, and ghosters has always been an issue.. This isn't going to eliminate the problem, just an attempt to reduce it.

 

[2muchsoysauce4allthisrice]

Those plates are HELLA ugly lol. I would pay to never have to see them again

Getting my Christmas spirit roasted on over here

 

[jbb88]

Its a free market and it is starting to resemble the norms of the current dating world where people believe that there are unlimited options available and no courtesy is required when it is decided that the item is not worthwhile (aka ghosting).

I used to always just pay whatever the person was asking if I thought it was reasonable, but yeah I'll try to get $50-$100 off now if I think the price is too high. If a Seller doesn't want to budge, that's on them. I go the same way with selling....I'll work with a serious buyer or just move on if their ask is ridiculous.

You have to remove your self and ego from the equation, its just about money

 

[HarleyLowRiderST]

Will there be a “gouger” button to offset the “low ballers”.

Seller - Off roster G19 Gen 5. Low round count maybe 2,000 tops. Near new condition all stock with some holster wear and slide scratches. Sorry for bad pics my phone not working great. $1700 or best offer. No low ballers.

Buyer - Hi. I’m interested in your G19. Based on the condition, original price price, and market demands, would you consider $1,000.

Seller - Sorry no low ballers. Clicks “Low Baller”
Buyer - Dude really. Clicks “Gouger”

 

[NaboombuLagoon]

Will there be a “gouger” button to offset the “low ballers”.

Seller - Off roster G19 Gen 5. Low round count maybe 2,000 tops. Near new condition all stock with some holster wear and slide scratches. Sorry for bad pics my phone not working great. $1700 or best offer. No low ballers.

Buyer - Hi. I’m interested in your G19. Based on the condition, original price price, and market demands, would you consider $1,000.

Seller - Sorry no low ballers. Clicks “Low Baller”
Buyer - Dude really Clicks “Gouger”

But everyone can see the gouger is gouging when they read the post for the sale. It’s not happening in the DMs.

 

[HarleyLowRiderST]

But everyone can see the gouger is gouging when they read the post for the sale. It’s not happening in the DMs.

True . . . But then again, my last 2 transaction moved to texting after a quick DM here and on “L” site.

If people want the feature and management wants to implement no worries if it helps.

 

[-BTM-]

Is this really a big enough problem that it needs a solution?
It doesn't seem so to me.

I just got back from driving to Sac only to be flaked on, dude was already sketchy so this would have been nice.

 

[CaptainLevi]

I just got back from driving to Sac only to be flaked on, dude was already sketchy so this would have been nice.

DAMMM,

Tell us how this transaction went down and how it ultimately failed. Did you confirm with the dude before you started driving?

Is it possible he is of a different political orientation of the individual on CAGUNS profile photo giving the thumbs up and just wanted to waste your time out of spite?

 

[CaptainLevi]

Also if hypothetically there is like a karma system for flakers. These people probably don't care about their reputations and would just abandon the account thats flagged and would open a new "fresh" neutral account lol.

 

[NaboombuLagoon]

Also if hypothetically there is like a karma system for flakers. These people probably don't care about their reputations and would just abandon the account thats flagged and would open a new "fresh" neutral account lol.

I think the developers have stuff in place to fight that, too.

 

[tedster]

Its a free market and it is starting to resemble the norms of the current dating world where people believe that there are unlimited options available and no courtesy is required when it is decided that the item is not worthwhile (aka ghosting).

I used to always just pay whatever the person was asking if I thought it was reasonable, but yeah I'll try to get $50-$100 off now if I think the price is too high. If a Seller doesn't want to budge, that's on them. I go the same way with selling....I'll work with a serious buyer or just move on if their ask is ridiculous.

You have to remove your self and ego from the equation, its just about money

It’s also about time and effort.
Prospect vs buyer. Qualifying elements need to be met.
To suggest a 20-50% reduction off my asking price is disqualifying. Interestingly, if I follow down the rabbit hole, it often turns out there are even more obstacles up to the point that the entire exchange was a complete waste of time. It’s part of the game.

I have a 10% price reduction built into my asking price. If that’s acceptable, both parties have to establish a qualified path forward to close the deal.

 

[ikeo1]

Also if hypothetically there is like a karma system for flakers. These people probably don't care about their reputations and would just abandon the account thats flagged and would open a new "fresh" neutral account lol.

We have a lot of detection systems, people have tried that only to find they get banned for good. If they have 10+ reputation you don't want to lose it. That's the whole point of developing the reputation system(s). If they did get past it, it take a lot of work to rebuild only to lose it again. It would be easier to just be nicer. It takes weeks/months/years to build a reputation. So the people who build a legit one will have an easier time. That's another part of it.

 

[CaptainLevi]

It’s also about time and effort.
Prospect vs buyer. Qualifying elements need to be met.
To suggest a 20-50% reduction off my asking price is disqualifying. Interestingly, if I follow down the rabbit hole, it often turns out there are even more obstacles up to the point that the entire exchange was a complete waste of time. It’s part of the game.

I have a 10% price reduction built into my asking price. If that’s acceptable, both parties have to establish a qualified path forward to close the deal.

Oh yeah. Ebay has a system like that. You can suggest an offer, the seller would already pre-set any hard limits to automatically decline the offer. Then a notification would come to the seller to accept, reject, or counter. But then again eBay payment process and shipping delivery is mostly automated. Very convenient function when using eBay.

 

[GoldensRule]

You seem to think that I came up with this idea myself. Here is my comment in the context of the ongoing conversation in this thread:

"ikeo1 said:
What do you guys think of a “rate this message” in the DM? Is it a bit much? Lol

Wolkenflieger:
Bit much. Maybe a special "report lowballer" button? Even that could have unexpected knock-on effects."

I was simply spitballing in response to a query and I don't think we need to deviate from regular conversation or negotiation as humans have done since there have been humans negotiating.

I hadn't put much thought into it, and I do see a way it could be gamed for abuse even if the person is definitely not a lowballer.

Anyone can respectfully offer me a lower amount like you described and I see nothing wrong with that. I don't even consider that lowballing.

Lowballing is somewhat subjective. Generally I consider it to be an offer which is aggressively and insultingly low compared to reasonable market value...but some people are desperate and want speed over top dollar. That rent or mortgage isn't going to pay itself, right?

If a person approaches with respect and the offer is too low or simply not competitive I'll politely decline. I may have several potential buyers I'm talking to, but I will note the mature tone and good attitude. As a seller, I always choose my buyer.

I think we are definitely of the same mindset on this issue.

 

[GoldensRule]

So sellers are complaining to management about low ballers and ghosting, and management is going to ad buttons to DMs so we can flag low ballers and ghosting? I mean no disrespect, but how do you guys survive in the real world buying and selling other stuff?

Well said. Those are the sellers who also pay retail or the asking price when they buy a car, house or hire an attorney. Funny how "The Art of the Deal" is so absolutely without meaning in this forum.

 

[CaptainLevi]

This thread was started to gauge if its just me, or if other people/sellers are experiencing poor communication or insultingtly low offers. For my case, sometimes it is 50% of the offer and MSRP. I will still gladly deal with it. Someone serious eventually shows up like in any offers. I love that is has evolved to a hearty community discussion.

No one has explicitly called for the developers and moderators to take action to fix it, but it looks like this has been on their radar far before this thread.

 

[ikeo1]

Well said. Those are the sellers who also pay retail or the asking price when they buy a car, house or hire an attorney. Funny how "The Art of the Deal" is so absolutely without meaning in this forum.

I think you’re missing the point, the point is to have realistic deals. The majority of things go fine. We’re looking to improve further. It’s not horrible but like in life because it’s discussed it seems like this is the majority.

We’re talking about the guys who offer $10k for a 3 year old BMW. Don’t waste peoples time or resources. For the majority this will not apply like you’re assuming.

You take the lower 10% and try to improve it 2-3% that would be a 20-30% improvement which is sizeable and continues to compound as the site grows.

You can still do the art of the deal and many people do. The site is growing faster so we want to put things in early that guide the direction we want, which is don’t be lazy low effort and ghost, flake, or offer insultingly low prices.

If you and other are advocating for that then just don’t use it. It’s simple. The people that want to use it will, again it’s to reduce people coming to us and have everyone be more responsible for what they do.