Experience with Users/Buyers on Here Ghosting

[GoldensRule]

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.

If implemented, there should be an appeals process. What fun for the mods, policing a nanny state.

 

[CaptainLevi]

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.

Ditto. LabsRule, if someone offers me something low, not super low, but it is to a point of some back and forth to be a small loss or at cost for me, I would say Hey I appreciate your offer. I'll keep you in mind if this sits to long and I want to offload it quick. Haven't followed-up on anyone because usually it sells eventually or I decide to consign at LGS. It will sell at LGS, but gotta wait 30+ days at minimum because CA requires FFLs to hold the consigned guns for 20 days before they can DROS and gotta deal with. the 20% consignment fees.

I know what I have and what the retail and PPT markets would pay (considering the approx. 20% total taxes) and price accordingly. I haven't run into an issue of caving because I can be patient and confident with what I got.

 

[CaptainLevi]

If implemented, there should be an appeals process. What fun for the mods, policing a nanny state.

LabsRule, it appears you are unhappy about moderators adding any features about policing conduct such as insultingtly low offers, poor communications. May I ask why.

 

[NaboombuLagoon]

LabsRule, it appears you are unhappy about moderators adding any features about policing conduct such as insultingtly low offers, poor communications. May I ask why.

There are a couple guys here who are very vocally against any changes that protect the community or allow policing of questionable conduct. I haven't seen any explanations beyond, "I don't think it's necessary." They also don't seem to respond when told, usually by ikeo, that if they don't like the features, they don't have to use them.

 

[CaptainLevi]

There are a couple guys here who are very vocally against any changes that protect the community or allow policing of questionable conduct. I haven't seen any explanations beyond, "I don't think it's necessary." They also don't seem to respond when told, usually by ikeo, that if they don't like the features, they don't have to use them.

lol I guess I know where the Labrador guy stands.

 

[GoldensRule]

LabsRule, it appears you are unhappy about moderators adding any features about policing conduct such as insultingtly low offers, poor communications. May I ask why.

Goldensrule although I really love labs. I'm not "unhappy" about it, I just object to the concept, which means you will probably get your wish.

In a capitalist society, it's not rational for anyone to be insulted over an offer of money. If it isn't enough for you, just say "no thanks" and move along.

As for communications, bad manners is a hot button for me but, a bigger concern are the snowflake like sensibilities of the kinds of people who get insulted by an offer.

Report this person for that and the other person for this, seriously are we a capitalist society or not? Free trade means just that, not policed by anything but the law.

 

[NaboombuLagoon]

Goldensrule although I really love labs. I'm not "unhappy" about it, I just object to the concept, which means you will probably get your wish.

In a capitalist society, it's not rational for anyone to be insulted over an offer of money. If it isn't enough for you, just say "no thanks" and more along.

As for communications, bad manners is a hot button for me but, a bigger concern are the snowflake like sensibilities of the kinds of people who get insulted by an offer.

Report this person for that and the other person for this, seriously are we a capitalist society or not? Free trade means just that, not policed by anything but the law.

Free trade is literally the idea of letting the market regulate itself without the involvement of the law.

 

[GoldensRule]

lol I guess I know where the Labrador guy stands.

Here is a great example of how there can be misunderstandings between people and they can occur as a result of poor attention to detail. My Screen name is Goldensrule, not LabsRule. If you can misread that, what else are you misreading? And are you dinging people because you have misunderstood them?

 

[GoldensRule]

Free trade is literally the idea of letting the market regulate itself without the involvement of the law.

That only applies in fantasy land. All capitalistic societies have laws that regulate commerce. For example, we can trade freely but we cannot defraud one another and we cannot sell certain items, as two very simplistic examples.

 

[decius_mus]

Have you guys never sold anything on any marketplace before? This is pretty common practice. Every hobbyist sector has different quirks, especially when it comes down to the amount of money being exchanged and the legal bull that has to be done to actually use the item.

For example, in the used car world you'll get 100 low ball offers before you find a serious buyer. Or you'll get guys that'll kick the tires and not buy it, or not show up, or they'll ask if it's available and you'll never hear from them again. On the electronics market, the same thing applies, but since there's less friction (no PPTs, no title issues, no DMV trips, and generally lower cost of the items) sales occur faster. But one thing i'm noticing about the firearms market in particular is getting openers that say "do you ever go to x city?" rather than just shooting an offer first. Or asking questions that are already directly answered in the listing (more so than in other sectors).

Either way, if you do this long enough you won't be bothered by the ghosting, the low balls, nor the failed deals. It's how marketplaces have always been since the Craigslist days. Many buyers want an item but can't afford them but they'll shoot their shot anyway, or they'll change their mind and not contact you anymore. Experienced sellers will just ignore low ball offers instead of getting angry about them. It's no big deal at least to me.

 

[CaptainLevi]

Here is a great example of how there can be misunderstandings between people and they can occur as a result of poor attention to detail. My Screen name is Goldensrule, not LabsRule. If you can misread that, what else are you misreading? And are you dinging people because you have misunderstood them?

Sorry my phone and laptop autocorrect it to LabsRule. idk why lol

 

[NaboombuLagoon]

That only applies in fantasy land. All capitalistic societies have laws that regulate commerce. For example, we can trade freely but we cannot defraud one another and we cannot sell certain items, as two very simplistic examples.

So you're saying the legal definition of free trade, the definition used by anyone discussing free trade, is from fantasy land, and the definition you've made up for yourself about how you think the world should work is not?

 

[Wolkenflieger]

Everyone is taking lowballers way too seriously. Just reply "sorry I can't go that low". If it's close you can counter. I've had some people super low ball me but eventually come close to my asking. Don't blow off a potential buyer just because you didn't like their approach. You'll be surprised how many times it eventually works out if you treat others with respect.

I would just respond with my lowest price...maybe, and say that I won't go lower. If it's early in the life of the ad I won't want to undermine buyers who will pay my initial listing price, especially if more than a few people are watching the ad.

If the ad has been up a while or there is healthy competition then I may be more flexible.

As always, the buyer's approach makes a big difference. I care about a buyer being solid, friendly, prepared, and dependable over highest price.

 

[GoldensRule]

So you're saying the legal definition of free trade, the definition used by anyone discussing free trade, is from fantasy land, and the definition you've made up for yourself about how you think the world should work is not?

Do you disagree that all capitalistic societies regulate commerce in one way or another? Do you disagree that the United States regulates interstate commerce and the state of California regulates intrastate commerce? Can you name any nation, in the world, that has completely unregulated trade?

Free trade like liberty are imaginary constructs, starting points for the development of societies. No one has completely unregulated trade the same way no one has complete and total liberty. Societies regulate both, I can't legally sell counterfeit merchandise nor can I go next door and strangle my neighbor for practicing his drumming at 3:00 AM.

 

[NaboombuLagoon]

Do you disagree that all capitalistic societies regulate commerce in one way or another? Do you disagree that the United States regulates interstate commerce and the state of California regulates intrastate commerce? Can you name any nation, in the world, that has completely unregulated trade?

Free trade like liberty are imaginary constructs, starting points for the development of societies. No one has completely unregulated trade the same way no one has complete and total liberty. Societies regulate both, I can't legally sell counterfeit merchandise nor can I go next door and strangle my neighbor for practicing his drumming at 3:00 AM.

I'm not here to have a discussion about economic policy. You said, "Free trade means just that, not policed by anything but the law." That is the exact opposite of the definition of free trade or what it means.

Free trade is not an imaginary construct. It is an actual legal and economic policy. The definition of free trade is what it is. It is not what you think it should be.

I'm discussing facts and you're discussing concepts.

 

[GoldensRule]

I'm not here to have a discussion about economic policy. You said, "Free trade means just that, not policed by anything but the law." That is the exact opposite of the definition of free trade or what it means.

Free trade is not an imaginary construct. It is an actual legal and economic policy. The definition of free trade is what it is. It is not what you think it should be.

I'm discussing facts and you're discussing concepts.

So, you cannot name even one free trade zone FTZ, in the world that is totally without regulations or tariffs? The only truly free trade areas I can think of are in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan but even those violate the laws of the Taliban.

Honestly, this is pointless. This issue at hand is, do we need nanny state type regulations and "reporting" to be able to act like adults in this forum or are we all grown-ups who have used newspaper and Craiglist classifieds and who should learn to not be offended by capitalism?

 

[franky694]

You know, I used to wonder how some of these California gun laws end up getting passed. Reading through this thread and the suggestions about how to handle lowball offers actually gave me a bit of perspective.

It seems like sometimes rules get proposed in an attempt to address something that may not really be a significant problem to begin with. In trying to fix it, the result can end up being additional rules that might not necessarily improve the situation.

It just made me think about how similar dynamics can happen in a lot of different areas when people try to regulate behavior that might already sort itself out through normal interaction.

 

[CaptainLevi]

A lot of these reactions above are lowkey passive aggressive ^ Not going to name any names. Like I got an eye rolling one for a typo thats out of my control.

Also I didn't know I can pick the best answer so I chose ShooterMcGavin's answer as it sums up the topic of ghosting/low balls within this community.

Shall we close this thread?

 

[ikeo1]

You know, I used to wonder how some of these California gun laws end up getting passed. Reading through this thread and the suggestions about how to handle lowball offers actually gave me a bit of perspective.

It seems like sometimes rules get proposed in an attempt to address something that may not really be a significant problem to begin with. In trying to fix it, the result can end up being additional rules that might not necessarily improve the situation.

It just made me think about how similar dynamics can happen in a lot of different areas when people try to regulate behavior that might already sort itself out through normal interaction.

The thing is, it's comments like these where.. "it's not a problem for me, so I don't see why you're doing anything about it". Also, there's no rule right now, and there's no additional rules for majority of people 90%, but if you run into one of these people you have the option to do something about it vs be a victim.

It's always easy for someone to say, why do you want to do something if it doesn't affect me? Well, because I see it everyday. You have 1 trade and 9 posts, it's a numbers thing. I don't want to deal with people bickering because they DO use the report button. The whole point is for me/moderator team to stay out of things. YOU police yourself, that button is like being able to punch someone in the face if they're disrespectful but it's a button. After people get punched in the face enough they stop.

You aren't going to get banned if you have too many, but people you deal with will know.. There's no rule, it's a public shaming tool for being cheap or rude. Otherwise, guess what people won't press that button on you.. You'll build a credit.

 

[CaptainLevi]

The thing is, it's comments like these where.. "it's not a problem for me, so I don't see why you're doing anything about it". Also, there's no rule right now, and there's no additional rules for majority of people 90%, but if you run into one of these people you have the option to do something about it vs be a victim.

It's always easy for someone to say, why do you want to do something if it doesn't affect me? Well, because I see it everyday. You have 1 trade and 9 posts, it's a numbers thing. I don't want to deal with people bickering because they DO use the report button. The whole point is for me/moderator team to stay out of things. YOU police yourself, that button is like being able to punch someone in the face if they're disrespectful but it's a button. After people get punched in the face enough they stop.

You aren't going to get banned if you have too many, but people you deal with will know.. There's no rule, it's a public shaming tool for being cheap or rude. Otherwise, guess what people won't press that button on you.. You'll build a credit.

I think this is a good change. We need some type of karma system. I don't plan to use it if someone wrongs me but its a good deterrence to have.