I worked out why Gumtree Sellers are so difficult ......

[Sir Stinkalot]

So after struggling to purchase items off Gumtree sellers for some time now I think I have finally cracked the case ..... the sellers are so bad as the buyers are worse.

I finally got around to getting out some old items the other day and thought it would be worth while throwing them up on Gumtree to see if there was any interest. There is an assortment of stuff, some old original Nintendo games and some household stuff .....

Within minutes of listing I received an enquiry about some of the Nintendo games .... polite email enquiry, no fuss, purchased and paid for three games ...... all good so far.

Then I started to get the difficult buyers .... nothing particularly bad but what I would consider rude emails, typically no greeting, no name, basic information ...... such as, and I quote the entire email "Do you still have rug". To this particular buyer I responded politely and advised that she was welcome to come around and have a look .... anyway she responded that she would come and have a look, then didn't bother. At the same time I told another potential buyer that wanted a look that it was on hold for the first person, only to be stood up.

Another guy wanted to purchase the Nintendo consoles. I have also had heaps of enquiries about a particular game and despite other people asking first this guy basically begged to hold it for him for when he came around. Anyway he did at least rock up only to offer a low ball offer expecting that I would just say yes. Anyway he was sent packing empty handed on principal.

Other than that its just been a bombardment of stupid offers and stupid questions. I am so sick of replying and trying to be fair that I have just opened it up to whoever pays first. The problem here is that because Gumtree doesn't have a checkout system there is the risk of two people paying via Paypal for the same item which will result in me having to credit back a payment, which I am sure Paypal will charge me for.

So a couple of days into being a Gumtree seller I have become the difficult Gumtree seller that I despise as a buyer. Its a vicious circle and I think will only be improved when Gumtree turn it into another Ebay which is unlikely as they are both owned by Ebay. My guess is that they will just start charging for listing and not improve how transactions are handled.

Grumpy seller rant over.

[NCArcher]

I hear you Stinky.
I've recently sold a couple of items on eBay.
Not only do eBay take 10% of the final selling price but I still don't have access to some of the money paid. I'm not entirely sure why but I think it is held in reserve in case there is a dispute lodged. The buyer has paid and I've posted the item but I won't have access to the money (through Paypal) for another 2 weeks.
I'll be listing stuff on Gumtree in future. I'll just put up with the idiots and sell to whoever hands over the cash first.
Buying off eBay is fine but I wont be selling there again.

[Sir Stinkalot]

I haven't come across Paypal holding onto the money before but I haven't sold on Ebay for a while. There are fees associated with transferring money out of Paypal but I find I just leave it there and make other purchases.

I did read that Ebay now calculate their fees on the final selling price + postage and considering their fees were already fairly high it is a turn off now. Ebay also now seems to be just an online arm for commercial sellers with most private sellers and second hand buyers being pushed to Gumtree.

[BobL]

Yep I agree. The most irritating people are those scrabbling for free stuff.

I advertized a free workbench made from a rusty old angle iron bed frame with a "rustic" (bad choice of words I realised later) 2" thick Jarrah top.

I got about a dozen of calls in the first hour - none of these people came to see it.
One guy wanted to know if it could be used as kitchen island bench as he was looking around for a cheap birthday present for his daughter - the photos showed it was obvious a fairly beaten up old workbench
Another caller was from the country and wanted me to hold it for when he next came to town - when's that I asked? - maybe next month, was the reply.
One guy talked for about 10 minutes about his back and his knees and his yadda-yadda and then it dawned on me he wanted me to deliver it to him and help him put it in his garage.
In the end I just told callers - it's on the verge - first one here that wants it can take it

Two hours after I posted it I see a young bloke wearing a very expensive suit and driving a near new high end make 4WD pull into the drive way.
I watched him through the lounge room window- he walked around the bench a few times and then looks like he's about to drive away but then he comes up to the house and asks if I can help him put it in the car.
I wanted to ask if he needed an apron but really wanted to see him smear that suit :)
We had to put the back seats down to fit it into the back and then had to find something to put underneath it to stop it marking the carpet and to pad the leg ends from tearing the immaculate leather upholstery.
I couldn't imagine this guy using this bench, so I asked him what he was going to do with it? He turned bright red and said it was" . . for err . . . . his wife, . . . . she runs an antique shop"

I pulled the ad immediately but there seemed to be a few more cars than usual driving up our street for the rest of the day.

That aside, I have to say my GumTree buying experience has been fairly good. Maybe its the sort of stuff I buy like electric motors and workshop gear that puts me into a different group of buyers and sellers. I've met some interesting people and heard some amusing life stories. I'm not the haggling type so unless there is something wrong or different with the item that was not in the ad I won't usually offer less than the advertised pro and we usually depart on very friendly terms.

[Big Shed]

Paypal no longer charge a fee to move money in to your bank account.
The only time I have seen money held up is when people pay with a Paypal "cheque", that is they actually deposit money in to Paypal from their bank account account and therefore Paypal won't pay the recipient until that money is cleared, usually takes 5-7 days.

Stupid buyers (and sellers) are not confined to Gumtree. My wife sells regularly on Ebay and you wouldn't believe some of the things she has to put with from buyers. Only yesterday someone bought one of her items, then within 20 mins sent a message that she wanted to cancel the purchase! She then left negative feedback for my wife, spoiling her 100% positive feedback rating that she is very proud of.

The number of people that have to be sent reminders to please pay for their item is unbelievable (this for items <$10 including postage) half of them only paying when reporting an unpaid item to Ebay.

I could go on.

[China]

I've had the same problems so now it is first come first serve and cash only

[mark david]

I can sympathise with you on this as my partner and I have been buying and selling on gumtree for about three years and you have to deal with idiots on a daily basis.
Just before Christmas we held over $1200 worth of furniture for several weeks for a guy until he returned from his fifo job and we could arrange delivery, he later fobbed us off for a further week and then we heard nothing so had to relist all the items.

You try your best for people but they just pi$& you around.You do meet some really nice peole though so its not all bad but you just encounter so may rude and ignorant people you wonder what the world is coming too.




So after struggling to purchase items off Gumtree sellers for some time now I think I have finally cracked the case ..... the sellers are so bad as the buyers are worse.

I finally got around to getting out some old items the other day and thought it would be worth while throwing them up on Gumtree to see if there was any interest. There is an assortment of stuff, some old original Nintendo games and some household stuff .....

Within minutes of listing I received an enquiry about some of the Nintendo games .... polite email enquiry, no fuss, purchased and paid for three games ...... all good so far.

Then I started to get the difficult buyers .... nothing particularly bad but what I would consider rude emails, typically no greeting, no name, basic information ...... such as, and I quote the entire email "Do you still have rug". To this particular buyer I responded politely and advised that she was welcome to come around and have a look .... anyway she responded that she would come and have a look, then didn't bother. At the same time I told another potential buyer that wanted a look that it was on hold for the first person, only to be stood up.

Another guy wanted to purchase the Nintendo consoles. I have also had heaps of enquiries about a particular game and despite other people asking first this guy basically begged to hold it for him for when he came around. Anyway he did at least rock up only to offer a low ball offer expecting that I would just say yes. Anyway he was sent packing empty handed on principal.

Other than that its just been a bombardment of stupid offers and stupid questions. I am so sick of replying and trying to be fair that I have just opened it up to whoever pays first. The problem here is that because Gumtree doesn't have a checkout system there is the risk of two people paying via Paypal for the same item which will result in me having to credit back a payment, which I am sure Paypal will charge me for.

So a couple of days into being a Gumtree seller I have become the difficult Gumtree seller that I despise as a buyer. Its a vicious circle and I think will only be improved when Gumtree turn it into another Ebay which is unlikely as they are both owned by Ebay. My guess is that they will just start charging for listing and not improve how transactions are handled.

Grumpy seller rant over.

[FenceFurniture]

Simple golden rule for Gumtree, Trading Post etc selling - NEVER hold anything for anyone unless they are going to be there within an hour or so, or they want to pay a holding deposit. Get a copy of the transaction emailed to you of course, given that the banks can't put the money in straight away - funny how they can take it though (before I can even get back home from buying a slab of beer).....

[Gaza]

Trying to sell ute on gumtree keep getting offers to swap, thanks but I already brought a new car last thing I want is another

[Evanism]

I buy and sell a lot on Gumtree.

Its an excellent resource, but you need to treat it in a very specific way.

As a buyer,

-- realise there is ONE for sale
-- it isnt a shop
-- the seller doesn't want to hear your life story
-- hear about your woes
-- solve your problems
-- help you do something with it
-- discuss another thing, product or "ebay"/China.
-- or help you

They want you to come, pay and leave.

As a seller,

-- NEVER ever ever hold a thing. Repeat. After. Me. Never, ever, ever, under no circumstances hold a thing
-- Arrange a time for viewing/collection and stick to it. Give them a 15 minute window
-- I dont care about your broken leg, sick mother, busted car, troubles with the ATM.... its 7.15pm sharp, or its going elsewhere
-- Never negotiate on price while they are there. Do it on the phone beforehand
-- Never give the address until they agree to the price
-- They are there to pick it up - never more, never less
-- NEVER offer them to put it in their car/truck/trailer. Tell them to bring a friend. Your can't help, "so sorry". Dont tell them why, just "No"
-- If they don't turn up, tell them the next appointment will be made and it will be sold
-- Cash it fine. Change is not. You are not a shop
-- No, I don't have it in white, 5 more, order it in or wrap it for you. See you at 7.15pm

You want them to come, pay and leave.

Only yesterday, I picked up a PRISTINE 5 drawer Fantastic furniture draw set for $20 (rrp $99) and two Ikea 4 draw cabinets for $60 (total, rrp $259 each).

I jump in fast - text them and say I didnt ring so to disturb them if they are at work, immediate followup email and offer to collect at the very first opportunity convenient for them. Works 100% of the time.

I have an ad up now! -- http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mawson/building-materials/kauri-timbers-3-metres-30x210-15-each/1072755144

[Sir Stinkalot]

I have an ad up now! -- http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mawson/building-materials/kauri-timbers-3-metres-30x210-15-each/1072755144

Is that $15 for the lot, per m or per length? Do you have any other colours other than blonde and red? Can you deliver for free to Adelaide? How much for the small bits on the side? Can I borrow your hand trolley?

Have you had any of these yet?

[Kuffy]

I've always been fond of people when they start to haggle you down on price and they say something stupid like "but dont you have a machine to do it?" because we all have one of those german made machines where you just press a button and it designs the piece for you, orders the timber for you, selects each piece for grain and colour etc, machines it up for ya, sands it, assembles it, sands it some more, stains and polishes it, and best of all....lists it on gumtree/ebay, answers the phonecalls and hangs around waiting for customers to show up......!!!!!!:((

[Big Shed]

Is that $15 for the lot, per m or per length? Do you have any other colours other than blonde and red? Can you deliver for free to Adelaide? How much for the small bits on the side? Can I borrow your hand trolley?

Have you had any of these yet?

Yep.

Or the "buyer" who sends a message in response to a $22,000 caravan you are selling "will you take $12,000 for it?"

Or the guy who works on an off-shore oil rig (every second Gumtree buyer works on one of those and wants you to send him your bank details so he can pay you more than you are asking "for your trouble".

[BobL]

As a buyer,

-- Never negotiate on price while they are there. Do it on the phone beforehand


It depends what is being sold, but as a buyer or seller of small items I will very rarely strike a price on the phone. If I do it's on my instigation as the buyer and of course it's still subject to inspection. I say something like, " . . .if its as good as looks on the ad I will pay you the advertised price". This is a weak way of holding the item for you against someone that's going to turn up before you and offer them 50% of the advertised price, It's no guarantee they will hold it but it's about as good as you can get.

If a seller wants me to guarantee a price before they give me their address, that usually smells like a week old fish to me.
I've seen too much funny stuff happening, like product substitution, or there is something wrong with the item which hasn't been revealed previously and is not reflected in the advertised price.
I've probably missed out on some bargains that way but I have also wasted a lot of time so I now don't bother with these.

I decide based on the advertised price and on more info or clarification from the by by phone f it's worth going to take a look at.
If the item is accurately described in the ad or by phone I rarely negotiate - I either buy it or I don't.
If there is a non-trivial problem with the item that was not mentioned in the ad or by phone that I can fix, then I may negotiate, or its no thanks.

As a seller I apply the same rules and don't negotiate by phone or F2F unless the buyer identifies a non-trivial problem that was not in the item description.
As a seller I will sometimes get a call asking me if I will sell for less, often a lot less like the $25k caravan for $12k
I rarely "need to sell" and just tell them I'll call them back once the other prospective buyers have looked at the item.
Of course they never get called back.
One guy called me back the next day and upped his offer from <50% to ~90% of my advertised price. The item still hadn't sold but I still said no thanks.
After two weeks the item (a small copper cored stick welder) hadn't sold so I upped the price by a third and it sold the next day!

[Evanism]

After two weeks the item (a small copper cored stick welder) hadn't sold so I upped the price by a third and it sold the next day!

This is true, sometimes the price is too low and people steer clear thinking its a dud. Pricing it right is an art, but sometimes a higher price does attract the right buyers.

[Sir Stinkalot]

I must admit I do enjoy hunting on Gumtree for a bargain. I have been quite alert over the past few months searching for sanitaryware for our extension. I have been running a spreadsheet to keep track of the expenses and so far I have spent $1595 on goods retailing at $6477, saving $4882 over the retail prices, just using Gumtree and Ebay and this includes postage costs.

I have also been able to make a couple of hundred over the past few days on items that I was seriously considering binning but couldn't stomach the waste.

It was funny this afternoon. I had a guy enquiring about a few things, his questions kept coming in quick and fast, from the condition of the box, the amount of ware etc ..... in the end I was starting to get fed up with him and basically said to him the items were 30 years old, they are no longer made and they have the average wear that you would expect (and can be seen in the excellent photos I provided). I was just on the brink of telling him where to go as I was getting tired of the games, but as he was considering three items and a potential buyer I bit my tongue. Just by chance I was on the computer answering his emails within seconds of him asking when I had another enquiry from another buyer. 45 minutes later I was handing over the goods and collecting the cash (full price) from the second buyer after a quick and polite exchange of emails, all while waiting for Mr Questions to make up his mind. It felt so good emailing him back to let him know he had missed out on everything.

I know that as a seller a buyer is a buyer but there is sometimes its better not to have to deal with some people.

[Master Splinter]

...and then there are the people who advertise things at somewhat over their secondhand market value, with 'or nearest offer', and when you contact them, their idea of 'nearest offer' is the next couple of hundred dollars UP from the price they listed!!

[Optimark]

Recently I placed the opening bid on eBay for some old tiles; the other half amongst other things does ceramics. The opening bid was $0.99, I won the auction, a drive across town to pick up the tiles and make payment happened.

Upon arrival I noted the tiles were placed just outside of the front door, I also noted there were children present, due mainly to their pushbikes and other sundry items littering the grounds. It also wasn’t what you would call a flash house, more like one where food and clothing bills were just met, and somehow, utility bills managed to be paid.

Ringing the doorbell, mum appeared along with two daughters, probably about 7 and 10 years old. I found out that it was the daughters who had found the tiles and had gotten mum to put them up for auction; pocket money.

The auction realised 99 cents, and it was at that moment that the girls found out the auction only garnered 99 cents, the silent look the girls gave each other made me dip into my wallet for some more dosh, an amount that could be shared by both of them.

Mum thanked me profusely, more so with her eyes and expression. However, on the way home I thought I was a bit stingy and should have given a smidge more, sometimes it’s hard to get the balance right.

On the way home I actually thought that here was someone who in some ways, had a more valid reason to block the sale, or terminate before the sale happened, than other items I had seen pulled before they could be sold.

Then I started reading this thread!

Mick.

[chambezio]

I had a similar experience as Mick. I won on Ebay a number of hex drivers for a drill. There was a couple of rills with countersink, a couple of Tek drivers and some screwdriver bits. All were used and a little rusty. The Ebay name was something that kids would put up but the money went to an adult sounding account. The bid wasn't for much and so I overpaid them. I sent an Email telling what I had done and the response was was favourable. I figured that the kids were looking for pocket money

[BobL]

I've been a recipient the other way several times.

Back in the 80s just after my son was born we had no money and very little furniture and were looking for a recliner rocker for new mum to feed bub in. We looked in the classifies and found a small rocker for not much money so we all went around to look at it. The sellers were an older couple who were besotted with bub and wanted to give us the chair for nothing - in the end we settled on half the advertised price.

Other times have been when purchasing stuff for mens sheds. The sellers have been most generous on pricing and additional donations, including members of this forum. One thing that sticks in my craw a bit over this is I sometimes wonder how many buyers are dishonest about this and claiming things that are completely false.

[Chief Tiff]

Years ago I won a child's desk and chair on EBay for a dollar. It was the best part of an hour's drive away and on the way I got thinking about the seller who sounded about my age and appeared to have a "win some/lose some" attitude about the price. I couldn't bring myself to simply hand over a gold coin so I swung into a bottle shop on the way and bought a six-pack to go with it. He appreciated the gesture and gave me a hand to load it into the car. That was my feel good moment for the day, although my beloved rolled her eyes at my foolishness.

[China]

Playing "devils Advocate" maybe if they had had stopped the sale the owner may have had his or her tiles returned

[q9]

A couple of years ago dad sold his bug scooter via the 'tree. Guy called up, said he was looking for one for his son. He was interstate, and I thought 'yeah sure'....

Next day guy turns up (several hundred k's of travelling) says 'looks perfect' hands over wad of cash, deal done. Gotta be lucky I guess...

[smidsy]

Guumtree is actually owned by (fe)ebay now and since being owned by ebay it has changed so that the original ad is free but you have to pay to edit it - IE if you list a lot of items you can't edit the ad to delete items or mark them as sold unless you pay.
Ebay is just as bad, they brought in mandatory paypal which is nothing about buyer protection just double dipping on fees since ebay owns paypal.
One time I sold something for $40, the buyer used paypal, the buyer and seller were in Aus, paypal defaulted the payment to USD gave a lousy exchange rate on the conversion and charged me fees to pay the money to my bank - I think I got about $26 for the item in the end. Now on the rare occasions I sell on ebay I stipulate that the buyer must cover paypal fees or pay DD - twice I cancelled a sale and left F/B when people ignored this.
As for paypal, I bought a laptop battery from O/S through Paypal, the battery was clearly not as ordered and Paypal did nothing.

Don't get me started on ebay's feedback farce...

[casjon]

Some annoyances, whether it be Gumtree, ebay, Trading Post, whatever: I generally add 'no emails or texts please' and what do I get? Emails and texts. I almost always put fixed price and what do I get? offers... People who ring and ask for information that is contained in the add or ask how much I'm asking. I once advertised a guitar for $400, some idiot texted, I'll give you $50, but only if you deliver! And how about the ones who want to negotiate a price before they have even seen the item. Biggest hate of all, people who just don't turn up...
Frustrated, in my last ad I added: 'Telephone enquiries only please', 'price is not negotiable', 'Please read the add carefully as I will not respond to questions about the item that are contained within the ad'. Did not get a single enquiry until after I deleted those bits. And then of course once I did delete those bits, they were the only questions I got.

[Sir Stinkalot]

Well I have taken some of the advice here. I had a heap of stuff that I advertised under the Gumtree free section ..... within minutes the enquiries started to come in. I found it hard not to be fair on the first enquiry who said she would be here within the hour. As I had a second enquiry at the same time I said she could have 90 min before I gave the second guy the address. No show after 90 min so I emailed the second guy the address and advised the first lady she had missed out. Then she responds telling me how difficult that the kids had been and her husband would collect in 15 minutes. About 90 min later she emails again saying that her husband forgot to come past on his way home :doh:. The second guy must have been scared off and it ended up being picked up by somebody else by the end of the day.

After that it is simply a first in best dressed situation. The buyers email me, I provide the address and let them know that the item is still available but I will remove the listing as soon as somebody does collect it. When it has gone I also email all the buyers who made contact. I'm sure that this scares off some buyers as they may be travelling half way across town only to find it is already gone but unfortunately there are too many tire kickers to be able to be fair to all. It would be easier to just post the address in the listing and leave it up to the hungry masses, but I don't really want my address put out there if I can help it.

[A Duke]

Hi,
Now I know for sure I made the right decision when I decided to steer clear of the whole con.
Best of luck

[smidsy]

Years ago I won a camera lens off ebay, got it for about 30% of what I expected it to go for so I was quite happy.
Within 2 minutes of auction end I get an email from the seller saying the pics were wrong and offering to cancel the auction, I told him I had gone by description rather than pics (I knew he was just trying to get out of the sale) was happy with the deal and asked for bank info for payment.
Finally got payment info after a week of daily emails culminating in a threat to complain to ebay.
The lens arrived in Perth from Melbourne 2 weeks later (inspite of pay extra for express freight) with totally inadequate packing.
I gave him honest neg feedback, he did tit for tat neg which ebay refused to remove inspite of all my email records and a bank statement showing I had payed within 5 minutes of getting his bank info. And, because FB goes on your transactions for a year, after about 8 years of 100% FB I dropped to mid 70's and had sellers refuse to deal with me.

The whole feedback system on ebay is flawed, no one gives true feedback because they know they will get tit for tat neg'd - all ebay has to do to fix this is set it so feedback is invisible until both parties have left it.

[Evanism]

Is that $15 for the lot, per m or per length? Do you have any other colours other than blonde and red? Can you deliver for free to Adelaide? How much for the small bits on the side? Can I borrow your hand trolley?

Have you had any of these yet?

I see from the above posts that people are not heeding my Gumtree Dealing Widsom!

Never. Ever. Ever. Accommodate.

Blah. Blah excuse, excuse, husband this, kids that, dog ate the spare tyre. 7.15pm sharp or the deal is off. There are two people coming at 7.30...

Apply ruthless unrelenting inflexible pressure.

I didn't mention it, but another tactic is to say you have 15 when you have 6. When people ring, tell them 9 are already sold. Watch them galvanize into action then! People never negotiate and are around in minutes. Unethical, but it's rock solid for getting a zero-BS sale.

Stinky, yes, I received a total of four drongos ring me. 2 illiterate jug blowing bogans, one woodie and some scumbag dude who thought it could flip it for a better price. I also received a guy on the forum who swore black and blue he wanted 3 planks.... Sent him the details.... No word.

I didn't heed my own advice! :~

[Sir Stinkalot]

I think my problem is that as a seller (or give awayerer of free stuff) I try and treat the potential buyers like I would like to be treated as a buyer. As a buyer if I say I'm going to collect I turn up - this however is too much to expect from the majority of the "Gummies".

Even with free stuff there doesn't appear to be any manners, simply "still available". To be fair 2 out of the 4 people who have actually collected free stuff so far at least said thankyou!

[DSEL74]

I'm having a clean out and decided to join a mate at a swap meet on the weekend, I sold most of my big ticket items which I didn't think I would given it was a swap meet.

Given what is posted above and my recent experience with some moving boxes on gumtree, I'm glad I went this way. I probably could have gotten a higher price on ebay but didn't have any other fees than half a stall fee $10ea and got it done in half a day.

[rustynail]

A mate saw a decent Harley Davidson advertised on Gumtree for a very reasonable price. The seller and the bike were about 200klm away, so they arranged an inspection for the following week end. My mate left his mobile number if any complication were to arise.
On the Saturday, he rang me and asked to borrow the trailer and my 4x4. I offered to come for the run, so off we went.
Upon arriving at the sellers address, we were informed he had changed his mind and was keeping the bike, slamming the door in my mate's face!
On our way home there was a bunch of Bikies pulled up, having a leg stretch. My mate insisted I pull in beside them so he could talk to them. "Strange." I thought, "They would normally have been very low on his social calender."
Walking up to the largest and meanest looking bikie, he pulled out his phone, opened it and showed it to him. There was a brief exchange of words, a hand shake, and my mate returned to the car with a big smile on his.
As we drove off, I asked, "So what was that all about?" John replied, still with the beaming smile, " Oh, I just showed him the ad and the price. They're going straight round to check it out.":oo:

[FenceFurniture]

.....but I don't really want my address put out there if I can help it.ABSO-BLOODY-LUTELY NOT Stinky. Apart from anything else, I'm para about identity theft. I shred EVERYTHING that has my name or details on it.

Sometime in the 80s I had a couple of camera lenses for sale. Guy rang up, wanted to come over so I gave him the address. Then the fool says "so what else have you got there?" not "for sale" just what have I got. This clown was clearly a thief trying a different way of finding out who to burgle. I told him that I was on to him, and that it would be a poor idea to try it on (logged the phone call time so it could be traced back etc).

All was safe, and didn't have a break-in.

The lesson that I learnt from that was that when giving out an address to someone who has called me, I insist that they give me a number to call them back on before I reveal the address. I think that's foolproof, isn't it?

[Sir Stinkalot]

Whilst I don't go out flashing my details intentionally I'm not too concerned about identity theft. I'm sure that it happens, and when it does it can be terrible, but the chances are fairly slim.

I don't particularly like advising people on Gumtree where I live and when I will or will not be at home. Typically I just say that we are around all day but they can just collect the free stuff from the front gate.

I did have one instance where I purchased a ladder from a bloke. I drove to his house and met him before realizing that the ladder was going to be far to big for me to get home. As it turns out he was in the process of selling his mothers house which was in my street and he said he would drop the ladder off. He seemed genuine enough so i pay him on the spot.

Anyway I said he could just leave it at the side of the house. By chance my wife was running late for work the day he dropped the ladder off. She saw a guy in the backyard and asked what he was up to. He said that he dropped the ladder off and then just wanted a look at the rest of the block???? Nothing else came of it, he did drop the ladder off but it was really strange. I don't think he was doing anything underhanded, perhaps just looking at the size of our block compared to his mums, it certainly was strange.

[centron-sg1]

I have experienced all these same problems regarding dumb/difficult/unreasonable questions, people not turning up or very late, rudeness, scrounging, dreadful communication, etc on FreeCycle....

Difficult to even give stuff away for free these days....

[cadas]

Had a few odd ones with gumtree. Strangest one was an iMac I bought before x
Christmas second hand. Arranged to meet seller and see Mac but when I got to his flat he was locked out as he had been evicted. Turns out Mac was in his car so he offered to nip up to the local mall and find a plug in the food court.

I suggested we go to my office about 10 mins away... Great idea he says, opens his boot, dumps $2k of Mac in my arms, says see you there and jumped in his car and does off.

I sent three texts pointing out he didn't know where my office was. He turned up three days later for cash and with a USB stick to get his data off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mobyturns]

A few bells ringing here. We did a one weekend only clearance garage sale from a relatives address to clear out excess items after the sale of the property. I learned very fast why some people have money and others don't. Those that have it will haggle bargain mercilessly to wear you down. Our daughter wanted to do the haggling and basically followed Evanisms rules - no, no, NO! People would purchase a wheelbarrow for $20 and then realize it won't fit in the hatchback then expect you to do a 50km round trip to deliver. Fat chance love! Do you want your money back this person wants it too.

[Evanism]

People would purchase a wheelbarrow for $20 and then realize it won't fit in the hatchback then expect you to do a 50km round trip to deliver. Fat chance love! Do you want your money back this person wants it too.

There is always the choice of warranty too: The Concrete Warranty, or the 20/20 warranty.

Both generously last until its either off the concrete, or 20 feet and 20 seconds.